Robert Kvam, dean of the college of fine arts, said production on the David and Mary Jane Sursa Performance Hall continued until the last minute. When the concert hall's first performance by violinist Midori and pianist Robert McDonald was scheduled, construction workers weren't quite done.
"The day they were performing, they were still finishing some of the minor work on the building," Kvam said.
That first performance at Sursa was on Sept. 22, 2004. Five years later, Kvam said Sursa Hall continues to serve as the main outlet for performers in Ball State University's School of Music.
Discussion about building a performance hall for orchestral and choir music began in 1999, when Kvam was serving as the director of the School of Music. At the time, most performers were showcased in other performance halls on campus that did not benefit the sound of the music very well, according to Kvam.
"[Performances were] in either Pruis Hall, which is not a very good facility for performance, or they were in Emens," he said. "But Emens is very costly, even for us to use it."
Kvam and others in the School of Music decided they wanted to work on constructing a building that would benefit students and faculty in the music department while attracting first class performers from around the country.
Initial plans garnered money from the state legislature to move buildings and houses to make room for a new performance hall. After the ground was approved, they received more money for the construction of the building.
The benefactors of the hall were David and Mary Jane Sursa. The Sursa family was a prominent one in the Muncie community for years. They consistently gave money to local arts programs and causes. They donated the $2.5 million David and Mary Jane Sursa Fine Arts Endowment to fund student scholarships in the early 2000s and also established a fine arts exhibit series and a visiting artist program, among other things.
The Sursas also donated $1 million for a state-of-the-art pipe organ to be built in the hall. In 2002, it was announced that the building would be named in honor of the couple.
Kvam said the generous donations allowed for innovative plans for the hall upon construction.
"We built it with a large stage and very good, changeable acoustics; it's tunable," he said. "A tunable hall means there are panels on the side you can change, there are curtains that you can change and there's a big curtain up above that goes in front of the organ pipes that you can choose to have drawn or not."
Kvam also said the pipe organ was a great addition to the hall and does not need a lot of extra care.
"There was maintenance money given by the Sursa family for the maintenance of it, so it has to be tuned periodically but a new instrument like that takes a lot less maintenance than an older instrument," he said.
Sursa Hall took about two years to build, Kvam said. Its first performances were a series of three shows in the fall of 2004 including the first show by Midori. Kvam said the 600-seat building was packed on opening night.
Sursa Hall now hosts about 300 shows a year. Every group in the School of Music rehearses and performs in the hall. Jazz band, winter ensemble, orchestra and choirs as well as other chamber music all showcase their talents at Sursa Hall. Sursa also hosts performances by guest artists, including their Arts Alive concert series in which three performers from different areas of music visit Ball State.
Nathan Shew, a fifth-year senior in the School of Music, said he has performed about 40 to 50 times in Sursa during his time at Ball State as a timpanist in the orchestra. Shew also works with 11 other students who make up Sursa's backstage crew.
"It's a really nice hall; very professional looking," he said. "The music sounds better, the way it's built. It's a really good venue for us to play in. We get to see what a real performance hall is really like, instead of a rehearsal room in a closet."
Kvam said no upgrades have been needed in Sursa throughout the last five years, and he doesn't see changes occurring any time soon.
"We really planned it well. The stage won't be modified; it's large enough that you can put an orchestra and even a chorus there. I don't envision that there will be many changes at all. I think it's very self-sufficient and flexible facility," he said.
Kvam said the only change that he's seen come from the construction of Sursa Hall is the improvement of the School of Music.
"The thing we always said about Sursa was the good news is you can hear everything, the bad news is you can hear everything," he said. "These performers have a wonderful venue, but they really have to bring their A-Game. You simply can't hide in Sursa Hall, it has to be very good."
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