Progress Report: Masterpiece in the Making
Tufts' new music building is well on the way to completion by its December 2006 target date, according to project manager Matt Horrigan. "We'll turn over a fully-tuned building on December 15," he said. "Tufts University can have a concert in there on the 16th."
Engineering students visit the new Tufts music building
Consider the $27 million music center rising on Talbot Avenue as the architectural equivalent of a Faberge egg or a Russian nesting doll. The recital hall inside is designed, for acoustic reasons, as a building within a building, or as Linbeck Construction Project Manager Matt Horrigan says, "a box within a box." As a result: "An airplane will be able to fly overhead and you won't hear it in the hall."
Five-hundred-fifty tons of steel have gone into the construction, said Horrigan. "So far, the steel and concrete are done - the structural work is 100 percent done," he said. "Now that the roofs are on, we're going to start the brick and window work. A good four months of mechanical, electrical, plumbing and HVAC work remain."
When the job is done in December, he said, Tufts' new music building will strike all the right chords. "It really will be a state-of-the-art music facility - a world-class facility."
Below are sample naming opportunities; for more information, contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@tufts.edu
| Music center courtyard | $1.0M |
| This attractive courtyard will be created by a passageway between Cohen Auditorium and the music building. The walkway will be beautifully landscaped and will feature seating walls, planters and artwork. Students and faculty can spend time in the courtyard before and after classes, surrounded by cherry, birch, and dogwood trees. | |
| Music learning center | $1.0M |
| The majority of the classes will be taught on the upper level in the Music Learning Center, consisting of two classrooms and the music multimedia room. Both classrooms will also serve as practice rooms for larger groups, and the multimedia room will be fitted with an electronic keyboard and computer stations to be used for music theory classes and for composing scores. | |
| Main staircase | $500,000 |
| The staircase leading to the second floor is prominently located in the main lobby and will be visible immediately upon entering this dramatic space. This staircase will serve as the main access to the second floor of the academic wing, and will be a focal point of the main lobby space, which will also double as reception space. | |
| World music room | $500,000 |
| The World Music Room will house the university’s Gamelan, a traditional Indonesian ensemble typically including many tuned percussion instruments including bamboo xylophones and wooden or bronze chimes and gongs. The World Music Room will host all classes pertaining to the music and dance of West Africa as well as performances with the gamelan. | |
| Music Library collections room | $500,000 |
| Seminar room | $250,000 |
| Music Library sound collections | $250,000 |
| Percussion/loud music room | $200,000 |
| Early music/chamber music room | $200,000 |
| A capella rehearsal room | $150,000 |
| Teaching studios (4) | $125,000 |
| Practice rooms | $50,000 |
| Music Library listening workstations | $15,000 |
| Music Library reading tables | $10,000 |
| Music Library reference desks | $5,000 |
