Music and art students displaced by the flood of 2008 are closer together this fall.
UI officials gave a media tour on Thursday of four temporary locations, many of which are state-of-the-art facilities.
The tour began on the first floor of the University Capitol Centre, where a recital hall and music classroom are located. In contrast to the busy mall in which it sits, the recital hall is spacious with dim lighting, allowing the piano’s music to bounce off the walls, producing crisp and clear sound.
Music Professor Kristin Thelander, the director of planning for the UI School of Music, said eight locations host music classes, an improvement from last fall’s 17.
Studios are located on the mall’s second floor, which are used for instrumental faculty and teaching assistants, practice rooms and classrooms. Out of the 60 faculty members in the School of Music, 31 have offices on the second floor, along with 25 teaching assistants, Thelander said.
More than 84 rooms have virtual acoustic technology, installed by the Wenger Association, to give students the power to feel as if they’re playing in a variety of venues, including a large auditorium or a recital hall.
Bassoon Associate Professor Benjamin Coelho said he is excited about the new technology.
“Everything just feels better,” he said. “The sound stays in the air longer. Today we play here, tomorrow in a recital hall. It’s ideal to be able to practice and have it sound the same as where you perform.”
The tour proceeded to the IMU third floor, where 500 works of art from the UI Museum of Art are now located. The collection will open to the public on Sept. 8.
Pam White, the interim director of the UI Museum of Art, said she is thrilled about the new space.
“Art is back for the students and the community,” she said. “It’s nice to have real, beautiful museum space.”
The tour also included the Hillel House, which now hosts the School of Art and Art History student display hall, and the former Phi Kappa Theta fraternity house, which has been transformed into performing-arts offices and a theater classroom.
Diane Machatka, the associate director of campus and facilities planning, said finding homes for arts and music students this year proved difficult.
“It was a challenge, but it was a fun challenge,” she said. “It was a good experience to get together and solve problems with other faculty.”
Although the flood of 2008 was devastating to many faculty members and students, Machatka said the new facilities have made them “loud in saying they are very happy.”