The MALTZ PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, located in UNIVERSITY CIRCLE, is a historic arts and religious venue for a variety of performances.
While commonly referred to as the Maltz Performing Arts Center, the venues full name is the Milton and Tamar Maltz Performing Arts Center at TEMPLE–TIFERETH ISRAEL. The converted synagogue, which seats up to 1,200 individuals, presents students from the music department of CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY, including a symphony orchestra, an early music vocal ensemble, Baroque chamber ensembles and orchestras, jazz, wind, and popular music ensembles, and the Case Concert Choir. Also home to Think Forum, the distinguished lecture series of the university, the Maltz Performing Arts Center’s mission is to host signature cultural programs that engage the greater Cleveland community.
Henry Turner Bailey, the director of the Cleveland School of Art (now the CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART), described the Byzantine-style building as "one of the city's masterpieces" when it was completed in 1924. The Temple–Tifereth Israel still owns the University Circle building, and uses the Silver Sanctuary on the High Holy Days as well as for life cycle events and meetings. On December 7, 1990, the Temple-Tifereth Israel named the sanctuary the Silver Sanctuary, in honor of the memories of longtime rabbis, ABBA HILLEL SILVER and Daniel Jeremy Silver. Together, the father and son had led the congregation for a total of 73 years. The architect selected a heptagonal shape for the building because it closely approximates a circle, a design that best suits the seating of a congregation and also expresses the concept of God’s unity, one of the foundations of the Jewish faith. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
In March 2010, Case Western Reserve University and the Temple–Tifereth Israel announced a historic collaboration to establish the Milton and Tamar Maltz Performing Arts Center, led by a $12 million gift from the Cleveland Jewish Community Federation's Maltz Family Foundation. The university estimated that the building's complete refurbishment would eventually cost $25.6 million, with an extra $7 million required to build a pedestrian bridge/walkway to link the building to the University’s main campus. The renovations were completed in 2015. In 2019 the University began Phase Two of the Maltz Performing Arts Center project. This phase focuses on the creation of more room to host all the performing arts programs of Case Western Reserve University: theatre, dance and music. This expansion will include a proscenium-style theater, the Fowler-Green Studio Theater black box for innovative productions, and new space for students.
Morgan McCommon