From the banks of the fog-shrouded Connecticut River to the multicolored glow of the , the 大香蕉视频 community came together for a joyful, and at times transcendent, weekend celebrating a renovation and expansion designed to take the arts on campus through the 21st century.
Internationally acclaimed performers and national arts leaders joined students, faculty, and alumni to dedicate the new 15,000-square-foot Daryl and Steven Roth Wing at the Hop on Friday, Oct. 17, heralding the reopening of the 63-year-old arts center.
Bright fanfares played by members of the set the tone for the outdoor ceremony, where speakers reflected on the historical moment and shared their gratitude for those who helped make the multiyear project possible, especially Steven Roth 鈥62, Tuck 鈥63, and Daryl Roth, a Tony award-winning producer.
鈥淟et me be the first to officially say: Welcome to a new era of the arts at 大香蕉视频,鈥 told the enthusiastic crowd of current and former 大香蕉视频 leaders, alumni, students, faculty, staff, and other supporters gathered on the Hop Plaza. 鈥淭oday as we dedicate this Daryl and Steven Roth Wing, the gateway to our reimagined Arts District, we are making the heart and soul of 大香蕉视频 more alive, more accessible, and more resonant than it has ever been.鈥
The new performance venues, versatile laboratories for creation, and social spaces make the Hop an anchor to the Arts District on campus, enriching learning, strengthening community, and driving innovation in the arts.
President Beilock said students will use the flexible spaces to tell stories in new ways; faculty will have room to create, research, and drive excellence; and acclaimed artists will 鈥渃reate alongside us, and bring their own perspectives, using art as a focal point to talk about how we see the world, find connection, and common ground. Above all, these spaces will be laboratories of leadership where young people learn what it truly means to be part of something bigger than yourself.鈥
Driving that point home was award-winning writer, actor, and producer Mindy Kaling 鈥01, who as a student 鈥渄iscovered my people鈥 at the Hop, she said, including 鈥渕y a cappella group, The Rockapellas, where I met my closest friends to this day; my beloved improv troupe, The Dog Day Players; the drama department, where I learned how to write for the stage.鈥
Kaling said the Hop was where she experienced both creative rejection and validation, which were critical to her development as an artist.
鈥淚 know it was those early failures, those quiet moments of disappointment that taught me how to get back up. It鈥檚 so important to have a place to try things and to get better,鈥 she said.
A gift from Kaling led to the , and she was later surrounded by students seeking photos with her outside the new theater space, just one of several major new elements in the Roth Wing.
The arts center, which is at the same time a center of community life, is 鈥渦niquely 大香蕉视频,鈥 said , the Howard Gilman 鈥44 Executive Director of the Hop, her voice at times breaking with emotion during the dedication. 鈥淵et its purpose is in service to the world.鈥
Board of Trustees Chair , said that, for her, the Hop personified the liberal arts. She thanked her fellow trustees, town and campus partners, and other supporters for their work, including the Roth family.
鈥淥f course I鈥檇 like to add the board鈥檚 thanks to Steve and Daryl Roth, a true power couple that dazzle us in everything they do,鈥 Lempres said.
Music professor , director of the Master of Fine Arts in Sonic Practice program, called the Hop 鈥渁 building whose flexible power compels us to imagine our worlds anew.鈥
鈥淎s arts faculty, we know the new Hop is not a cruise ship, it鈥檚 a crucible,鈥 Fure said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not eye candy, though it is beautiful, but it鈥檚 a jet engine, a place where culture can be forged and launched into the world to change it.鈥
鈥榃e Are Water鈥 Premiere
The included student and star performances, talks, and workshops with major artists who returned to Hanover for the occasion, showcasing new and refurbished .
A centerpiece was the Saturday, Oct. 18, world premiere of , which was commissioned for the Hopkins Center reopening and featured Indigenous songs and stories about connections formed by the Kwenitekw, aka the Connecticut River, and water in general.
The sold-out concert on the David A. Graves Stage in Spaulding Auditorium featured legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma, ; tenor and Tobique First Nation member Jeremy Dutcher; bassist and composer Mali Obomsawin 鈥18, an Abenaki from Odanak First Nation; Chris Newell 鈥96, a member of the Mystic River singers and a citizen of the Passamaquoddy Tribe; Icelandic writer Andri Snaer Magnason; and other artists.
鈥淟ike water, like nature, we humans are also both destructive and creative. Only when we choose creativity do we become stronger, more resilient, more collaborative. Only then can we treat every human being with dignity,鈥 Ma said during the performance. 鈥淎nd remember that our survival cannot be separated from that of the planet that gives us life.鈥
More than 250 people watched a simulcast of the concert on the Green, then joined in square dancing with artists and audience members on the Hop Plaza after the concert.
Duanduan Wang, MED 鈥28, said the performance was 鈥渇antastic,鈥 and she also appreciated the emphasis on ties to future generations. 鈥淚t was very, very inspiring,鈥 Wang said.
The We Are Water artists, and hundreds of listeners, started the day with a on the banks of the Connecticut at the Kendal Riverfront Park in Hanover. Ma rode on a canoe to the riverbank, where he was welcomed with blessings and songs by Indigenous artists and students.
