Juniata College concert choir

The Case For A New Music Facility

We believe music is a keystone of the College’s history, heritage, and community. A new music facility will support the passions and interests of a wide swath of students, and provide space for additional academic options.

Juniata College percussion concert

The Case For A New Music Facility

We believe music is a keystone of the College’s history, heritage, and community. A new music facility will support the passions and interests of a wide swath of students, and provide space for additional academic options.

Whether as an instrument of faith, an artistic and communal experience, or a learning environment, music has long had a place at Juniata. Generations of alumni cite their time in the choir or playing an instrument with an ensemble as a source of growth and friendships, a chance to learn about collaboration and leadership, or as a formative experience in getting to know themselves. Today’s students seek experiences with music that have the same power and impact as what you may remember. Students come to Juniata aware of our strong history and offerings in music, and now we have the chance to strengthen what we offer and increase the impact it will have on students.

Presently, one-third of Juniata students are involved in the College’s music programs. The only extracurricular experience to rival music in numbers is varsity athletics. Like athletics, friendships form over the hours of practice and conditioning necessary for musical performance at the level Juniata ensembles consistently achieve. Our music ensembles, particularly our choir, are also a form of outreach by the College, taking students to other communities and nations. For instrumental music, a growing program, some off-campus performances have occurred, as well as collaborations with the Altoona Symphony Orchestra.

Right now, all of the work that must take place in rehearsal, practice, and learning occurs in a once-elegant home retrofitted for the purpose of music. Its spaces are cramped, acoustically challenging, drafty, and costly to maintain. Given the level of interest and performance in music and the key role it plays in co-curricular life at Juniata, it is time to build a new facility expressly designed as a place where music is taught and practiced. While much credit goes to the faculty and students who work in Swigart Hall for making the best of the situation, the time has come for a new music facility.

With a lead gift of more than $1.5 million toward a $5 million project, we are well underway. But the time is now for those passionate about music at Juniata to help lead the effort to provide a new home for students engaged in music.

Giving Opportunities Related to the Music Facility
Naming Opportunities for Larger Practice Spaces$500,000
Naming Opportunities for Small Ensemble Practice Rooms$250,000
Naming Opportunities for Faculty Studios and Offices$100,000
Endowments for Music Facility Upkeep$50,000
Naming Opportunity for the Structure Itself$2 to $2.5 million
Other Naming Opportunities$25,000 to $100,000
Unrestricted gifts help with any endeavor.

Options for Giving to Support the New Music Facility

Naming Opportunities for Spaces. Your support of the project can include a naming opportunity within the building. With six practice rooms, six ensemble rehearsal spaces, four faculty offices, a music library, and more, numerous opportunities exist for honoring someone through a naming gift.

Endowments for Operations. At this time we are seeking endowments to better support Juniata musicians and their work, including funds for maintenance of instruments, large instrument tuning, music library acquisition and upkeep, and more. Your giving to endowments for operations makes other student opportunities possible. Contact the Juniata advancement staff to discuss endowment options.

How the Music Facility Will Help Juniata Students

Proper Group Rehearsal Spaces

Presently, the concert choir is so big that the only place it can practice is the 300-seat lecture hall in Brumbaugh Academic Center. It performs in Rosenberger Auditorium, but cannot practice there regularly because of visiting performances and lectures that also use the College’s main performance space. Similarly, the instrumental music groups use a large room in Swigart Hall, but space is cramped. The new music building includes plans for sizeable, flexible, acoustically sound spaces in which groups of various sizes can practice.

orchestra

Academic Space

Students practicing their instruments play in retro-fitted rooms in what used to be a home. Most practice rooms have some acoustic paneling that is only somewhat effective at blocking noise. Rooms are limited for this purpose, so demand is high on the spaces for individual practice and instruction. Additionally, storage of music is opportunistic, with some sheet music stored in Beeghly Library. The new music building plans include new practice rooms as well as an on-site sheet music library.

fall concert

Ease of Performance

The new building will sit in the current parking lot west of Rosenberger Auditorium and north of Beeghly Library. It will have a covered, connecting passageway level with the stage in Rosenberger, enabling instruments of various sorts to move readily from rehearsal space to stage, reducing the burden of concert preparation.

choir