Center for the Arts
The Greatbatch School of Music is housed in a 44,000 square-foot state-of-the-art Center for the Arts dedicated in 1999. Designed specifically for its current use, the Center for the Arts was built with appropriate sound design criteria, soundproofing, climate control, and aesthetic considerations. Particularly striking is the amount of natural light that bathes interior spaces, including a spacious atrium, which is used for general and formal public gatherings and serves as the architectural heart of the building, drawing together all three floors of the facility.
The Center for the Arts includes a 225-seat recital hall, instrumental rehearsal suite, music library with 4 listening rooms, keyboard/computer workstation featuring a Korg keyboard lab, and a full complement of networked classrooms, rehearsal spaces, practice rooms, and support facilities. The Greatbatch School of Music is also home to EMA Studios, a state-of-the-art recording studio and authorized Pro Tools training center.
Large ensembles perform in the 1,200-seat John and Charles Wesley Chapel auditorium housing a 59-rank Holtkamp electro-pneumatic organ. Students also perform on a superb 29-rank Louder tracker organ, developed jointly with the Houghton Wesleyan Church. An ancillary space, the 300-seat Rosemary Tysinger Auditorium at Houghton Academy, is used for musical theater and opera workshop productions. The Center for the Arts also houses the Ortlip Art Gallery and the Dieter Boardroom.
Highlights
- A 225-seat recital/choral rehearsal hall featuring superb adjustable acoustics, flexible stage seating, high-quality sound, fine lighting equipment and flexibility, powered projection screen, back-stage storage areas, and an adjacent green room.
- An instrumental rehearsal suite capable of seating 80-plus musicians, surrounded by ensemble library, percussion storage, instrument repair & storage, practice, and student locker spaces.
- EMA Studios at Houghton College: In addition to recording individuals and groups in the studio space, the studio control room handles digital recording for the recital hall, instrumental hall, and chapel auditorium. EMA Studios is also an authorized Pro Tools training center.
- 4 fully-networked academic classrooms with first-rate audio, recording, and classroom presentation technology. Two of these classrooms are designed specifically for Music Theory and Music History courses, and a third is designed as a Music Education classroom/resource center.
- A group keyboard/computer workstation room featuring a Korg keyboard lab
- A music library with 4 listening rooms and a separate choral library
- 14 spacious faculty studios equipped with grand pianos (2 for each piano studio) and audio equipment, as well as video equipment in vocal studios
- 7 large studio spaces for student and chamber group rehearsals, adjunct and part-time instruction
- 24 practice rooms with flexible acoustics, mirrors, network access, and upright pianos
- Administrative suite, faculty and student lounges, and multiple support facilities
- Ortlip Art Gallery and the Dieter Boardroom
John and Charles Wesley Chapel
- A 1,200-seat auditorium/sanctuary. This principal space in Wesley Chapel, designed for music by the acoustical firm of Bolt Beranach Newman, is available for large ensemble performances and can be used for solo and chamber performances as well. The auditorium houses a 61-rank Holtkamp organ (the last opus of Walter Holtkamp, Sr.) in a beautiful organ loft. View a complete Holtkamp stop list. The stage is some 37 feet deep and 75 feet wide, and is especially suitable for large instrumental or vocal-instrumental ensembles.
- Presser Hall, a space for chamber performance, musical theater & drama rehearsal, and dance. The space features a small stage, full mirror walls, barres, audio equipment, and an upright piano.
- The Manley Organ suite, containing two acoustically treated organ practice spaces
- A third organ practice room also housing the college's two harpsichords
- Drum studio
- A complement of faculty and staff offices, rehearsal space, and support facilities
Rosemary Tysinger Auditorium
- This 300-seat venue is located in Houghton Academy nearby the main college campus. This theater features a 44’ proscenium, 28-foot-deep stage with fly loft & pin rail, four light battens, cyclorama, front and rear projection screens, full stage rigging, 24-channel sound and computerized lighting controls, light rail, commodious storage and shop facilities, and a small dressing/costume room.
Houghton Wesleyan Church
- In 2009, we celebrated the installation of a 2-manual, 29-stop mechanical action organ built by James Louder and Associates, of Montreal. Located in the Houghton Wesleyan Church, just off campus, it is used by organ students for practice and recitals (in addition to the chapel Holtkamp.)
Learn More
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