School of Music students — increasingly disappointed with run-down facilities — expressed excitement over a possible new music building, to be placed by Regenstein Hall.
Janelle Jansen walked on the lumpy, squeaky floor in the Music Administration Building and stopped in an empty room. Because she had taken a class in the room, she was familiar with the room’s flaws.
“You can’t focus because you’re listening to the Brahms sonata upstairs,” said the Music junior. The room is always hot.
She then pointed to a black tile on the wall where a stereo speaker once hung. It fell off and crashed to the floor in the middle of her class.
“It almost killed our professor,” Jansen said.
It’s common knowledge among Music students that MAB — originally built in 1874 as a women’s college — is the most frustrating building at the School of Music.
But Music students may have their grievances answered. Northwestern administrators said they picked a location for a new music building last month on the Arts Circle, just south of Regenstein. The building has not been named or designed, and its role has yet to be determined. But administrators said it will alleviate some of MAB’s building issues.
“Spaces in the MAB are not adequate for their needs,” said Eugene Sunshine, vice president for business and finance.
He said MAB is short on room, and the building’s quality is lacking.
Students have complained about the layout of the building. The scarce practice rooms are not soundproof and the erratic humidity and temperature throw the pianos out of tune. Located on the edge of the campus, MAB makes some Music students feel isolated.
Now that a site for the building has been decided, the next step is to raise money to build it, university President Henry Bienen told The Daily last month. Revenue from Lyrica — a much-anticipated drug developed by an NU scientist that is still awaiting approval from the Food and Drug Administration — is expected to fund a large portion of the building’s construction. But it is impossible to know how much money the drug will bring, Bienen said.
Traditional fundraising will cover the remainder of the cost, Bienen said. This also has its challenges, with Music school alumni among the least likely to donate money to NU.
Music School Dean Toni-Marie Montgomery, who is leading the fund raising, told The Daily no money has been raised yet. She declined to comment further.
Although no plans for the new building have been drawn up yet, Bienen said he wants its appearance to stand out on the Evanston Campus.
“I would really want it to be a signature building,” Bienen said. “I really want to make it an architectural statement. I think that’s good for a performing arts building.”
Sarah Ponder, a second-year graduate student in voice, said she almost decided against enrolling at NU because of MAB’s poor quality.
“It’s not real friendly,” Ponder said.
The building is inaccessible to students with wheelchairs, said Sarah Stone, also a second-year graduate student in voice.
Stone said she has to teach a student who uses a wheelchair in the faculty lounge on the building’s first floor because the classrooms are upstairs.
“There’s no elevator in this building,” said Music Prof. Karen Brunssen. “And that’s real tricky when you’re trying to carry props up to the opera rehearsal space.”
Brunssen said she also has a smaller request for a new building.
“I could just use more outlets in my room,” she said.
Reach Dan Strumpf at [email protected].
