Pangle HallIf you go* What: Pangle Hall dedication and musical showcase* When: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 28; doors open at 6:30 p.m.* Where: Pangle Hall, Church Street, Lee University, Cleveland, Tenn.* Admission: Free* Phone: 423-614-8316
Lee University's newest performance venue, Pangle Hall, will be dedicated Tuesday, Oct. 28, with a showcase of "musical highlights from Lee's past, present and future."
Scheduled for appearances are Season 6 "American Idol" finalist and Lee alumnus Phil Stacey, international champion barbershop quartet Four Voices and a cappella ensemble Voices of Lee, featuring the return of two members who performed on NBC's "The Sing-Off " competition in 2009.
A smaller, 80-voice version of the Lee Festival Choir will sing selections from the 2013 presidential inauguration repertoire. The program also will include music from a faculty jazz group led by Alan Wyatt, piano music by Lee's chamber music star and faculty member Gloria Chien and a song by vocalist and faculty member Andrea Dismukes.
Lee President Dr. Paul Conn says the event will be "a wonderful time for everyone to hear some entertaining music and see how we have refreshed and remodeled this familiar Cleveland landmark."
Pangle Hall is the repurposed space formerly used as the main sanctuary of First Baptist Church of Cleveland, which vacated the property in 2010. The new music venue is being named Pangle Hall in honor of Janie Pangle Jones, wife of Cleveland business leader Allan Jones.
Cole Strong, who has supervised the hall's transformation, says the interior of the space has been reduced to an audience capacity of 650 seats. "People who remember this as the old First Baptist sanctuary will feel right at home here," Strong says. "We wanted to retain the traditional feeling and elegant interior design of the old sanctuary, while still updating and reshaping it for musical performance."
The completion of Pangle Hall is the second phase in development of the southern end of the Lee campus, following the opening of the Communication Arts Building across Church Street. The new music venue will provide space for performances, meetings and classes and will be available for use by community groups.
A dessert reception in the Communication Arts atrium lobby will follow the showcase.