The Frost School of Music constructed new music studios in the spring. The school is now prepared for additional changes, including a recital hall.
Renovations will be carried out in different phases in the distant future, according to Associate Dean for Administration and Professor of Professional Practice at the Frost School of Music Raul Murciano Jr.
The inclusion of a 200-seat recital hall facing the lake, located near the L. Austin Weeks Center and Clarke Recital Hall, is the major project in their plans. This will allow for more opportunities for Frost students to showcase their talents to a wider audience. It is currently in the design stages and construction will begin as soon as they solidify the design.
Plans also exist for more practice facilities to be built based on student needs and physical space. Those plans rest on whether they will renovate the Foster Music Building or tear it down in favor of a new facility. If they choose to demolish it, there would have to be new practice facilities already in place to avoid detracting from students’ performances.
“We have a heightened sense of excitement because we don’t know what’s coming next,” Murciano said. “[The improvements] open up the door to give our students a more significant kind of experience, the spaces that we have are more conducive for a better quality musical environment.”
Current Frost students echo this hope as they witness the changes firsthand.
Jeffrey Chapman, a French horn major, is impressed by the potential for new practice rooms.
“Having more places to practice is definitely something that we need to address,” Chapman said.
Jazz guitar student Marc Solomon also made note of the practice facilities.
“The next step, as far as improving facilities goes, I think should be to increase the amount of practice space for both individuals and groups,” Solomon said. “Right now, there are only a few different places big enough and outfitted with the right equipment for a group of people to freely get together to play or rehearse.”