After a multimillion-dollar funding scare, the university has begun construction on a new music building and concert hall across from Pepper Canyon Hall, due to open in spring 2009.
The complex will operate as the new hub of the UCSD music department, centralizing classrooms from its various locations in Mandeville Center and Earl Warren College.
It was just last October that officials were afraid that they might not have enough funding to complete the project. Over $40 million had been secured by the UC Office of the President, along with an additional $6.5 million from university reserve funds and $1.35 million from private donors. The construction bid was set to expire in 2006 and funding was just $5 million short, leaving the university only two weeks to find the money.
Since then, the university has secured $7.35 million in private funds.
“”This is primarily a state-funded building, so we needed to design it very economically to live within the constraints of state funding,”” said Rand Steiger, the music department chair. “”We were very, very lucky to be able to raise what we did.””
The new building will include a concert hall with an intimate 400-seat capacity designed for chamber music performances. The bidding will also include individual and group practice and performance spaces designed specifically for music. In addition, a state-of-the-art recording studio will allow the department to expand music recording production courses.
Steiger enthusiastically added that the studio would foster a new academic development.
“”We, in fact, plan to propose a new major that will allow students to focus specifically on music production,”” he said.
UCSD is not the only UC campus to undergo major construction developments in its music department. About 10 years ago, UC Santa Cruz saw the inception of a new music center that created 13 teaching studios, 20 practice rooms, five classrooms, a percussion studio and office space. The chamber of the building is almost identical to UCSD’s proposed music center and includes a 396-seat recital hall equipped with improved sound and lighting equipment.
Eleanor Roosevelt College sophomore Emily Listman, a native of Santa Cruz, Calif., said she recalled the excitement in her community and in the UC Santa Cruz music department when the new building opened.
“”When I saw the music center finally going up in San Diego, it reminded me of how excited everyone was in Santa Cruz when the new music building was finished,”” she said. “”Similar to our situation with Mandeville’s auditorium and facilities, UCSC musicians had to use outdated equipment and practice spaces. They were all very happy to receive such a gift.””
The center hall’s primary purpose is to provide a space for faculty and students to perform for both campus and local communities.
The hall is designed by the world-renowned acoustician Cyril Harris, who also designed halls for the New York Opera House as well as the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
According to Steiger, this means the space will most likely be a coveted performance area to artists in and out of the San Diego community.
“”We look forward to making this place available to outside presenters and performers when possible,”” Steiger said.
The planning of this project has been underway for about 20 years. Steiger’s colleagues, music professors Peter Otto and Tom Erbe, have ensured that the center will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology in its classroom and studio facilities.
Once the hall is completed, space will open up in Mandeville Auditorium for other groups on campus who wish to utilize it as a performance space.
Local philanthropist and contractor Conrad Prebys’ $6-million gift allowed the project to come to fruition, and the center will be officially named the Conrad Prebys Music Center in honor of his contribution.
In addition to Prebys’ gift, the center has received support from Regent John J. Moores and his wife Rebecca, along with Elaine Galinson, the chair of the UC San Diego Foundation.
For a price, naming opportunities for rooms are still available; the 400-seat concert hall is available for $3 million, while student practice rooms are available for between $10,000 and $20,000 per room.