Striking the right chord: New music building on the horizon

Music education students and faculty will soon have an opportunity to creatively collaborate in harmony with state-of-the-art equipment in a new environment. Mississippi State’s Department of Music in the College of Education is slated to break ground on the southeast side of campus this fall for a one-story structure that will bring much-needed classroom and studio space for teacher and student interaction.

A combination of state bonds and university funds will make possible the 36,935-square-foot facility designed by Allred Architectural Group P.A. of Ocean Springs. Additional support for enhancements will come from gifts by alumni and friends, and a cornerstone commitment for the entire facility can bring with it a special naming opportunity.

Once complete, the facility will house classrooms, faculty and student practice studios, a student lounge, a large lecture hall, the department head’s suite, a choir suite, and administrative offices. The new building will also accommodate the department’s faculty of 24 full-time and 13 part-time members.

Planned construction on Hardy Road will position the new building adjacent to the existing band and choral rehearsal hall. A courtyard will adjoin the two, while an outdoor plaza will connect the new building and the existing Lance Practice Field, which was made possible through an endowment effort led by James J. Rouse, a 1962 industrial management alumnus and retired vice president of ExxonMobil Co., and his wife, Julia, of Suwanee, Georgia. This configuration between new and existing structures will enable the Department of Music to form an epicenter of musical arts.

“A new music building will serve our college threefold by improving departmental operations, providing instruction and learning facilities for our faculty and students, and increasing productive interaction among those two core groups,” said Richard Blackbourn, College of Education dean. “Additionally, the building will enhance the arts culture of the Starkville-MSU community.”

Developing quality music educators for Mississippi and the Southeast region and providing advanced study of music in the liberal arts tradition are the primary missions of the Department of Music. Accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music, the department currently offers undergraduate degrees in music and music education, with specific concentrations in instrumental music, vocal music, piano and guitar. The department has approximately 120 majors, along with 40 more with music as their minor field of study.

“In the coming years, we will see an enrollment growth of 15 to 20 music majors, giving us 200 at MSU, and the new state-of-the-art facility will go a long way toward attracting those additional numbers,” said Barry E. Kopetz, department head. “The facility will aid in our ability to recruit the top music students and top music faculty from across the nation.”

Furthermore, the new building will significantly advance the Department of Music in its quest to receive the enviable All-Steinway School designation, as awarded by Steinway & Sons, the internationally renowned manufacturer of pianos.

“It is our collective vision when the new building opens its doors that every studio, practice room and classroom will contain the world’s finest piano, the Steinway,” Kopetz said. “Because we are striving to become an All-Steinway School, this building must be as acoustically perfect as humanly possible, with acoustical treatment that blocks out external sounds and vibrations.”

Kopetz continued, “Through generous gifts, donors can contribute to the quality of the new facility and to the training of the next generation of musicians. These young artists enter the musical world underprepared when forced to learn on subpar instruments, and we can rectify this by providing world-class Steinway pianos in each and every classroom, studio and practice room.”

Rosângela Sebba, a professor in the department, has earned the distinctive Steinway Artist designation, an honor few achieve. Promising students will train with Sebba and other internationally-recognized faculty within the new building.

With more than 100 concerts, recitals and other programs annually, the department regularly contributes to the cultural atmosphere of Starkville and the Golden Triangle. A combined lecture and recital hall within the facility will feature two nine-foot Steinway concert grands. The first was donated by longtime professor Jackie Edwards-Henry, in memory of her late parents and her late husband. A second Steinway concert grand came through the generosity of Kathy Olsen of Nashville, Tennessee, who graduated from MSU in 1973 with a Bachelor of Arts in music and in 1974 with a master’s in music education.

For completion of the Steinway Initiative, between 25-28 additional Steinway “B” and Steinway upright pianos are needed through private gifts. The department hopes the completion of the All-Steinway Initiative will align with the building’s official opening. Any contribution can help fulfill the All-Steinway Initiative, and a special 88 Keys Program enables contributors to participate at any level. Gifts help purchase single or multiple keys on a piano, benches, faculty and practice room upright pianos, and grand pianos. Beyond contributions to purchase new Steinways, the Department of Music seeks funds for an endowment for the future. Earnings from the endowment will ensure proper maintenance of the Steinways over time.

Alumni and friends can help make the facility a reality. Donors may name select areas such as classrooms, studios, the lecture hall or the choir director suite in honor or in memory of family members, friends or mentors. All commitments are payable over a five-year period. For specifics about contributing or naming the facility, contact Trish Cunetto, the College of Education’s director of development, at 662.325.6762 or Tcunetto@foundation.msstate.edu.

Learn more about the Department of Music and its activities by visiting www.music.msstate.edu.