KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Chenery Auditorium will celebrate its 100th anniversary March 22 with a special community concert with performances by the Kalamazoo Public Schools band, choir, and orchestra students. It will also include members of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra, Kalamazoo Concert Band, and Gilmore Education Program students.
The concert will start at 7 p.m. and admission is free. It is open to everyone.
Chenery Auditorium was built for Kalamazoo Central High School and completed in 1924. It had 2,700 seats and became the city’s premier venue for performing arts and community events.
Some of the artists who have played there are Dolly Parton, Diana Krall, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Herbie Hancock, and John Legend. Pilot Amelia Earhart also spoke there.
In 1973, the Kalamazoo Central Auditorium was renamed Chenery Auditorium in honor of Howard Chenery, Central’s long-time theater teacher. Born in 1895, Chenery had a lifelong passion for the theater, working as a performer, teacher, and playwright. He directed over 300 plays and musicals at Kalamazoo Central, where he taught drama for over three decades.
Tickets for the 100th anniversary concert can be reserved online at Chenery100.eventbrite.com.
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