The Clare and Josef Meier Hall, located in the center of the campus, is an 
$8.25 million building which includes a 300-seat recital hall, choir and band rooms, faculty studios, classrooms, soundproof practice rooms, conference rooms, storage areas, keyboard, 
listening and piano labs and faculty 

The new 44,919 square-foot building will be open for the fall semester.

BHSU President Thomas Flickema cited the Meier family’s contributions to the campus and entire community over the years.

“What could be more fitting than to name this new building after a couple who played such a powerful role in promoting the arts for six decades,” Flickema said. “What better way to preserve the rich heritage of what these two people have accomplished. From this point forward the building will be known as the Clare and Josef Meier Hall, a place of student performances and learning, a place where the public will come to enjoy the continuation of the heritage the Meiers were so instrumental in preserving.”

Josef Meier, who was born in Germany and emigrated to America, brought the Passion Play to the Black Hills in 1932 and it has been in continuous production ever since, giving performances all over the United States and Canada. Six generations of his family participated in the Passion Play that dates to 1242. He began his acting career as a youngster portraying the baby Jesus and later as the adult Christ. Josef performed as the Christus more than 9,000 times spanning more than 60 years. Josef received many honors for his achievements including the South Dakota Governor’s Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts in 1999 and an honorary degree from BHSU in 1972. He also owned and managed a working cattle ranch north of Spearfish which received awards for conservation efforts. Josef was an avid reader, painter and writer who loved to ride, hunt, swim and be outdoors. Josef died in 1999 at the age of 94.

In 1937, Josef married Chicago actress Clare Hume, who became a member of his company playing the role of Mary the Mother. She continued to participate in the Passion Play for many years.

The first local performance of the Passion Play was held in Woodburn Auditorium on the BHSU campus during the summer of 1938. The cast included Black Hills area actors including E.C. Woodburn, the college president. The performance, which faithfully reconstructs the dramatic events in the last seven days of the life of Christ, played for five weeks that first summer. Working with Black Hills area businessmen, an outdoor amphitheater was constructed and the Passion Play found a permanent home in Spearfish in 1939 and became a major force in regional tourism development at a time when Mt. Rushmore was under construction. For years the Passion Play had two permanent amphitheaters, one in Spearfish and the other in Lake Wales, Fla. The Passion Play retains a permanent amphitheater in Spearfish, where it serves as a powerful cultural experience as well as a major tourist destination. Former Spearfish mayor Bill Sparrow credits the Passion Play as a significant force in the development of the town of Spearfish, noting that that Passion Play was instrumental in getting Interstate 90 to go by Spearfish.

Josef and Clare’s daughter, Johanna Meier, and her husband, Guido Della-Vecchia, assumed direction of the Black Hills Passion Play in 1991. Johanna continues to contribute to cultural education in South Dakota and the Spearfish community through the School of Opera and Vocal Arts, which she started in 1997. Through her dedication and professionalism, this endeavor has become a successful part of the Black Hills State University Summer Institute of the Arts. As the artistic director of the Summer Institute of the Arts, Johanna brings in accomplished performing artists from across the United States to further the musical education of aspiring opera singers. The performance of these students attracts growing audiences and represents a substantial step in the realization of her dream of making Spearfish a cultural center.

“This building provides music faculty, for the first time in the century plus history of this institution, with first-class facilities for instruction and performance, Flickema said. “This building is a key element in our effort to enhance the role of the fine arts in enriching the cultural life of our region,” He indicated that the building name was announced during the Summer Institute of Arts Gala Celebration of the Arts to highlight the importance of the arts in our community.

“Through the Summer Institute of the Arts we are brought back into touch with the rich cultural traditions of this land and other lands. The arts deal with themes of universal significance, they keep us in touch with so many aspects of life. They build a sense of community and aspirations,” Flickema said. “That is what BHSU seeks to accomplish through this program and we are fortunate to find a person who shares this vision, Johanna Meier, who as artistic director, will keep this vision moving forward.”

