A
view of the planned two-story addition to the north side of Pratt
Hall
The sounds of construction
will soon be music to the ears of all those who long for a
state-of-the-art music facility at the College. A ground-breaking
ceremony for Mount Holyoke's Pratt Music Hall construction and
renovation project will be held Saturday, March 4, at 1:30 pm,
outside Pratt Hall. A reception will follow in the Warbeke Room in
Pratt. The entire community is invited to attend. Construction is
scheduled to begin this spring and is expected to be completed by
fall 2000. Says Larry Schipull,
associate professor of music, "Programmatically, the music department
is state-of-the-art. It's the facility that really needs to catch up.
Pratt has some wonderful features. The acoustics in many of the rooms
help build tone quality in musicians. The Warbeke Room is a beautiful
performance space. But the current configuration of the building is
an impediment to our program. Negotiating the building, simply
getting human beings and their instruments around, is inefficient
and, in some cases, potentially damaging." The Pratt Music project
will remove the impediments described by Schipull and will result in
a state-of-the-art facility. Constructed in two phases,
Mount Holyoke's music building currently comprises Pratt Hall, built
in 1909, and the Hammond Wing, added in 1967. The planned
construction and renovation will unite the buildings' disparate parts
into a modern, workable whole. A two-story addition on the north end
of the building will be constructed, connecting Pratt and Hammond and
housing a forty-seat, fully mediated classroom, three studio offices,
and a skylit connecting corridor. All existing space in Pratt and
Hammond will be renovated. The entire building will become more
visible and easily navigable for people entering and moving through
it. Throughout the building, all
instructional and performance spaces will be soundproofed. The music
and dance libraries will be consolidated in the new library,
including portions currently held at Williston Library. The library
and all its related components, including stacks, recordings,
multimedia stations, and keyboard lab, will move from eight different
and widely dispersed spaces into one central, easily accessible
space. The choral library will remain separate. A lounge area for
student interaction will be created on the lower level, with an open
ceiling to the first floor. Pratt Hall will receive
air-conditioning, increasing its usage in the warmer months and
protecting musical instruments and library materials. It will also
become completely accessible with the addition of both front and back
handicapped-accessible entrances. An elevator will connect all floors
in Pratt. In addition to providing
courses in music history, theory, performance, and composition, Mount
Holyoke's music department produces forty-five to fifty events
annually. These include faculty recitals, glee club and other choral
group concerts, Christmas Vespers, orchestral performances, and solo
recitals, representing the largest offerings of public events found
anywhere on campus. In any given year, 20 percent of the student body
participates in some aspect of the music program. The Campaign for Mount
Holyoke College has a $30-million goal for facilities. Of that total,
$4 million has been earmarked for physical improvements to Pratt
Hall. Seventy-five percent of the goal has been raised for the
project so far. Lower
Level Ground Floor
First
Floor Second
Floor
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