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M usic, M usicMusic,To the Editor:Dear Trustees:May 12 will be noted as a most important date on the calendars of Hobart and William Smith’s thirty music majors. It is the date on which the department had taken away any promise of a performing arts center within the next ten years. History is simply repeating itself. Approximately ten years ago President Hirshson announced at the official convocation of Bristol Gymnasium that the next structure to be built would be an adequate auditorium facility. People even took him seriously enough to have plans drawn up by an architectural firm, but with the changing of presidents came a change in priorities.Our present home at Houghton House is grossly inadequate for anything but small student recitals, with seating limited to about 50 uncomfortable steel chairs. Our larger scale concerts with Schola Cantorum and the Symphonic Wind Ensemble require us to use either Little Theater or one of the two gymnasiums on campus; all three facilities are inadequate and their faculties are most uncooperative in the loaning process. The Syracuse Symphony Orchestra personnel thought it quite amusing to be playing on a basketball court, Oddly enough, the music department found it very interesting in that the gym was completely filled — including the extra seats that had been prepared!It should also be noted that music at theseMusicMusic, Musiccollege is an academic area that has grown 6009r in the past three years from 5 to 30 majors — and has placed 10QT of its graduate school applicants in the past 5 years to their chosen schools; a record tar more impressive than any other department at the colleges. We feci that areas such as physical education and theater, who have no established major offered, have been given unfair attention in fundings and refurbishings since 1965.Non-majors and members of the department wish to be heard and answered before music dies at Hobart William Smith Colleges. The first shovelful of dirt removed this summer for the construction of a new football and track facility will be the same first shovelful for a departmental grave . . .A Concerned Music Major Alex Marks ’73(ED. NOTE: The Herald concurs with Mr. Marx’s criticisms. In an editorial three weeks ago, the Herald urged the Trustees and Administration to build a concert shell as-a temporary facility to serve as an adequate place for Music Department use until the construction of a Fine Arts Center, which does indeed look far, far away. The Herald must inform Mr. Marx that he is mistaken in one of his remarks. A Theatre and Dance Department is to be created in the near future, and the Herald believes that majors will flock speedily to such a department. J.R.)
Newspaper Details
Geneva Herald
Geneva, New York, US
Fri, May 26, 1972
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
NY, USA 01 Feb 2024
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