(gentle piano music) - [Narrator] The International Festival Institute at Round Top, is alive with the sound of classical music.

Concert pianist, James Dick, established the institute.

He thought Texas needed a summer music festival and conservatory.

It was simple at first.

Around a dozen students, 10 days in the rolling hills between Austin and Houston, two concerts.

Today, the institute owns a 200-acre campus called, Festival Hill, and hosts concerts, workshops, and conferences year-round.

The Summer Festival Institute attracts young musicians from all over the world, to study away from the pressures of traditional music conservatories.

The campus is a charming blend of music, craftsmanship, and gardens.

The festival concert hall dominates the property.

It's rustic, but the details are elegant.

A tall cupola rises from the metal roof.

Three large dormer windows are topped with lyres and stylized north stars.

Inside, the concert hall is covered with intricate wooden designs, all hand-carved by local craftsmen.

The carvings cover nearly every inch of the interiors, from the walls, box seats, and staircase railings, to the vaulted ceiling.

Two massive compass stars rise on either side of the curved ceiling above the stage.

The audience sees one, the performers see the other.

James Dick carefully monitored the design and construction of the concert hall, in a quest for the best acoustics.

"Why dream the ordinary?"

he used to ask.

The International Festival Institute shows that one man's dream can make a difference for people who appreciate world-class sound.

Inside this lavish concert hall, music shaped the architecture.

(gentle piano music fades) - [Narrator 2] Funding for The Shape of Texas is provided by Texas Society of Architects, and by a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Summerlee Foundation of Dallas, Texas.