Best known for performances and events at the Music Center at Strathmore, the organization has been presenting accessible, affordable visual and performing arts in the smaller Mansion at Strathmore and all over its 16-acre site since 1981. The Mansion at Strathmore is home to intimate artistic programs presented by Strathmore. Enjoy a concert in the acoustically superb Music Room, explore our galleries and current exhibitions, indulge in Afternoon Tea, stroll through the sculpture gardens, and find a special something at the Shop at Strathmore. In 1908, The Oysters sold the house and 99 adjoining acres to Charles and Hattie Corby. The Corby family enjoyed the house as a summer retreat until 1912, when they contracted Charles Barton Keen to make extensive modifications.
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It is the only venue of its kind in Montgomery County.citation needed There is also a Sculpture Garden that winds through the complex’s 11 acres (45,000 m2). More than 5,000 artists and 2 million visitors have attended exhibitions, concerts, teas, educational events and outdoor festivals since 1983. Chelsea House The Education Center, located at the opposite end of the building, features four expansive rehearsal spaces, including a dance studio with a sprung floor and two rehearsal rooms with 40-foot (12 m) high ceilings. This wing of the building also features a children’s music classroom, a small two-story rehearsal room and nine solo and small group practice spaces. A flagship program of Strathmore’s Institute for Artistic and Professional Development, the Artist in Residence (AIR) program4 was created more than a decade ago to support artists as they transition to professional careers.
Afternoon Tea
Known to locals as the “Corby Farm,” the grounds had a fully operational dairy farm, greenhouse complex, private golf course, and many other outbuildings. After Charles’ passing in 1926, Hattie Corby remained in the residence until she passed away in 1941. There are more than two dozen exhibitions each season from local artists and from collaborations with renowned museums, such as the Baltimore Museum. The Gudelsky Gallery Suite, located at the top of the grand staircase, was named after philanthropists, Homer and Martha Gudelsky. Supported by a donation from the Gudelsky Family Foundation, this gallery features four galleries.
INTIMATE CHAMBER CONCERTS
Our website works best with the latest version of the browsers below, unfortunately your browser is not supported. In 1998, the Montgomery County Council and the Maryland State Legislature approved matching capital support ($48 million each) for the Music Center at Strathmore. After the design team was selected in 2001, work began under the direction of the county. Strathmore is a premier art institution of the region, hosting more than two dozen exhibitions a year.
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For more than two decades, the Mansion at Strathmore has provided intimate artistic programs with its 100-seat Dorothy M. And Maurice C. Shapiro Music Room, the Gudelsky Gallery Suite exhibition spaces, the outdoor Gudelsky Concert Pavilion, and outdoor Sculpture Gardens. In March 2015, Strathmore opened an additional performance and event space – AMP by Strathmore within Pike & Rose, the new mixed-use development located about one mile north of the Music Center on Rockville Pike.
- The concert hall opened in 2005 and was built on the 11-acre site of the Strathmore Mansion, a 19th-century home which had been owned by Montgomery County since 1981.
- As shown on an 1879 map, local landowner Frank Ball operated a stagecoach station and blacksmith shop on his farm at this location.
- The venue presents over 150 performances a year and over 75 arts and music education classes each week.
- The Neo-Georgian mansion has columned porticos, Palladian windows and a hilltop setting, It was designed by Appleton P. Clark, Jr., and constructed in 1902 as a summer home for Captain James F. Oyster, Mrs. James Oyster and their family.
- Strathmore is a nonprofit multi-disciplinary arts center and presenting organization based one-half mile outside the Capital Beltway in North Bethesda, Maryland.
At the end of each event, the exit gates to the garage will be open for 30 minutes to exit the garage. Parking for events and exhibitions in the Mansion is free in the Mansion lot on a space available basis. Your generosity brings distinctive programming and renowned artists to Strathmore’s stages and galleries and ensures that everyone in our community can experience the joy and wonder of the arts.
The complex is thus accessible for patrons coming from Washington, D.C., as well as the northern part of Montgomery County, Maryland via the Metro rail system. Strathmore is dedicated to creating a vibrant arts community that welcomes everyone. In 2016, Strathmore formalized it’s commitment to ensuring access to the arts with the Bloom initiative.
Strathmore Artists in Residence benefit from the support of mentor musicians, participate in professional development seminars, and are offered extensive performance opportunities throughout the 10-month program. The Music Center at Strathmore features an undulating roof that outlines the sloping form of the concert hall. Inspired by the rolling hills of the Strathmore grounds, the 190,000-square-foot (18,000 m2) building is nestled into an 11-acre (45,000 m2) park-like setting. The Neo-Georgian mansion has columned porticos, Palladian windows and a hilltop setting, It was designed by Appleton P. Clark, Jr., and constructed in 1902 as a summer home for Captain James F. Oyster, Mrs. James Oyster and their family. In 1908, the Oysters sold the residence and its 99 acres (400,000 m2) to Charles I. Corby and his wife, Hattie.