Playing in a professional concert hall is a dream for many organizations.

For Chamber Orchestra of the Springs, that dream will come true when its new season opens this fall. The nonprofit will move four of its half-dozen concerts into Ent Center for the Arts. In the past the professional orchestra used the space at First Christian Church, Broadmoor Community Church and First United Methodist Church for its weekend shows. While members of First Christian Church voted to sell the property last year, the congregation still meets in the space.

“It’s a huge step forward for a local arts organization,” said Chamber Orchestra’s Executive Director Jacob Pope. “We’ve had our eye on the Ent Center since before the building opened, and our growth over the last few years has finally enabled this move. It’s the quality-of-life upgrade we’ve been looking for.”

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The orchestra will continue to perform at First United Methodist Church and will kick off its season Sept. 15 with its annual Organ Spectacular at the church due to its pipe organ. The group will return to the space Jan. 11-12 for Mozart’s Requiem. Tickets for the new season are on sale now. Go to chamberorchestraofthe springs.org.

The rest of the season will take place in either Shockley Zalabak Theater or Chapman Foundations Recital Hall at the Ent Center, which provides slightly more seating than Broadmoor Community Church or First Christian Church.

The new venue will benefit audience members who will be able to select and reserve their seats thanks to a dedicated box office.

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It also appears the move will appeal to audience members on the north side of the city. The orchestra performed in the new space this year and was the group’s bestselling regular-season concert to date.

“We actually had to turn away folks at the door who said they were excited to see us on the north side of town for the first time,” Pope said.

Renting the Ent Center is more costly than the churches, Pope says, but the organization has done well enough over the last few years to support the change, even despite the pandemic, which put a financial hit on many arts organizations. “This group found a way to make it possible to not have that happen,” said Pope, who was hired as the nonprofit’s first full-time staff member in 2022. “They continued to pay all musicians, even those who couldn’t play. We did the whole distanced and recorded season. It let us be a voice in the community to continue to build.”

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Contact the writer: 636-0270