Faculty and students share thoughts on new Voxman building, as it nears grand opening.

By Travis Coltrain  |  [email protected]

The University of Iowa Voxman Music Center, located near downtown, will finally make its grand entrance.

The $152 million project will keep the same name as the previous music complex, thanks to a 2013 unanimous vote by the state Board of Regents.

The original building, which survived the flood of 1993 but not the flood of 2008, started classes this semester, and will start performances later this fall.

On Monday, many students filled the seats of the facility for the first time. Since the summer of 2008, the School of Music has been spread out across as many as 18 locations, which has made things difficult for many students and faculty.

With its classrooms opened, many faculty and students in the music school are ecstatic they finally have a permanent home.

“It’s a huge blessing to us students to have everything in one building compared to multiple locations,” said UI sophomore Adin Herr. “It’s good to be somewhere that sounds good.”

Even faculty felt the hit of not having permanent classrooms, some of which were moved around numerous times.

“I saw more colleagues in one day than I have in the past year or two,” said musicology lecturer Trevor Harvey.

The 189,000-square-foot building is smaller than the previous Voxman, which was 200,000-square-feet.

Inside, there will be a total of 324 rooms, some of which are an opera and chamber rehearsal space, as well as up to 65 individual practice rooms. Faculty studios, classrooms, and a music library fill in the rest of the facility.

The music hall, which is holding classes, has a mainly glass exterior, giving it an appealing atmosphere inside and out.

Opera and vocal Professor Katherine Eberle was one of the faculty members who began classes at the building on Monday.

“I love my view of the Iowa hospitals and clinics and the floor to ceiling windows,” she said.

The second floor will include not only large glass windows but also a balcony. Voxman will include a brand-new organ with an organ performance hall.

Music Associate Professor Gregory Hand, who as of now hasn’t transitioned into the building, said the organ hall is visually stunning, noting that when it’s finished, it’ll be musically stunning.

“It’s acoustically very live, so it’s not good for lectures but perfect for recitals,” he said.

The music hall will also include other performance halls, such as a 700-seat concert hall and a 200-seat recital hall.

Although the building isn’t officially open yet, the concert and recital halls will house performances by musicians such as cellist Pablo Mohave, French horn player David Griffin, and trombonist Paul Pollard. Performances by the UI Chamber Orchestra will be scheduled throughout the year.

The music center’s main entrance, which is located at the intersection of Burlington and Clinton Streets, will officially open later this fall. The ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house will be held at 4 p.m. Oct. 21, in the recital hall. It is open to the public.