Looking ahead: Music Building in our future

The School of Music’s impact reaches beyond the San Marcos Campus with community outreach programs that include musical ensembles for children such as the Texas State String Project, the Hill Country Youth Chorus, Mariachi Infantil, and the FunKey Piano Project. Public events include the International Piano Festival, the Eddie Durham Jazz Festival, and Feria del Mariachi.

The School of Music has a lot to sing about: Grammy-winning faculty and alumni, award-winning opera productions and musical performances, an impressive number of Bobcats working on national stages, a stellar placement record for music teachers, and home to the International Piano Festival for the past 12 years. As an encore to these bragging rights, Texas State bands are beginning their second century of providing the soundtrack for the university’s life.

The only thing missing from the successful composition is a facility worthy to mold the school’s quality of instruction, talent, and inspiration into the future. That deficit, which could hinder top student recruitment and future growth, is the impetus behind a new music building slated for the San Marcos Campus. When completed, the masterpiece will serve almost 600 music majors and 80-plus faculty who are currently spread across five buildings.

Since 1983, the Department of Music has been housed in a converted facility that was formerly Strahan Gym. Located at the corner of North LBJ and Sessom drives, the school was originally intended for 200 music students. Enrollment has flourished, far exceeding that expectation. Within the School of Music, there are now 30 music ensembles: the 350-member Bobcat Marching Band, Symphony Orchestra, six choral ensembles, opera, four jazz bands, a rock ensemble, two salsa bands, two mariachi groups, and 12 smaller instrumental ensembles.

For Dr. John Fleming, dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication, the new music building will propel the achievements of the students and faculty it will hold. “We need a central location that can house and meet the demands of the students and faculty of the School of Music,” Fleming says. “The arts are like athletics; when recruiting top talent, facilities matter. This is an investment in our future for providing an even higher level of excellence in our instruction and performance preparation.”

An artist's rendering of the proposed Texas State Music Building indicates the location - along Moon Street next to the Performing Arts Center. The final design of the Music Building is still under consideration and will be unveiled at a later date.

The addition of a music building would add to what has been called a “new front door” for the campus. In 2014 the Performing Arts Center opened at the corner of University and Moon Street, across from the iconic round brick Theatre Center. The music building will be constructed alongside the Performing Arts Center and close to the Edward Gary Garage, completing an epicenter for creating, performing, learning, and gathering.

The proposed music building contains nearly 85,000 square feet of space for classrooms, labs, studios, music library, faculty offices, rehearsal and practice rooms, instrument maintenance room, piano technician studio, and a student lounge.

“We are being purposeful and strategic with space allocation. During summer 2019 we reviewed the planning document that had been developed in 2010 and adjusted the original allocations to match our current and future needs,” says Dr. Joey Martin, professor and interim director of the School of Music. “The new building will have rehearsal, instructional, and storage spaces specifically designed to meet the academic and artistic needs of a 21st-century school of music.”