The Seretean Center for the Performing Arts is at capacity and having a new facility would allow the music department to teach larger classes, the head of the music department said.
The department of music has been pushing for a new building for two accreditations, which is about 20 years, Julia Combs said. The Seretean Center has a flat roof, which leaks, and the building was not designed for growth, she said. The center was built during the ’70s and it suffers from the same problems as most other buildings that were built in that decade.
“We’re out of classroom space, we’re out of practice room space and are having to put some of our instructors in practice rooms, which aren’t big enough for teaching studio and it takes away from the practice from our students,” Janet Lawson, the administrative assistant for the music department, said.
The building was not designed for larger classes and during bad weather, the marching band practices in some of the larger classrooms. Unfortunately, there is no way to protect student’s ears, Combs said.
Buildings can be paid for in different ways: a state bond or private funds from a donor. Neither of these have happened for the departments. But if they got the money, they would try to start immediately, Combs said.
“Everybody has to know that we can’t have bake sales to get a new building,” Combs said. “We are going to have to find that angel.”
It’s becoming difficult for the building to accommodate larger classes, because it shares space with the theater department.
In theater, students need larger classrooms because of how they learn and practice, so both departments work at capacity.
“Downstairs in the basement is the only place we really have a classroom,” Troy Martin, a theater performance junior, said. “Our classes are more interactive than other classes; we can’t just sit in desks.”
Some theater classes are in buildings such as Gunderson. When students are performing a show they need to move their costumes and equipment to the Seretean Center, which can be a hassle, Martin said.
“If a chemistry student comes here and wants to work in a lab, he needs a lab space to work in with adequate equipment,” Combs said. “And a workgroup for us is a band, an orchestra or a string quartet, and if we don’t have a place to put people to do that work, we are failing in our mission to adequately educate students.
“My biggest issue is the safety of the students and the safety of their own instruments, and I think that we owe it to them.”
The lockers in the Seretean Center were built with the building. They are made of wood and are worn down after 40 years of use, Combs said. Student storage is important because students store their instruments in them. These instruments are expensive — often several thousands of dollars. If a student were to have an instrument stolen, it would impact them financially and academically.
Despite conditions that are not optimal, the music students, theater students and faculty continue to work hard and it all comes down to that, Combs said.
“We have the best students on the planet and people need to know this is a wonderfully vibrant community of musicians and theater people, who also share this building, who are doing fine work no matter what,” Combs said.
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