Lack of space hits a wrong note

Author: Andrew Throdahl

Since the opening of the Center for the Arts (CFA) in 1992, the availability of practice space has been a perennial problem. There are currently twelve practice spaces with pianos: nine dedicated practice rooms, two classrooms, and Mead Chapel - the concert hall and its Steinway are both saved for concerts. With the increased size of the college orchestra and the department's newly created Chamber Music competition, the available practice room has become a rare item. And now the college is taking notice.

Throughout the school day one will find students waiting to get a practice room. Those who are lucky enough to get one say they are usually kicked out by an apologetic instructor, or distracted by loud neighbors heard through the thin walls. "I live in Coffrin and it's such a waste of time to come over here for nothing. The arctic weather doesn't help. And if I do get a practice room, the walls are so thin I can hear whoever is next to me. So the times when I can practice just never work out," said Marina Pravdic '10, who is currently working on the demanding Ravel Sonatine.

"The department is so pleased that the school is recognizing our problem," said Music history professor Greg Vitercik. "At the same time I don't know of any school that has adequate practice space."

Vitercik told a story of a Juilliard student who placed razor blades between piano keys to keep a practice room available. "We hope Middlebury won't come to that!" he joked.

The currently accepted solution would reconfigure cavernous classroom 221 into two floors: the first floor would remain a classroom while the second would become a continuation of the existing practice rooms.

"Spare rooms would be great and hopefully we will build some in 221, however it is difficult," said professor Lei Liang.

Room 221 is not the only possible space in the CFA. Majority student opinion views the CFA as an inherently flawed building. The music library's seldom used listening rooms could potentially be transformed into small practice rooms. Vitercik commented on what appeared to be a waste of space in the expansive CFA lobby. "Few public buildings on campus have this strange dual identity that hosts both the student body and townspeople, so the CFA really needs its big lobby. That said I could imagine solving all our practice space problems with that one room."

Pravdic has more ambitious thoughts.

"I think we should have practice rooms around campus - and while they are at it, they should get some Steinways to replace these Kawai's. You can't do anything on these pianos."

Then again, the problem with Middlebury's practice space conundrum may just be a matter of time distribution. Most music students think the only time to practice is during the peak hours of the week. Professional pianist and instructor Diana Fanning says she does her five plus hours of practicing early in the morning. From personal experience, I have found that practicing late at night is the most practical, given the unavailability of pianos. Eager music students might consider altering their practice times to avoid the hectic mid-day hours.

Along those same lines, practice room sign-up sheets might temporarily resolve the situation, as well as add some structure to the current free-for-all taking place during the day. If the administration does plan to construct more practice rooms, hopefully they will notice related problems, such as the "sound-proof" walls, or as Pravdic hopes, the hard-actioned Kawai's.

Practice rooms or not, the music department must be content with many students' desperate need to practice . Perhaps the designers of the CFA did not anticipate the current number of student musicians in need of practice space.