| Bass Concert Hall (L-16) UT Campus, 23rd & E. Campus Dr., 471-1444. Carnegie on the Colorado. A palatial 3,000-seat UT performance facility that hosts those shows that play the best concert halls in the world, from world-class classical artists such as Itzhak Perlman to world-class world music acts like Tito Puente, with the grandest of the Broadway touring shows, including Phantom of the Opera, Ragtime, and Rent. Also the current home to such local cultural luminaries as Austin Lyric Opera, Ballet Austin, and the Austin Symphony. Bates Recital Hall (L-18) 27 E. Campus Drive, 471-7764. The wood panels that open onto their expansive, varnished counterpart — the stage — are such that when musicians enter or exit, they seem to magically appear and disappear. That's apt given the nature of the acts that visit UT's accoustically perfect 800-seater (stadium-style seating). Jazz in particularly is well-suited to the intimate hall's hallowed aura, heightened immeasurably by the the mighty, mighty Visser-Rowland organ — 5,315 pipes of power — that is the Bates' back wall. Central Christian Church (L-12) 1110 Guadalupe, 476-6941. This splendid building dominates its block with its deep-toned brick and stained glass windows, and provides another central location for many musical performances throughout the year. If you think the exterior is amazing, the Fourth-century Italian architecture of the interior lures Austin Choral Artists, chamber groups, students who give recitals, and even serves as a location for film and television. Six hundred seats and fine acoustics keep this sanctuary full of music year-round. Central Presbyterian Church (L-8) 200 E. Eighth, 472-2445. The church on the hill with the metalwork designs over the century-old stone walls. On the austere inside, marvel at the soaring ceiling and broad brush strokes of colorful stained glass. The room is a long, narrow cross, evoking cathedrals from the old world, but the stone and windows, and the spare dais and choir, are open space for the weekly Noonday Concert Series and other special music events during the year. East First Garden Theater (L-36) 4822-B E. Cesar Chavez, 386-8686. One of the city's newer outdoor venues, an Eastside space which plays host to everything from large theatrical productions to small weddings, fundraisers to religious events. Alcohol-free, with designated-smoking area. First English Lutheran Church (L-42) 3001 Whitis, 478-1933. Sitting along the mini-greenbelt just north of the University of Texas campus, this lovely stone complex serves as a performance venue for groups with strong UT connections, like the Texas Early Music Project, as well as independent groups like the chamber specialists with that flair for fun, La Follia. First Presbyterian Church (L-52) 8001 Mesa, 345-8866. Up the road a spell, this 300-seat stone sanctuary provides an intimate venue for some of the best local musical talent. From Scott McNulty (the resident organist) playing the 99-year-old pipe organ to the Tony Campise-led jazz festival to the ongoing St. Cecilia Music Series, this church is home to concert hall performers in a so-close-you-can-touch-them environment. First Universalist Unitarian Church (L-45) 4700 Grover, 452-6168. A neighborly church that offers performing arts groups a non-credal, icon-free sanctuary, making everyone feel welcome, regardless of religious belief. Home to the Capital City Men's Choir, the Austin Community Philharmonic, Chamber Soloists of Austin, and many more, the intimate, acoustically sound sanctuary makes this one of the most musically inclined church venues in town. See also Alternate Space Gallery. Frank Erwin Center (L-13) 1701 Red River, 471-7744. The big round drum west of I-35 on the UT campus, the Frank Erwin Center is where the Metallicas, Princes, and Luciano Pavarottis of the world play. How 'bout U2, Madonna, and James Brown? The Muppets? In other words, the local arena. Seating as many as 18,000 depending on the placement of the stage, the Frank Erwin Center is the place to bring your lighter for that encore moment you've been waiting for your whole life. Hogg Auditorium (L-21) W. 24th & Whitis, 471-0333. A hall so old that the bats in its belfry trace their lineage back to Transylvania, UT's Hogg Auditorium is also a good-size 1,2OO-seater conveniently located just off the Student Union in the center of campus. Hosting recent stunners such as Sweet Honey in the Rock, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and last