Longy Campus and Edward M. Pickman Concert Hall
Longy Campus
Pickman Concert Hall
LONGY CAMPUS
Longy’s main facility, a grand
four-level stone building on tree-lined Follen Street
adjacent to Harvard University, was built in 1889
by the Boston architects Longfellow, Alden & Harlow
as the home of railroad magnate Edwin Hale Abbot
and was rededicated as the Zabriskie House in 2004.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places,
the building’s richly detailed public spaces
and comfortable Queen Anne Revival teaching studios
contribute to the school’s intimate, graceful
ambiance.
Since moving to its present location in 1937, Longy
has retained the building’s original character
while creating a fully functional professional Conservatory.
The 350-seat Edward Pickman Concert Hall was built
in 1970, followed by fourteen additional practice/rehearsal
rooms and a large Dalcroze Eurhythmics studio a decade
later. The Bakalar Library wing was added in 1992
and includes a small campus lunch area, an extended
Green Room, and early music rehearsal facilities.
An electronic composition studio opened in the fall
of 1998.
In August 1998, Longy acquired a
teaching, practice, and office facility at 33 Garden
Street one block from the principal building. This
bright, elegant building, named the Rey-Waldstein
Building in 2001, includes a seventy-seat recital
room, and some twenty teaching studios and classrooms.
Renovations in 2005 improved accessibility and resulted
in eight additional practice rooms, a new percussion
room, and a student lounge. Additionally, Eurhythmics
classes and large rehearsals occupy the Margaret
Jewett Hall, a large Victorian-era assembly hall
at nearby First Church, Cambridge.
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PICKMAN CONCERT HALL
Since its dedication concert on
October 30, 1970, the Edward M. Pickman Concert Hall
has been the heart center of Longy’s musical
life. Architects Huygens & Tappé won the
prestigious Progressive Architecture Design Award
in 1966 for their innovative addition that provided
the growing school with both a performance venue
and a library, whose books and shelves acted as acoustical
reflectors.
Lawyer, historian & amateur
pianist Edward M. Pickman served as President of
the Board of trustees from 1955-1959 and was reported
to have attended every board meeting from 1930 until
his death. The concert hall was named in memory of
Mr. Pickman’s devoted service & his extraordinary
generosity to the Longy School of Music.
Although the library was moved to
its own wing, the Sandra and David Bakalar Library,
in the early 1990’s, one aspect of Pickman
Concert Hall has remained unchanged: it is still
considered to be one of New England’s finest
small concert venues. Favored for its honest acoustic,
the birch paneled 300-seat auditorium provides an
intimate concert setting, especially well suited
for chamber music. Pickman Concert Hall hosts over
250 musical events each season, including concerts & master
classes featuring Longy students, faculty & guest
artists, as well presentations by local artists and
performance organizations.
For concert information, see the Monthly
Concert Listings in the “News and Events” menu.
For rentals, see Rental
Information in the “About Longy” menu.
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