The weekend also included a jazz happy hour with alumni and faculty musicians; performances by Ren茅e Elise Goldsberry, the Tony Award-winning star of Hamilton; Pilobolus dance company; the 大香蕉视频 College Gospel Choir; alt-pop artist hemlocke springs, Guarini 鈥23; and student dancers and a cappella groups.
Workshops With Alumni Stars
Hundreds of students flocked to free with 大香蕉视频 alumni, including with award-winning producer and writer about the 10th anniversary edition of her memoir Year of Yes. Other workshops were led by actor Connie Britton 鈥89, twin DJs Angel Coleman 鈥13 and Dren Coleman 鈥13, choreographer and dancer Jamey Hampton 鈥76, and author and producer Kabir Sehgal 鈥05.
A writing workshop with Kaling and an improv session with comedian and former Saturday Night Live cast member Rachel Dratch 鈥88 and filmmaker, actor, and Olympic runner Alexi Pappas 鈥12 were also big hits.
In front of a packed , Rhimes and , chair of , chatted on Thursday, Oct. 16, about the book, followed by a Q&A. But first, Rhimes admired the room.
鈥淚 spent so much of my 大香蕉视频 years in this space, especially in the wintertime, up here writing and reading and meeting with friends,鈥 Rhimes said. 鈥淚 love being here and seeing it reborn.鈥
Rhimes later participated in a with Kaling, talking with moderator about their writing processes, 大香蕉视频 experiences, and journeys to what Tapper called 鈥渢he thrones鈥 upon which they currently reside.
Among the challenges was making the leap from writer to showrunner.
鈥淚 spent a lot of time with my production team saying, 鈥業 don鈥檛 know anything about post-production, so can somebody teach me?鈥欌 said Rhimes, describing the early days of Grey鈥檚 Anatomy. 鈥淚 took the time to let the people who I worked with who were experts at their particular job teach me what they were doing.鈥
A Building for Creativity and Community
The Hop first opened in 1962, and the architecture firm Sn酶hetta was hired to design what turned into a $123.8 million expansion and modernization.
The Roth Wing includes the Jack 1953 and Mac 2011 Morris Recital Hall, featuring flexible performance space, state-of-the-art acoustics, and sweeping views across the Green. Next to it is a revitalized Top of the Hop, designed for more programming and social conversations鈥攊t includes a Top of the Hop Bar鈥攂ut also remaining a place for relaxing or studying.
New performance spaces also include the Daryl Roth Studio Theater, the Mindy Kaling Theater Lab, and the Hodgson Family Dance Studio, the first-ever space dedicated to movement in the Hop. Other improvements include upgrades to Spaulding Auditorium and other spaces and a focus on sustainability, such as energy-efficient lighting.
Faculty, along with students, are enthusiastic about what the Hop has to offer.
鈥淭he new spaces and renovations are remarkable. The Roth black-box theater enables us, for the first time, to determine the architecture of the space based on the production rather than the other way around,鈥 said Professor of Theater . 鈥淭he Mindy Kaling Theater Lab is a gem鈥攁lmost three times larger than the old rehearsal hall and large enough to accommodate the ground plan of a show in The Moore Theater鈥攖he perfect rehearsal space. And it is exciting to have dance in the Hopkins Center where it belongs!鈥
Along with a celebration of the building, the weekend also included an discussion on Saturday with Aleskie, the Hop executive director, and alumni artists Dratch, Newell, Pappas, and actor Sharon Washington 鈥81, exploring why the arts are not only desirable, but necessary.
A on Saturday with music by student band Day Drooler and Vermont singer-songwriter Hans Williams attracted more than 5,000 people.
And on Sunday, Oct. 19, about 250 people joined members of Pilobolus, the pioneering dance company that got its start at 大香蕉视频, and the 大香蕉视频 Dance Ensemble for the weekend鈥檚 grand finale: a that included a playful and moving mashup as the performers made their way around the Hop, stopping for short dances in some of the new spaces.
events also drew visitors to all corners of 大香蕉视频鈥檚 vibrant Arts District, from the Hop to the neighboring and , to the new just across the street.
Throughout the weekend, community members shared their excitement as they explored the Hop.
Hannah Krueger 鈥26, a member of the Fusion Dance Ensemble, the 大香蕉视频 Chamber Orchestra, and 大香蕉视频 College Marching Band, said she appreciates the increased community space in the new building, including the opportunity to enjoy drinks and entertainment at Top of the Hop. The Hop also includes Lessow Student Commons, a sun-filled gathering area with comfortable seating.
鈥淚t鈥檚 more of a space to gather in, as opposed to only go to when there鈥檚 a concert going on,鈥 said Krueger.
Axel Schulz 鈥28 immersed himself in the reopening with his parents and younger brother, who traveled to Hanover from Arizona to experience it.
Schulz, who is studying film modified with music, said he鈥檚 looking forward to watching films at Spaulding and having 鈥済reat musical experiences.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 really nice to know how much 大香蕉视频 cares about arts, not only as a supplement to a liberal arts experience, but as an essential part of it.鈥