fall's Geri Allen/Randy Weston double bill, Hogg has been green-lighted for a major facelift, which is for the best given its size and versatility as a venue. King-Seabrook Chapel at Huston-Tillotson College (L-31) 900 Chicon, 505-3139. If your idea of a chapel is a flat-floor, cottage-sized room with two rows of short, hard pews and an aisle down the middle, with barely enough room at the end for a pulpit and a couple of chairs, you might be taken aback by the one that anchors the south end of the Huston-Tillotson campus. It's a spacious, gracious auditorium with sweeping curves and an altar area large enough to host dozens of choir members or a play with a full-fledged set, which is perhaps the reason the King-Seabrook is a popular site for many a community event, choral concert, and theatre production. One World Theatre (L-54) 7701 Bee Caves Rd, 330-9500. When performers dream about venues, this is the kind of venue they dream about. Originally conceived as a posh West Austin home, this combination concert hall/dance space has the look and ambience of an Italian villa, a sizable open room for performances, close tiered seating for 300, state-of-the-art technical facilities, including fiber optic cables for TV broadcast, a spot for food and drink on the floor below the concert space, and everywhere you look, glimpses of the Hill Country. A venue that is in itself an artistic experience, which ought to magnify the enjoyment of the touring acts being booked there, which range from McCoy Tyner to José Greco II. Palmer Auditorium (L-28) 400 S. First, 472-5111. For 40 years, one of Austin's signature arts spaces, as well as a gathering place for the community in its many forms. Perched on the south shore of Town Lake like a massive turtle sunning itself, the spacious Palmer has hosted cultural affairs from Austin Symphony concerts to the Big Stinkin' International Improv & Sketch Comedy Festival under its gentle dome. In recent years, however, it's seen more usage as a civic center, with events such as the Austin Record Convention, lowrider shows, debutante balls, and the Sami Arts & Crafts Show. But it will go full-throttle artistic in 2003, when meetings and shows move to a new civic center on Town Lake Park land, and the current auditorium becomes the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Center for the Performing Arts, with world-class concert halls and state-of-the-art theatres inside. St. David's Episcopal Church (L-7) 304 E. Seventh, 472-1196. This open and roomy venue has an elaborate altar dais, but the real fascination is the pipe organ that dominates the eastern portion of the room. White walls with narrow, gothic arched stained glass make this church an inviting performance hall for the seasonal organ series, and Austin Vocal Arts Ensemble. Gifted music director David Stevens lends a hand to many of Austin's musical arts events, though he is not the David for whom the church is named. St. Louis Catholic Church (L-48) 7601 Burnet, 454-0384. This enormous, open sanctuary at the top of one of Austin's most nostalgic streets is as much a throwback to the styles of 20-30 years ago as it is retro-hip, with its tan bricks and cylindrical light fixtures. Impressive and solid, the church boasts a high central dais behind which one can see organ pipes. Has hosted Austin Vocal Arts Ensemble and others. St. Matthew's Episcopal Church (L-51) 8134 Mesa, 345-8314. With room for an audience of seeming thousands, St. Matthew's retains an airy yet intimate quality; its seats are mobile, allowing groups to set up at different parts of this bright, white room. A Mozart Fest, the Austin Civic Chorus and Orchestra, and even full-scale musicals are performed in the sanctuary, nestled in the quiet grounds of Northwest Austin. St. Paul Lutheran Church (L-40) 3501 Red River, 472-8301. Not part of Concordia University, but adjacent to it, St. Paul's hosts many of the university's music events, as well as music events by local and national groups. Minister of music (what a great title!) Kathleen Achterberg keeps a full schedule at the church, which has heard the music and song of the Abendmusik series, the National Boys' Choir, and the Austin Children's Choir. Texas Union Ballroom (L-22) 23rd & Guadalupe, UT Campus, 475-6630. The enormous ballroom in the heart of the Texas Union has multiple functions, hosting many a student event, informal class, lecture, and concert. When folk acts get too big, the Cactus Cafe often books them here. | 
