Longy Campus
Pickman Concert Hall

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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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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