Bailey Hall is a large auditorium on Cornell's campus. It was built in the early 20th century and designed by Edward B. Green, a Cornell graduate. Though Bailey Hall is used by a number of organizations--from Cornell's Symphony Orchestra to student groups--it is perhaps most famous for the performances hosted by the Cornell Concert Series.

This concert series has has a long and important history, bringing in famous musicians from all over the world: Paul Robeson, Marion Anderson, Issac Stern, Yehudi Menuhin, Rudolph Serkin, Joan Sutherland, Leontyne Price, and Luciano Pavarotti, among countless others. There was even a dramatic night in 1919, when Austrian violin virtuoso Fritz Kreisler's performance was interrupted by protestors. An excerpt from Morris Bishop's A History of Cornell tells the story:

"The Hill prided itself on its broad-mindedness, its humanity above all nations and nationalisms. Fritz Kreisler, the Austrian violinist (who had played in Bailey Hall in October 1917, before an enthusiastic capacity audience), was again invited for a concert on 11 December 1919. But downtown a fervid patriotism reigned. The American Legion had condemned in national convention the appearance of any German or Austrian performer. Ithaca's Mayor called on all patriotic citizens to stay away from the concert. Nevertheless Bailey Hall was packed, the front seats being conspicuously occupied by the football team. In mid-concert about eighty hoodlums, as the Sun termed them, cut the lighting circuit and tried to invade the hall. The students rose and fought. A large band returning from a basketball game took the invaders in the rear. Kreisler, unperturbed, played on in the din of the Battle of Bailey Hall. President Schurman took his stand beside the performer. A volunteer leaped to the stage with a flashlight for the accompanist. The invaders were magnificently repelled, to the strains of Viotti's Concerto in A minor. No tumult since Nero's time has had such a fine violin accompaniment." (433-34)

A list of upcoming performances in Bailey Hall can be found here. For concerts that are part of the Cornell Concert Series, TCAT is offering free rides to and from campus with the presentation of your concert ticket.