A wise proverb notes that a "home needs a building, but a building also needs a home." Tufts University has been able to provide both for the budding Music Department, as construction for the new music building is currently underway at high-speed on Talbot Avenue.
You may have noted the construction as you scurried by on your way to classes, the gym, or perhaps you have even heard others talking about it, but there is much more than just the average campus beautification going on down on Talbot. Instead, the new music building is an astonishing feat that speaks to the dedication of so many different contributors.
Though the idea has been entertained for decades, the plans to build a new music building only came into concrete fruition during the summer of 2004. After years of ups and downs, twists and turns, Tufts is bracing itself for something bigger than the building itself.
A building: Who could ask for anything more?
Tufts University will find itself with a beautiful, cutting-edge music building and concert hall next spring, a structure that is a stunning mix of form and function. The building will boast a 300-seat recital hall including nouveau stadium seating, intricate lighting and rich acoustics.
"The performance hall will be, for its size, one of the most state-of-the-art halls in the area," said Ryan Saunders, the Publicist and Events Manager for the Music Department. "There will be nothing like this in the greater Boston area."
The concert hall will be highly versatile, accommodating the needs of a small chamber orchestra as well an 80-member chorale. Designed chiefly with sound quality in mind - acousticians were consulted to ensure that the sound from the hall will be top notch - the concert hall will also feature a built-in recording studio rivaling some of the finest independent venues. With a highly equipped technical booth, cutting-edge multimedia labs, a world music room, a new music library and performance rooms that will double as smaller recital locations, the new music building stands to become the bastion of all things musical at Tufts.
If this is already sounding celestial - or perhaps even mouth-watering - it cannot rival what will be a vast improvement from the space now utilized by the Music Department. The tune of the current space used for musical practice (in the basement of Cohen Auditorium) is "decrepit," "infested," and "certainly not sound-proof," said senior musicians Julia Arazi and Cara Pacifico. Compared to the current music space, with its pianos out of tune, practice rooms falling apart and rehearsal rooms scarce, the new music building will be a vast improvement for many who currently participate in music programs.
Andrew Clark, director of Choral Activities at Tufts, puts the point a bit more eloquently. "Environment, especially in music, is so important," said Clark. "If you're in a practice room with a piano that is out of tune, in a sound module that feels like a prison cell, your experience of practicing isn't going to feel that rewarding or nourishing. When you're making music in a beautiful space, that environmental energy is going to make all the difference. The music will truly be music."
As such, the entire basement of Cohen Auditorium will be completely ripped out and re-built from the bottom up with ultramodern practice rooms and improved classrooms taking the current facilities' place.
The Music Department administration will also move out of its current location on Professors Row and into offices in the new music building. With its proximity to the visual and theatrical art centers, the new music building is poised to become part of a centrally located and distinguished artistic center at the heart of the university.
A vision: They've got the world on a string
The hopes for the project extend beyond the building itself. The new music building hopes to be a place that houses an ever-expanding and diversifying music program and simultaneously embodies the direction and spirit of Tufts as a whole. All of the music faculty members interviewed expressed an upbeat vision for the music program, a vision that sees no boundaries, but boundless opportunity instead.
Ethnomusicologist, professor and head of the new music building's Users and Planning Committee David Locke has been one of the foremost advocates for making the new music building a reality.
Unable to subdue his excitement, Locke said, "The boat of music at Tufts is on a rising tide. Tufts will become stronger in music and all musicians - current and potential - will feel emotionally uplifted by this building. It will be clear to all that Tufts takes pride in its music."
Clark agreed with this sentiment, saying: "This space will be transformative. I don't think any of us understand the magnitude of positive change that this building is going to bring.
"It will attract more and more students of a higher musical caliber to Tufts who want to study music in a liberal arts setting, or even just want to keep music a part of their lives. This building is going to show that Tufts takes music seriously, that it is at the core of what is going on here, figuratively and literally. It's really exciting!"
With uniform opinion in the potential greatness the new music building poses, it might seem as if the building and planning process followed suit. But, in fact, planning for the building was an arduous and grueling process that drew upon many forces within the Tufts community.
The idea of creating a new music building has been on the back burner for well over a few Tuftonian generations. But along with Locke, Provost Jamshed Bharucha, music professors Jane Bernstein, Janet Schmalfedt and John McDonald, as well as music librarian Michael Rogan formed the Users and Planning Committee, an organization dedicated to moving the new music building higher up on the university's list of priorities.
Since the architectural plans were initiated a few years ago, the group would meet up to two times a week with the architects and engineers to discuss with them the needs of the music community. "Both the Committee and the University were very intentional, discernible and worked hard to meet everyone's needs. They went the extra mile to make sure that we have a world-class facility. Even students' input was asked," said Clark.
The heads of the University, especially President Lawrence Bacow and Provost Bharucha, have been a forceful catalyst in devoting attention and energy to the new music building project.
President Bacow expressed his vision for the new music building with optimism, sincerity, and assuredness. "For the first time, we will have teaching and performing facilities that are worthy of our talented music students and faculty. We hope that the building will help bring people to Tufts from throughout the Boston region to hear students, faculty and guest artists perform," he said.
Bacow thanked Martin and Perry Granoff for providing the lead gift to get the project off the ground. "Marty [a Trustee] has been instrumental, no pun intended, in helping recruit other donors to the project," Bacow said.
Saunders further explained how the building will bring artists and patrons from around Boston to Tufts. "Once we get our foot in the water," he said, "excellent musicians will filter into and strengthen our music scene. Well-known musicians, but also great talents that are less known, will add to the vibrancy that is already here. We hope the hall will become a trusted name for musicians and music appreciators alike: in-house and from the greater community. Everything will be quality."
While the Music Department as a whole seeks to expand and strengthen into new arenas, it has not escaped the Tuftonian atmosphere of international recognition and philanthropy. The new music building will host a world music center for current ensembles (like the Javanese Gamelan Ensemble, the West African Music and Dance Ensemble, and the Klezmer Ensemble) to rehearse and grow as the Music Department continues to recognize the value of music from non-Western traditions.
Locke noted that Tufts will "embrace international music alongside Western music. Diversification will distinguish us from other rival institutions."
And in recognition of the greater community that surrounds Tufts, the new music building hopes to hold pre-college and community college music classes for members of the Somerville-Medford community.
Said Music Department Chair Janet Schmalfedt: "We will look hard for grant money to fund these programs. We want to reach out to the community - to young people - so they can find a niche in this exciting music community. I am thrilled and terribly excited for every opportunity the new music building will afford."
Let's face the Music and Dance: What it all means
The restless optimism, spirit and passion in all those who have taken part in designing and preparing for the new music building is hard to miss. There is an air of excitement that follows every gesture, every smile in the Music Department. The sound waves that will flow from the opening of the new music building will reach us soon, as many at Tufts are about to witness a transformation - the scope of which only time will only tell.
But what is for certain is that the new music building will be more than an architectural structure. The building will be a manifestation of a highly creative spirit, of a bright light for growth and change, and a sign of all the great music yet to be heard. It really is built, as Shakespeare once said, on the "stuff that dreams are made on."
