There’s only one opportunity to make a first impression. The Patel Conservatory makes an indelible one.
Passersby who glance at Patel’s front doors may not know what goes on behind them. But they could probably guess based on the 5-foot tall treble clef that serves as door handles. The frieze that runs across both doors behind the clef adds the details. It features representations of dance, drama and music, expressing the forms being learned inside The Straz’s performing arts education center.
The sculpture was donated by Mike and Karen Urette. The idea was inspired by a pair of crossed fire hoses.
When the Patel was in its planning stages, Mike Urette was chosen to oversee the construction. “I was the only general contractor on the board. I don’t remember if I was drafted or volunteered,” Mike said with a laugh. During a design discussion, Mike and other volunteers saw a slide presentation of front doors.
“One slide had a picture of a firehouse’s front door with crossed fire hoses,” Mike said. “That was such a spectacular artistic interpretation that it stuck with me. I thought, ‘Man, if we could do something like that for the Patel, it would be terrific.’”
Karen said the treble clef emerged from the discussions as an apt choice for Patel. “It was vertical and could be split,” Karen said, “and music has ties to practically everything in performance.”
The idea now needed someone who could bring it to fruition. Mike recalled seeing some public art across the bay that made an impression on him. The metalwork Mike remembered was the Millennium Gateway, located on the walkway across Second Avenue between the parking garage and open-air shopping plaza BayWalk, now Sundial, in downtown St. Petersburg. A St. Petersburg (now Tampa Bay) Times article described the structure as “two 25-foot sentinels and eight 12-foot posts of galvanized steel.” The posts are wrapped in ribbon-like coils and topped with metal animal sculptures. It was the creation of metal craftsman Alex Klahm.
It was a large and ambitious project but Alex is used to those. “I’ve done a lot of, I guess you’d call it architectural metal work for private homes,” Alex said. His work includes grand staircases and chandeliers, in one case a 2,000-pound chandelier. Alex created “things that started out as somebody’s dream, and then we developed it into a concept that they felt comfortable with,” he said.
Patel’s treble clef came about in much the same way. Alex and Mike met, settled on what was wanted, and Alex got to work. Alex chose a metal called Monel with which to forge the clef. “Monel is an industrial product that’s used to line chemical tanks,” Alex said. “The idea was to make the clef out of a material that could be cleaned and maintained easily because it was going to have hands on it, with oils and acids and who knows what. A painted surface with all those hands on it just wouldn’t work.”
“The idea was to make the handles recognizable,” Alex said, making it easy for a parent picking up or dropping off a student to find, “so somebody can say, ‘Pick me up at the door with the big treble clef on it.’”
Alex also created the frieze that spans the width of both doors behind the clef. “The concept was what goes on in the school,” Alex said. “There’s a conductor, a performer, a musician, a ballerina and somebody that does the lighting. “I was proud of the piece,” Alex said of the clef. “It’s good to get to do something associated with the performing arts center, and it was a fun project to make.”
The clef door handles may be the most visible example of the Urettes’ generosity toward The Straz, but it’s by no means the only one. The couple have supported the performing arts center since its doors opened. “We came to the opening and then immediately signed up for the Broadway series when it started,” Karen said. “And we were hooked, and we have supported the performing arts center ever since.”
The two still attend productions of the Broadway series and Opera Tampa, as well as works in the Jaeb and Shimberg. Thank them for their long-term generosity and they quickly shift the praise to “the people who have gone before us,” such as Judy Lisi, Hinks Shimberg and Frank Morsani.
“These people gave a lot of their time, effort and money and were just wonderful leaders,” Mike said. In addition to their support of The Straz, Mike has served as chair of The John and Mabel Ringling Museum of Art Foundation, Inc. Board of Directors.
“I would say we’re arts and culture enthusiasts,” Mike said. “We have participated on boards in the performing arts and in the visual arts.”
The Patel has a special place in the donors’ hearts.
“We put together a really strong team to build the Patel,” Mike said. “I think we spent maybe $5 million. It was such a bargain. And we finished it on time …” “And in budget,” Karen adds. “It just was one of those projects that worked really well and everybody was happy at the end,” Mike said.
The treble clef was the cap on a successful endeavor. Alex, Mike said, “took it on, put the project together and presented it. And it was just a terrific idea.” “It’s striking. And it’s so appropriate,” Mike said. “It just works so well.”