pratt

For immediate release
February 29, 2000

MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE'S STATE-OF-THE-ART MUSIC FACILITY GETS FACE LIFT

Groundbreaking for Pratt Music Hall Project Set for March 4

SOUTH HADLEY, Massachusetts—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 Mount Holyoke College. A groundbreaking ceremony for the Pratt Music Hall construction and renovation project will be held Saturday, March 4, at 1:30 pm, outside Pratt Hall. 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. The Pratt Music project will result in a state-of-the-art facility."

The Project
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 building's 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 Holyokešs 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, which was launched in October of 1998, seeks to raise $200 million in gifts and pledges. 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.

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