CINCINNATI -- Without missing a beat, the $135 million Music Hall renovation is ahead of schedule and on track for its October opening.
There is a different kind of artist performing in Music Hall right now. Actually, hundreds of them.
"Watching them work, there's a real commitment to the job," said Matthew Zory, a bassist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
And it never slows down, with four months left until opening night.
Zory has been capturing the transformation since work started.
"It's helped me have a connection to the community that I hadn't brought in," Zory said.
Inside Springer Auditorium, the painting is nearly done, the floors are almost in, and seats are starting to arrive in the balcony.
"What we're doing now is putting in the final touches, at least in this room," said Jeff Martin, 3CDC vice president of project management.
Corbett Tower's historic stenciling has been recreated. It and the windows were found under a drop ceiling, hidden for years.
"Every time you turn the corner, you're breathing new life into this building, and for me, that's something that's exciting to see, something that really changes by the day," Martin said.
Symphony staff is looking forward to moving into office space that's been newly opened up, too.
Fixtures in the lobby are being restored, and an audience lounge is being built, a place to sit down before the show.
"My wife always used to complain that there's no place to sit out in the lobby, and they're addressing that, which is cool," Zory said.
But Zory said the intimacy of the hall is what sets this apart. His favorite space, which he called the Rapunzel Room, is hidden high in a tower.
"I just love the textures and the lighting here, which is so beautiful, and the shape of the windows," Zory said.
Zory is laying out his photos for a book, but like the other artists inside Music Hall, there's work to be done.
"I need to get opening night pictures in it. You need to know how the story ends," Zory said.
That chapter opens in October.
