Thanks to the efforts of University staff and Oregon’s congressional delegation, the School of Music is slated to receive $50,000 in federal funds for construction and renovation of its facilities.
The money will be used to help pay for construction of two new wings to the Music Building. The construction will add about 50 percent more space and double the number of practice rooms available to music students, School of Music Director of Development DeNel Stoltz said.
Several music majors said additional practice rooms are a priority for them because they are almost always full at certain times of the day.
“It’s a pain in the ass,” cello performance major Jeanine Lafitte said. “We need more practice rooms.”
University staff said the Music Building is one of the most crowded buildings on campus.
“It’s been a University priority to renovate and expand the School of Music for some time,” Director of Federal Affairs Betsy Boyd said. “It’s at capacity.”
But the federal appropriation is just a drop in the bucket for the music school’s long-term project to improve its facilities.
“Fifty thousand dollars, while it’s a big help, is not going to fund the whole thing,” said Tucker Bounds, spokesman for Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore.
The federal funds will go toward matching $7.6 million in general obligation bonds awarded by the state in the 2001 Legislative session, Associate Vice President for Governmental Affairs Michael Redding said.
Private donors are also being solicited for the project.
The two new wings will be attached to the Music Building near the rear of Beall Concert Hall, parallel to Pioneer Cemetery. Stoltz said the Music Building will continue to be one unified facility.
“We need additional practice rooms, classrooms, faculty rooms, GTF offices, as well as administrative (offices),” she said, adding that though the building was built to serve 300 students, it now accommodates 500 music majors and 4,000 of non-music majors.
“There (are)) definitely more (students) than there’s time for,” music education major Mishaela De Vries said.
The building is so crowded that students who can’t find empty practice rooms routinely play in the halls and even the bathrooms, which may damage students’ hearing, Boyd said.
“It’s just not a good learning environment,” she said.
The appropriation was inserted into a huge federal funding bill at the University’s request. The $820 billion Consolidated Appropriations Act is a done deal, having received President Bush’s signature Jan. 23.
“We enjoy the support of the whole Oregon delegation on this,” Boyd said. “We’re really lucky in Oregon to have a delegation that works well together.”
Representatives for Smith, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., all said they wholeheartedly supported the appropriation.
“The University of Oregon has one of the largest and top-notch music institutions in the West and the program has been a positive influence in the community,” DeFazio spokeswoman Kristie Greco said.
Students said the construction and renovation will make their lives just a little bit easier.
“A little bit more rehearsal space makes all the difference,” said Cristina Cruz Uribe, a viola performance major. “We need it.”