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Susquehanna University Annual Report 2000 | |||||||||||||||
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President's Letter
ARCHIVES
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How a $7.5 Million Music and Art Center Will Enhance Susquehanna's Future
Julie Snyder, a sophomore vocal performance and piano major, has a lot of good things to say about Susquehanna's music program -- great reputation, impressive faculty, a size that allows her to be involved in choir and band. Then she gets to a problem. "I want to practice, but it's difficult to find a place to practice when I have the time." The music department's Heilman Hall has only 22 practice rooms -- just four of them with grand pianos -- and all are scarce commodities for more than 100 music majors who use the space to hone their own vocal or instrumental skills as well as give private lessons to nearly 200 children and adults in the department's popular music preparatory program. Different facilities issues affect the University's art program, which is scattered among five different buildings, including Weber Chapel where a converted band storage room is serving as a photography studio and darkroom. The only art studio is a single room shared by painting, sculpture, printmaking, drawing and several design classes. Dedicated, first-rate art facilities and music practice and performance space will be just several of the many needs met by an upcoming $7.5 million project to extensively renovate and expand Heilman Hall to create a new center for music and art programs at Susquehanna.
The project will fulfill one of the last key priorities in Susquehanna's existing master plan. Many recent needs have been met thanks to the success of the Susquehanna 2000 capital campaign which has in the past four years raised nearly $60 million. Campaign projects have included Apfelbaum Hall, a new high-tech academic building; major sports/recreational enhancements; and new residence halls as well as significant additions to the University's endowment to support scholarships, faculty development, and the library. The University is preparing a new draft master plan based on a strategic plan to grow from 1,682 to 1,800 students by the year 2004. Collaborative and Community Benefits
Funded by a grant from the Degenstein Foundation of Sunbury, Pa., the project will also provide new opportunities for collaboration between music and art and enhance the role of the University as a regional cultural resource. "This makes more opportunities for the community, and that's one of the key reasons the foundation is interested in the project," says Acting President Sara Kirkland. The grant recognizes the accomplishments of former President Joel Cunningham and Professor of Music and Choral Director Cyril Stretansky and their commitment to bringing the fine arts to Susquehanna students and residents of the region. Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2001. New Performance Hall A major feature of the construction will be a much needed, 320-seat performance/rehearsal hall. Last year's music department performance schedule included eight faculty/guest recitals, 16 student recitals, and more than 30 on-campus ensemble performances. The department currently competes with other campus groups for use of the 200-seat Isaacs Auditorium and 450-seat Degenstein Center Theater, for which theatrical productions have first priority.
While large instrumental ensembles will most likely continue to perform in Weber Chapel, the new intimate performance space will be ideal for student recitals, small ensembles and choirs. "I envision it being used every day in some way," says Music Department Head Peter Dennee, an assistant professor and coordinator of the music education program. "This is a real opportunity to have space acoustically geared to accommodate the singing voice and musical instruments, just as Degenstein Theater was designed primarily to accommodate the speaking voice," explains Laura de Abruņa, dean of arts, humanities and communications. "Now we will have two very fine facilities designed for two very different types of tones." 100 Years of Music at SU The 2000-2001 academic year marks the centennial for the department of music at Susquehanna, which first offered music courses in 1881. In recognition of the emphasis placed on performance, the program was known as the Conservatory of Music from 1903 until 1928 when the focus expanded to include state-certified programs to prepare public school music teachers and supervisors. Music education remains one of the department's strengths. Of the 107 music majors, 73 are pursuing the professional Bachelor of Music degree, including 58 in music education, nine in applied music, four in musical theater, and two in church music; 34 are seeking a Bachelor of Arts in music, which combines a liberal arts degree with an emphasis in music.
The program has been housed in Heilman Hall since 1958 when there were 72 music majors among Susquehanna's 474 students. There have only been modest renovations and the addition of two music technology laboratories funded through the Edna Sheary Trust in 1996. The current plan is designed to provide a 21st century building with high-tech contemporary teaching facilities. "Our strength is that we have an incredible faculty who are devoted to teaching music and students who are well-qualified both musically and academically," says Dennee. "Because we've raised the level at which we're competing, we have to offer a product that is similar to what students will find at top music schools in the northeast, including Peabody, Eastman and Ithaca. And I think we do," says Dennee. "Our students are getting into top graduate schools and we've had successful placement rates for our music education graduates." Nurturing Art Programs The project will have an exponential impact on the University's art programs. Though porcelain painting and woodburning were offered about 100 years ago, the Department of Art is just 11 years old. The 1993 construction of the Lore Degenstein Gallery, the growth of the University's permanent art collection, and gifts of outdoor sculpture have increased the interest in art across the campus community.
Today, though there are only a dozen students majoring in art or art history, art courses often oversubscribed. Art history courses are a popular choice among Susquehanna's Core Curriculum requirements and several communications options also require art history and studio art courses. Still other Susquehanna students choose art electives and expanding facilities will allow more students to enroll in art courses. Moving the Department of Art into new, centralized space will, for the first time, provide adequate, well-designed space for studio art and allow students the option to work independently outside regular classes. Additional studios will support expanded programs, particularly in photography and graphic design. A new art history classroom will provide an enhanced location to view examples from the University's extensive slide library. Slide files will be relocated adjacent to the art department office, allowing the department head to work closely with students preparing class presentations. "Thanks to the vision of the Degenstein Foundation, we are going to have the opportunity to have a first-rate art department -- that's exciting," says de Abruņa. "Schools with really excellent programs in the liberal arts are often institutions that have made a conscious decision to feed and nurture the arts programs as well as programs that are more obvious to the public in terms of the jobs their majors get when they graduate," she stresses. "This will help us reach a higher level of quality for the overall institution." Contemporary and Classic
The new center's facade will combine contemporary styling with Georgian elements to complement surrounding structures and feature a two-story, glass-fronted entry and atrium lobby. A two-story, 8,765-square-foot addition to Heilman's west face will provide 32 practice rooms, faculty studios, student lounges, and storage space for the Department of Music. The 320-seat performance hall will replace the current practice wing. Art will occupy a two-story, 8,411-square-foot, east-face addition. Access at ground level will be from the lobby; an open "bridge" will span the atrium to connect to Heilman's renovated second floor core. Plans for the first floor include photography and drawing studios, offices and storage space. A graphic design studio, art history classroom, slide library, office and storage will occupy the second floor. Music staff offices, faculty studios, classrooms, music technology laboratories, and the rehearsal hall in Heilman's central core will undergo interior renovations and systems upgrades and be made handicapped-accessible. Intellectual and Creative Energy
"We hope that these new spaces will be places of intellectual and creative energy," says Associate Professor of Art History and Lore Degenstein Gallery Director Valerie Livingston. "The design certainly sets the stage and tone for that." Hallways along the art wing will allow display of students' work in public areas. "Producing an atmosphere beyond the classroom and into the art wing will help express the concept of what art means in the life of Susquehanna," says Livingston. "Putting art and music together will also provide another opportunity for things to occur across the disciplinary areas," says de Abruņa, who hopes that collaboration may lead to more events and programs such as the University's November 8 Jewish-Christian dialogue conference, which includes a world premier of a specially commissioned musical work by composer Simon Sargon. "As music majors we're kind of like a clan. We have a lot of classes together, we see each other in the lounge, and we see each other in ensembles. Now there will be all these new face," says Julie Snyder. "It's going to be good, because music and art are really the arts. Working together will enrich the cultural life here at Susquehanna."
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