The Journal

Issue date: 3/5/09 Section: News

Media Credit: David Kovalluk Practice rooms in the Thompson Music Building's basement have pianos that, students say, go out of tune because of temperature changes. The building, which is a three-story mansion, is 100 years old. Some practice rooms have signs that indicate the room has a better piano, and that only students practicing piano can use it.

Media Credit: Stew Smith A drummer practices in the only percussion room in the music building

The condition of the Thompson
Music building has become
a cause for concern for Webster
University music students. Out
of tune pianos, unsound proofed
rooms, lack of airflow and unworkable
electrical outlets were
the main concerns of more
than 60 students, who say most
of their time must be spent in
the building.
Thompson has 17 practice
rooms in its basement for
music students to practice, although
four are used for storage,
but the age - 100 years
old - and condition of the
building is deterring students
from practicing there.
"What people don't really
understand is that being a music
student isn't like being a
business or accounting major,"
said Hannah Ingram, a sophomore
music education major.
"We live in the
music building
because
that's where
we have to do
our work. It's
our home. I'm
supposed to be
spending more
time there
than in my
apartment, but because
it's in such poor shape it's
just a miserable experience
down there."
These issues were first
brought up at the Feb. 13 Officers'
Summit, when a student
leader raised a concern
about wanting more access to
the Community Music School's
facilities for practice space.
While the CMS is part of WU,
it is also a separate entity that
offers music lessons and performances
to those outside of
Webster University.
Ingram represented the
National Association for Music
Education at the Officers'
Summit. She, as well as others,
said they would like more
practice space.
"Me and my treasurer were
there, and we stood up and
agreed and said that we would
really like to access that space
(CMS space)," Ingram said.
"Then, as we got to talking to
everyone, we realized that it
was much bigger than that.
The basement of Thompson
is just in an awful shape and
people are fleeing from it to the
other building."
One of the students' complaints
with the building is that
the basement holds moisture,
damaging the pianos.
Samantha Schmid, a junior
music major, said the
out-of-tune pianos interfere
with learning.
"Practicing is the cornerstone
of being a musician,"
Schmid said. "If we have a musicianship
class, it teaches you
relative pitch. The pianos being
out of tune as they are, it's
hard to learn. It will teach you
to sing wrong."
The ventilation system was
another issue students had with
the facilities. Students said the lack of soundproofing in the walls makes it difficult for them to be able
to practice.
"If I'm back in the practice room playing guitar, and I've got two singers on both sides of me, I can't hear anything that I'm doing so I might as well not practice," said Alyssa Santoyo, a senior music performance major.
Jeff Carter, chair of the music department, said the building requires extra upkeep because of
its age.
"We have standard 100-year-old building issues," Carter said. "A music building, because it has specialized equipment in it, requires special care to begin with. We have a number of pianos in here that require a very specific humidity range, and that's hard to maintain in a 100-year-old house."
To remedy this, Carter said a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system was installed in the building a few years ago. He also said at the time the building was converted to the music building the music department was very small, and there was no need
for soundproofing.
Last March and at the beginning of the fall 2008 semester Carter sat down with students and asked if they had any suggestions and concerns about the
music department.
Music students used to have additional space to practice in the music annex, but it was torn down in the fall of 2007, and no space was ever built to replace it.
Ingram has plans to meet with Peter Sargent, dean of the School of Fine Arts, and the people who run the CMS after spring break to discuss the possibilities of setting time for music students to use
the CMS.
"It's (access to the CMS) going to help a little bit but that can only happen before 2 p.m. when the community comes in to use the school," Ingram said. "Music students don't like to practice before two. They're night owls. They have classes during the day, so it's not a good time to go in anyway."
Bob Chamberlain, an associate professor of music, said WU and the CMS need to work together to realize each other's needs.
"The CMS is sharing space with us, so we have to be observant of their needs for space as well as our needs," Chamberlain said. "They can't just open up every door all the time. So we try to respect what their needs are and work
with them."
Ingram said she believes the music program is a fantastic program but the condition of the building doesn't show that.
Two options for fixing the basement and practice spaces are gutting the basement or converting to electric keyboards, which would not be affected by moisture and would allow for headphones to be plugged into them, Ingram said.
"I think that gutting the basement is the better option but also the hardest," Ingram said. "That's what I would prefer, and I think a lot of students would really like that, too."
Decisions about whether anything will be done to fix the basement are in the hands of
the administration.
"Peter Sargent and Jeff Carter are both pushing for it a lot," Ingram said. "But there's only so much they can do. It has to be the administration's choice to give us the funding."
After the Delegates' Agenda, students were told the administration would look at the basement.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools