The Bardavon 1869 Opera House, Inc. is a New York State nonprofit corporation that owns and operates two historic theaters and the region’s premiere orchestra. The 944-seat Bardavon Opera House in Poughkeepsie is the oldest continuously operating theater in the state, the thirteenth oldest in the country, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The 1500-seat Ulster Performing Arts Center/Broadway Theater (UPAC) is a National Register property built in Kingston in 1927. UPAC was merged into the Bardavon’s corporate structure in 2006.  In 1999, the acquisition of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic added the dimension of symphonic music to the Bardavon’s operation. The Bardavon consistently presents the highest quality music, dance, theater, and classic films in both its venues, presenting artists as diverse as Itzhak Perlman, Al Pacino, Patti LaBelle, and Bob Dylan as well as extensive community outreach, daytime children’s programming, and in-school residencies that reach 120,000 patrons each year. The Bardavon consulted for two years during the creation of the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, NY; and since 2006 has served as program and marketing consultant for The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, MA and as operating consultant during the development phase of the soon to be renovated Ritz Theater in Newburgh, NY.