To spot The Shedd Institute, just look for a stately red-brick building with grand white columns and tall arched windows right at the corner-it’s hard to miss, almost as if it's waiting to host a big city secret inside!
Now, let’s step into the story of The Shedd Institute-where every brick has a beat and every window might just play jazz. Imagine you’re standing here in the early days of Eugene, when this grand building wasn’t echoing with applause, but sermons and hymns! Long before it became the musical powerhouse it is today, this site was actually the First Baptist Church. Then, in 2002, the space was given new life-more high notes, less hymnals-and transformed into The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts. And if you’re wondering who John G. Shedd was, well, imagine a man whose generosity and vision for the arts stretched all the way from early 20th-century Chicago to right here in Eugene. Now that’s some reach!
But the Shedd’s story starts before the move. Back in 1991, a group of music lovers said, “Why not stir things up a bit?” So they launched the Oregon Festival of American Music-an annual summer pops festival with Marin Alsop, who would one day become world-famous, at the baton. Their goal was simple: get people humming along to American classical music. And let’s face it, who can resist a catchy tune, right? By 1993, The Shedd was already turning heads at the Hult Center, and two years later, they threw open their doors to music students of all ages, creating a vibrant community music school.
Pretty soon, a single summer just wasn’t enough! In 1997, the music played on year-round, with sparkling new performance series popping up like popcorn. The American Composers Series, led by James Paul, dove into the treasures of post-1900 Western Hemisphere music, while the Emerald City Jazz Kings, a toe-tapping, finger-snapping ensemble, dusted off old jazz, swing, and big band classics. Picture evenings filled with the sounds of Gershwin, swinging trumpets, and maybe a few folks cutting a rug in the aisles. Even jazz legend Dick Hyman got in on the fun, becoming the festival's jazz advisor and later leading a world premiere performance of Sidney Bechet’s ballet “La colline du delta”-talk about a musical plot twist!
By the time the Shedd moved into this building, it had evolved into a beehive of creativity. Today, it buzzes with seven different concert series-from theatrical productions to quirky variety shows like The Magical Moombah. At The Shedd, every note tells a story, every event is a celebration, and, rumor has it, even the walls lean in to listen.