Following the announcement of the building name, the Gala Celebration of the Arts which a part of the Black Hills Summer Institute of the Arts, featured performances for the art of dancing, the art of music, the visual arts, the art of oral literature and the art of theatre.

Winners of the Young Performers competition, Melody Waring, Spearfish, and Dan Bickett, Rapid City, presented piano performances.

Kristen Baker performed the art of dancing with Kitri’s Variation from “Don Quixote.” Leona WhiteHat, BHSU student and assistant director of the Center for Indian Studies, presented a Lakota storytelling performance explaining the history and significance of jingle dancing.

A visual art exhibition featured artwork by Jim Knutson, BHSU professor of art, and Lisa Howard, Spearfish visual arts teacher. The evening also included a  performance by the Dakota String Ensemble featuring Deb Ventrella on violin, Mary Pochop on viola, Dawn Jensen on violin and Anna Blunk on cello. The art of theatre was represented with two performances of excerpts from Neil Simon’s “Plaza Suite” directed by Paul Higbee and performed by Jared McDaris, Elizabeth Baker, James Valone and Donna Peterson.

The Summer Institute of the Arts, an outreach arts program of BHSU, has several remaining public performances including: An Evening of Songs and Dance, June 27 at 7:30 p.m. in Woodburn Auditorium which features students of the vocal arts and opera theatre school presenting a selection of vocal pieces; and A Night at the Opera, June 28 at 7:30 p.m. in Woodburn Auditorium. This is the final performance of the students and teachers of the vocal arts and opera theatre school summer session 2003. The recital will present a selection of opera scenes and arias. There will be a pre-performance picnic at 6 p.m. Reservations must be made by the day before the picnic. There is a free after-performance reception with the artists that is open to everyone attending the performance.

The Summer Institute of the Arts also includes the Art Education Institute June 23-27. This five-day program offers graduate credit through BHSU.

For more information on any of these events call the College of Arts and Sciences at
642-6420.

The Clare and Josef Meier Hall, which is in the final stages of construction on the BHSU campus, includes a recital hall, soundproof practice rooms, faculty studios, classrooms, meeting rooms, acoustically designed choir and band rooms and faculty offices for the College of Business and the department of humanities faculty. The building is named in honor of Clare and Josef Meier in recognition of their arts leadership in the Black Hills, the state and the region for more than six decades.

Students attending include Jennifer Hotchkiss, Delmont; Joey Flemming, Hill City; Mike Knutson, Spearfish; Jenni Giavonetti; Martin; Jennifer Kaemingk, Platte; Lacy Peterson and  Bethany Walker, Belle Fourche; Susan Woods and Sahra Aleck, Harrisburg; Shana Wright, Langford; 

Jim Knutson, BHSU art professor 

This workshop is sponsored, in part, by the Black Hills Summer Institute of the Arts, South Dakotans for the Arts, the Kennedy Center for the Alliance of Arts Education, the South Dakota Arts Council and the Spearfish Center for the Arts and Humanities.

Dr. Janeen Larsen, BHSU professor of music, will present a lecture titled “Getting Acquainted with Opera: How to Become a Fan” June 25 at noon at the Matthews Opera House to help people appreciate and understand a variety of opera aspects.

The following evening, Saturday, June 28, at 7:30 p.m. the students and their instructors in their finale opera performance will present "A Night at the Opera" featuring the second act of Gounod's "Faust." The opera performance will be preceded by a catered picnic on the lawn in front of Woodburn Hall at 5:30 p.m. Reservations are required for the picnic. A pre-opera lecture will be held at 7 p.m. in room 112 of Woodburn Hall followed by the opera performance at 7:30 p.m.

There is a $20 suggested donation for the performance and picnic or a $10 donation for the performance only.

The Summer Institute of the Arts is an outreach arts program of Black Hills State University. For more information or tickets for any of the above events, contact Dr. Holly Downing, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at BHSU, 605-642-6420 or email: hollydowning@bhsu.edu.