The mission of the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall is to serve as a permanent home to major performing arts organizations of Fort Worth and as a premiere venue for other attractions so as to enhance the range, quality, and accessibility of cultural fare available to the public; to promulgate arts education; and to contribute to the cultural life of Fort Worth, Tarrant County, and the region.
The Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall complex is the crown jewel of a city which boasts the nation's third largest cultural district. It is also an important symbol of one of the most successful downtown revitalization efforts in the country.
Built entirely with private funds, Bass Performance Hall is permanent home to the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Texas Ballet Theater, Fort Worth Opera, and the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and Cliburn Concerts. It also hosts special productions of Casa Mañana Musicals, and presents Performing Arts Fort Worth's "Hall Series", a popular array of eclectic entertainment.
The 2,056-seat multipurpose Hall, designed by David M.Schwarz/Architectural Services, Inc. with acoustics by Jaffee, Holden, Acoustics, Inc., is characteristic of the classic European opera house form. An 80-foot diameter Great Dome, artfully painted by Scott and Stuart Gentling, tops the Founders Concert Theater. Two 48-foot tall angels sculpted by Marton Varo from Texas limestone grace the Grand Facade. Since the Hall opened in May 1998, the angels have become preeminent cultural icons of the entire Dallas / Fort Worth metropolitan area. The Hall itself is renowned for its superb acoustics, exceptional sight lines and ambience on level with the great halls of the world.
In 2001, the adjacent Maddox-Muse Center officially opened; and with it, the new Van Cliburn Recital Hall and the McDavid Studio. Also housed within Maddox-Muse Center are offices for Performing Arts Fort Worth, the non-profit organization that oversees management of the Hall, and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.
Bass Performance Hall is located on full city block encompassed by Commerce, Calhoun, 4th and 5th Streets in the historic Sundance Square district of downtown Fort Worth.