Rendering courtesy of Jessie Bauters/CU College of Music
On Feb. 4, the College of Music broke ground on the expansion and renovation for the University of Colorado’s Imig music building. These renovations are expected to provide much-needed updates and space for the growing music program.
College of Music Dean Robert Shay believes these changes will take the program to the next level.
“I think for several, the college of music, faculty and its supporters have felt that the quality of the facilities we have did not match the quality of the faculty and program,” Shay said.
The project is expected to finish in the fall semester of 2020, the 100-year anniversary of the College of Music. Jordan Holloway, a sophomore in music composition and viola solo performance, is looking forward to these new renovations. While Holloway loves the rigor of his program, he has found himself frustrated with the limited space.
“There is just always a huge lack of practice room availability,” Holloway said.
The new 64,000-square-foot building in the center will house new amenities, including a state of art recording studio, a dedicated space for the entrepreneurship program for music and the musician’s wellness program. More practice rooms and space for performances will be added. These spaces include a small recital hall and a rehearsal space that can quickly be converted into a performance space.
This project is made possible from a combination of investments from campus as well as charitable contributions from the community. Courtney Rowe, assistant dean for advancement for the college of music, describes a very dedicated advisory board that has been “hitting the pavement and rallying the community around this grassroots project.”
Jessie Bauters, the associate director of communications, explains that the Music Plus Fundraising Campaigns goal is to give students even more opportunities for performance, keeping the program competitive.
“We are a college of music who can keep up, so when our students graduate and go out into the field, they are attractive candidates for a variety of careers,” Bauters said.
Students are excited by what this means for their major.
“I’m glad because it means CU and the College of Music administration is actually making an effort to make sure the students have the facilities and resources that they need,” Holloway said.
The expansion of the Imig building is a sound music students are happy to hear. The cacophony of construction is soon to be transformed into even more harmonizing melodies.
Contact CU Independent News Staff Writer Veniece Miller at venice.miller@colorado.edu.
