HELENA — The Shriners have called the Ming Opera House home for over a century but they may be sharing the stage with the Helena Symphony soon. The two organizations are in the preliminary planning stages of what they are calling "Project Ming."
Maestro Allan R. Scott of the Helena Symphony says, "We would not be leaving the Civic Center. The Civic Center is our home and that would remain our main performance center; however, there is a possibility for chamber performances, education performances, office space, artist housing that we are just looking into the possibility."
Project Ming has been in the research phase for around four years with Montana DEQ funding the preliminary architecture report and operations study.
So far the symphony has not spent any money on the project.
"We want to do a lot of due diligence, whether it is financially, logistically, operationally, so we are talking to the city about helping us with that final study," Scott says.
That final study is a financial feasibility study that would determine where and how funds would help the actual restoration project.
At the city commission administrative meeting Tuesday evening after discussing Project Ming commissioners made the decision to hold further discussion on the project at a later date.
The proposed design keeps and restores the historic facade but includes a five thousand square foot addition for the lobby and accessibility.
Additionally, the plan involves demolishing and rebuilding the current balcony for acoustic reasons.
The Helena Symphony has been collaborating with the Consistory Shrine Temple Association on the project and Larry Nielsen, the president of the association says, "Our goal is to stay in this building for another 120 years and there has been a lot of options laid out on the table and a lot of discussion, but there have been no decisions."
If the project is successful it would represent a sort of homecoming for the symphony.
Prior to being known as the Helena Symphony it was known as the Ming Opera House Orchestra.
"It all depends if this is the right move for the symphony and we are not at that position where we can say that yet," Scott says. "We know that there are a lot of exciting things, but we need to know a lot more."
There are many ideas, designs, and plans on the table as the research phase continues to best decide what the future for the Ming and the Symphony are.
