In his list of the best and worst of 2015 in Chicago classical music, the Chicago Tribune’s John von Rhein named Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall the most impressive new Chicago concert facility.

In the column, von Rhein says the hall “turned out to be the acoustical and architectural gem everyone hoped it would be” and that it “promises to be a significant boon to live classical performance on campus, as well as to musical groups outside the university.”

Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall is one of three new performance spaces in the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Center for the Musical Arts.

Von Rhein also mentioned the WFMT Bach Keyboard Festival in his 2015 roundup, noting that the fall festival treated local audiences to 11 concerts and 21 hours of music in total.

Bienen School faculty member Stephen Alltop, senior lecturer of conducting and ensembles, curated programming for the Bach Keyboard Festival and led the October 11 and 25 concerts in Galvin Recital Hall. Alltop also coordinated the fall 2014 WFMT Bach Organ Project.

Lastly, von Rhein’s column notes the Northwestern University Opera Theater’s “emotionally intense” production of Jake Heggie’s “Dead Man Walking.”