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Show the Browning Center !iniinilll!liniii!l! il!li!l'!lll!ll r .c " Qs .V, V'AW ' jk n it a a s SBcess a h s n h k m k u & .;). : u u . . v.;n k ( ri w r ; ' x The ; W . 4r fF'f i i m m m b i mv i .t. v m. ...-..js . . BL.dt.je m. ' 'H 4j 4 lV H Text: Jeanne Chadey j If t"i ' t Vi BROWNING CENTER: The Utah Symphony, Ballet West and The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Octet are several well-known artistic groups that appear in the Val A. Browning Center for the Performing Arts. (Utah Symphony photo; Ballet West photo; Browning Center photo: Clark Taylor). Cultural arts are something unknown to many people, and why so many outstanding artistic ventures choose the city of Ogden, Utah in which to perform can be explained in three words: the Browning Center. When the Board of Trustees changed the name of the Weber State College Fine Arts Center to the Val A. Browning Center in 1978, more than just a name change happened. Mr. Browning set up a $1 million trust fund which benefited Weber State College. The gift from Mr. Browning was one that Dr. Daniel L. Martino, director of cultural affairs, helped solicit. "It took several years of cultivating and befriending people to establish this trust. It took a lot of agony, time and patience," he said. "This trust fund did not come easy." When receiving the trust, the original goal was to make the finest artists available right here in Ogden, Utah. Dr. Martino wanted to contribute to people on campus as well as off campus. "We just want to be a service," he said. Initially, attracting performers and entertainers to the area was difficult, Dr. Martino said. "It is a lot easier now. At first, we had to convince them to come to Utah." The facilities are what attract the people. Some groups have done feasibility studies here in comparison to the Capitol Theater in Salt Lake City and have found Weber's facilities much better. For instance, Weber has the only hydraulic stage in Utah. It can hold 65 musicians on it. People who perform at Weber exclaim what wonderful sound and lighting systems the center has to offer. Weber State College is in the forefront with its national and state reputations as a "Center of Cultural Excellence," so designated by the National Endowment for the Arts. The Utah Holiday Magazine notes that the Browning Center has the "best chamber orchestra series in Utah." The performances which are selected to come to Weber are decided upon and negotiated by Dr. Martino. He has to decide not only on who will perform, but also on what night will draw the most people and what time of the year is the best. He is also very careful with the funds he has to work with. The price of tickets usually averages from $8 to $15. "Tickets at Weber are priced about one-third less than what a person would pay for the same performance in a large city," said Dr. Martino. Next year, many of the arts will be raising their ticket prices to reflect comparable increases in the cost of living. "Since the economy in the following year does not look strong, the prices on tickets at Weber will be decreasing to keep and make things available to the community," said Dr. Martino. "It's an educational institution; we're not in the business to make a profit." |