Music Facilities & Equipment

Maps

Bulletin Boards

The bulletin boards in the student lounge, mailbox area, and in the elevator are for announcements of a general nature.  There are additional bulletin boards for choral ensembles (outside the recital hall Green Room), instrumental ensembles (outside Room 134), and music education (outside Room 231).  Each faculty member has a bulletin board outside his/her studio as well.  Public boards are checked and culled each week.  You should regularly check all boards that apply to you!

Greatbatch School of Music and related notices will receive priority consideration and location for posting.

Ensemble Libraries

The ensemble libraries house the literature of the major ensembles.  They can serve as a valuable music education resource for examining potential repertoire for choir, band, orchestra, etc.  In addition, there are some opera and musical theater scores available for checkout by students.  Access to ensemble libraries is through either ensemble directors or ensemble librarians.  You are personally financially responsible for any scores checked out to you that are missing.

Instruments

Varieties of small instruments are available for use by students in Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble, as well as in various instruments classes.  See the appropriate faculty member or instrumental grad student(s) for sign-out procedures. Instrument checkout must be approved by the appropriate professor.

All college instruments are to be kept in their designated lockers and NOT in your personal locker or living quarters.  Tubas, cellos, and doubles basses are specifically permitted to be left in a practice space/practice room, provided they are in their case or covered, and provided their subsequent removal does not interfere with the practice of others.  All others are to be removed (a completely normal practice nationwide).  Student lockers are the appropriate location for other instruments.

Some college instruments may be signed out during school breaks by using a form available from the music office, which is to be signed by the appropriate professor.  This form confirms your financial responsibility for the instrument while it is in your care.  When school resumes, the instrument is to be checked in to the appropriate faculty member.

Keyboard Instruments & Maintenance

All of us as Christian stewards are responsible for the careful use and maintenance of pianos and organs.  These instruments are expensive and sensitive, so treat them with great care. They are tuned regularly, and major maintenance, fine voicing, and regulation are done during summer vacation.

You can help immensely in both tuning and maintenance of instruments by:

  • Putting ONLY MUSIC on your instrument
  • Allowing no air drafts on your instrument
  • Closing practice room windows when you leave the room
  • Promptly reporting maintenance or repair needs: tuning, service (e.g. broken string, sluggish action, faulty pedal, etc.) and voicing (e.g. too strident or too weak tone).

Grand Pianos

The performance grand pianos in the recital hall and Wesley Chapel are kept locked.  Keys are only issued to students with the approval of the keyboard faculty.

The Steinway is used for performances, not routine rehearsals, and is always kept locked and used by permission from faculty members.  Keys must be signed out at the main music office and returned to the Dr. Plate/Shelly Hillman mailbox (mailbox area, top row, far left).  If you sign out the key and it does not get returned to the box, you WILL be held responsible.

The Yamaha piano in the recital hall is the designated rehearsal instrument.  Please do not use the Steinway for routine ensemble rehearsal.

Piano majors have priority in scheduling practice spaces with grand pianos in them.

Organs & Harpsichords

The GSoM has five organs for use by students in organ.  Chief among these is the 61-rank Holtkamp in the chapel auditorium (view a complete Holtkamp stop list).  The ‘Halfkamp,’ the Andover, and the Moore, all smaller practice organs, are located on the lower level of Wesley Chapel.  A fifth organ, the very fine 2008 James Louder tracker organ at Houghton Wesleyan Church, is jointly owned by church and college, and regularly available to organ students for practice, lessons, and recitals.  These instruments are reserved for students currently taking organ; other use is by permission of the college organist.

The use of the two college harpsichords – one of which is a very fine, two-manual, Willard Martin Italian harpsichord built in 1986 – is reserved for students currently taking harpsichord; other use is by permission of the college organist. Students who wish to accompany a recital at the organ or harpsichord must obtain prior permission of the college organist.

Here are a few guidelines to help you in using the harpsichord.

  • The Harpsichordist: The harpsichordist must be a student who has taken harpsichord lessons or a faculty member. You should inform both your teacher and the harpsichord faculty member of your desire to use the harpsichord.
  • Logistics:  The harpsichord must be moved to the location of the performance at least 5 hours before the performance and returned immediately following the performance.  The harpsichord needs time to adjust to the change in temperature and humidity in order to stay in tune.
  • Tuning:  The harpsichord will probably need to be tuned after moving and perhaps “touched-up” immediately before the concert.  Your harpsichordist is responsible for tuning the instrument.  He/she will need about an hour to tune the harpsichord after it has been moved.  You need to sign out time for tuning the harpsichord.
  • Moving the Harpsichord:  When moving the harpsichord, a music faculty member must be present.  This is normally your applied teacher.

Some hints for moving the harpsichord:

  • Five strong people are needed to move the harpsichord to and from the stage.  You also need 1 or 2 people to carry the trestle.
  • The brown cover must be on the harpsichord when moving it.
  • The trestle on the bottom of the harpsichord is detachable.  The harpsichord simply lifts off it.  Be certain to place the harpsichord back on the trestle so that the holes on the trestle match the indentations on the bottom of the harpsichord.
  • Flesh and bone heals; wood does not.

Piano Care & Room Condition

The Greatbatch School of Music maintains 55 pianos for the use of its faculty and students. Such a collection of instruments represents a significant investment.  To that end:

  • Do not using excessive force that could result in broken strings and accelerated wear to piano actions.
  • Do not sit on, stand on, or deface any instrument in any manner.
  • Take care in the proper use of piano benches: no standing on, leaning back on two legs, etc.
  • Report any piano-related needs (broken strings, sticking keys, etc.) to one of the keyboard faculty members.

All windows and piano lids must be closed when leaving any room.  Your room must be left in neat condition for the next occupant, regardless of the condition in hich you found it.  If a practice room or rehearsal room is found in sub-standard condition, you must bring it up to standard and report any deficiencies to the main music office.

Lounges

The CFA ‘undergraduate’ lounge is on the second floor in the practice room area, next to the recital hall balcony.  This lounge is for temporary undergraduate use, and is NOT to become a storage area for things.  The same goes for any graduate office or lounge spaces in the building.

Mailboxes

Mailboxes are provided for music majors in the Center for the Arts.  These are found in the hallway next to the Recital Hall for intradepartmental communication of all sorts, including return of papers/tests, recital attendance information, letters from the music office, etc.  It is your responsibility to check your box regularly (twice daily is recommended).  Any information not received because YOU did not check your box is YOUR problem.

Personal Belongings

A coatroom is located on the first floor of the CFA, directly across from the mailboxes.

PERSONAL LOCKERS ARE AVAILABLE for music students, either in the large locker room next to the Instrumental Rehearsal Hall or in the hallway outside CFA 145.  There is also a set of small lockers in the Wesley Chapel organ loft stairwell for organ students' use.  A school lock is provided for you, and it is required that you use only this lock (no personal locks) for your locker. If the lock assigned to you is lost, there will be a $10.00 charge to your account.

The college assumes no responsibility for items of any sort left unattended or unsecured and not in a locker.  If you are concerned about your personal materials, secure them in a locker.

Practice Rooms

Practice rooms are equipped with what you will need to grow and develop in your musical discipline.  They re primarily work spaces, each used by many different people.  These spaces are neither private storage areas or living quarters, so please be thoughtful of your fellow students in your stewardship of these work spaces.  See “Practice Rooms” under the PROCEDURES heading for practice room procedures and the risks of leaving materials in practice spaces long term.