Walt Disney Concert Hall

In the late 1980's, Mrs. Walt Disney gave the Music Center of Los Angeles, a gift of $50,000,000 to build a Concert Hall honoring her husband Walt Disney in Downtown, Los Angeles.

In 1987, Dan Frost, Chairman of the Music Center chose Frederick M. Nicholas to head the Walt Disney Concert Hall Committee and undertake the development of a concert hall at 1st and Grand Avenue in Los Angeles.

Nicholas at the time was the newly elected Chairman of the Museum of Contemporary Art and accepted the new position only after assurances from Mrs. Disney that she wanted a world-class design with great acoustics.

Nicholas and his staff planned the program for the construction of Disney Hall, chose the architect, Frank Gehry and acoustician, Nagata and Associates, and guided the design. He spent 8 years on the project pro-bono.