Meymandi Concert Hall in downtown Raleigh is part of the Duke Energy Performing Arts Center complex, where you’ll also find Memorial Auditorium, a large performing arts venue, Fletcher Opera Theater, a 600-seat venue designed for opera and dance productions, and Kennedy Theatre, a small experimental/nontraditional space.
Meymandi is a dynamic music venue, with seats for up to 1,700 audience members and a unique design for optimal listening. It was opened in 2001 by philanthropist Dr. Assad Meymandi and named to honor his mother. According to the Duke Energy website, “Its 65-ft ceiling, unique shoebox shape, narrow sides, shallow balconies and lack of proscenium all work together to deliver the warmest, clearest and most immersive sound experience possible.”
Although it does host the occasional guest concert, Meymandi Concert Hall is foremost the home of the North Carolina Symphony, an award-winning traditional orchestra based in Raleigh. Founded in 1932, the symphony began as a small orchestra made up of volunteer musicians.
Today, after more than 80 consecutive seasons, the North Carolina Symphony employs more than 60 musicians under the direction of Grant Llewellyn. In 1943, it was the first symphony in the United States to receive state funding, which it still receives today.
They perform more than 175 events annually in more than 90 of North Carolina’s 100 counties, traveling to Chapel Hill, Fayetteville, New Bern, Southern Pines, and Wilmington, as well as Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary during the summer months.
