With its final beam in place, Ball State's new Music Instruction Building is a step closer to opening its doors to faculty and students.
Located on the southeast corner of McKinley and Riverside avenues, the $21 million facility should be ready for the Fall Semester of 2004. The university held a topping ceremony Dec. 17, 2003, during which construction workers hoisted the final beam onto the building.
Greg Graham, assistant director of facilities planning, said he attended the ceremony and was proud to see the final beam in place. Graham said after seeing the music building as a work-in-progress since May 2002, he is excited the construction process is coming together.
"Placing the final beam is a significant ceremonial milestone in the construction of any building," Graham said. "I'm always happy to see us get to that point."
The 73,000-square-foot facility will include a main performance hall that will be named after two of Muncie's most respected benefactors. David Sursa, who passed away from cancer in July 2003, and Mary Jane Sursa have been incredible advocates for the arts, associate professor of bassoon Keith Sweger said.
The Sursas, in fact, have provided several gifts for Ball State, including the Sursa Distinguished Professorship in Fine Arts and the $2.5 million David and Mary Jane Sursa Fine Arts Endowment.
"The naming of the performance hall in honor of David and Mary Jane is truly warranted and well earned," Sweger said.
Mary Jane Sursa, who signed the final beam during the university's Dec. 17 ceremony, said she felt honored when she learned in May 2002 that the performance hall would be named after her and her late husband.
"We were very pleased about it," she said.
President Blaine Brownell, who also signed the final beam during the topping ceremony, said he is proud to be able to honor the Sursas for their years of selfless service.
He said he is looking forward to stepping foot inside Sursa Hall for the first time.
"I think it'll be really dramatic," Brownell said. "People will be really excited about it."
Sursa Hall, designed to seat 400 people downstairs and 200 in its balcony, will serve as a rehearsal, performance and recording hall. Kevin Kenyon, associate vice president of facilities planning, said the university worked with Roger Noppe, an acoustical consultant from California, to design the hall from an acoustics-first standpoint.
The hall will be able to accommodate various types of music because of special sound chambers in the walls and ceilings that can be opened and closed to adjust the acoustics for every musical performance, Kenyon said. The hall will also have an orchestra pit as well as a built-in shell above the stage for orchestra concerts.
Peter McAllister, interim director for the School of Music, said he is looking forward to see Sursa Hall come together throughout the next few months. The hall will be an excellent addition to the School of Music, he said.
"(People) will find that the new 600-seat hall will be the best hall in the whole community," he said.
In addition to Sursa Hall, McAllister said the new Music Instruction Building will house two smaller halls, one each for choral and instrumental performances. Both halls will seat 75-100 people.
The building will also provide teaching areas for orchestra, band and choral activities as well as 24 faculty studios, 24 practice rooms and three large ensemble practice rooms.
The facility will even have four libraries, one each for the choral, band, orchestra and music technology programs.
The music building's other notable features include the Music Engineering Technology studios, which will be located on the second floor, McAllister said. Ball State is one of only a few universities in the United States that provides a music engineering program.
McAllister said because Ball State is respected already for its School of Music, the new facility will only increase the school's status nationwide.
Phase one of construction on the new music building is expected to end in late February, when inspection will begin on the facility.
Sursa Hall will not be completed until late April or early May.
Kenyon said the university is planning to hold a special opening ceremony for the new facility. In addition to honoring David and Mary Jane Sursa during the event, he said special performers might be invited to play for the Ball State and Muncie communities. While the dedication ceremony will be held sometime after the Fall Semester begins, an official date for the ceremony has not yet been set.
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