The Rochester Music Hall of Fame is hoping its new brick and mortar space will be open in time for the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival in June.
The Hall, which just officially welcomed its seventh class of inductees, is planning to take over a now-vacant, 1,300 square foot space at the corner of Gibbs Street and East Avenue this summer.
This will be the first time they'll have an actual physical Hall of Fame. It's been the dream of outgoing president Karl LaPorta, who steps down from his position at the end of May. And it's happening sooner than he anticipated.
President-elect Jack Whittier envisions performances for 70 to 100 people, music artifacts on display, and videos of Rochester's music history.
"We really feel that music is one of our great community assets and differentiates us from other communities and cities our size. We want to see what role we can play to help leverage that, to elevate music in our community and make it an even greater asset."
While the plans are still in the formative stages, Whittier said there is a desire to use the Hall of Fame to advance music education, perhaps through regular performances by students from area schools.
The RMHOF is still working out a contract for the space, which is owned by the Eastman School of Music. Whittier hopes to have the doors open and some displays in place by the opening of the Jazz Fest. A more formal opening is expected later in the summer.
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