
In a recent edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Classical Music Critic Sarah Miller cited Washington University as having “[an] embarrassing selection of dubious performance spaces.”
The critique was sparked by a performance by the Eliot Trio-a group that includes pianist Seth Carlin, a music professor at the University, and two musicians from the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. The Trio performed in Steinberg Auditorium this past Saturday.
Steve Givens, assistant to the Chancellor, said the University is often criticized about the room’s lack of adequate acoustics.
“We’re obviously aware that we don’t have any prime performance spaces as far as music goes,” said Givens. “[But] we’re landlocked. There [are] only so many more buildings we’re going to be able to build, and we have to set priorities [for] what we have room to do. We don’t want this [campus] to become so crowded that there’s no grass or places to park.”
According to Music Department Chair Robert Snarrenberg, the number of performance spaces on campus is not as great a problem as the fact that each venue is used for many other things.
“Given the range of student performances, one large performance hall (Edison Theatre) isn’t enough,” said Snarrenberg. “There’s a need for a second performance hall. None of the spaces we have are designed for music performance.”
Of five performances being held on campus next month, three will be in Graham Chapel, with one each in Steinberg Auditorium and Umrath Hall. While Snarrenberg called the acoustics in Graham Chapel acceptable, senior Vivian Park disagreed.
“I’ve been to some of the a cappella concerts in Graham Chapel, and while they’re amazing, the chapel’s acoustics-or lack thereof-can take away from the full effect of their performances,” she said.
Sophomore Amy Schwarz noted the high caliber of the University’s music programs, citing the graduate program in vocal performance as “incredible.” She said that it is time that the University sees the programs’ significance.
“[The University will] never be truly on par with schools such as Yale and Northwestern until it realiz[es] that music is important to both the development of the individual and the development of the university,” said Schwarz.
Givens explained that the lack of adequate performance venues on campus involves a lack of donor interest, not a devaluation of the performing arts.
“When we build, we do so with the help of donors,” said Givens. “The new Sam Fox Arts Center came [into being] through several generous donations from the community. Many times it’s what other people are willing to help us pay for [that is a deciding factor in] what we build. It’s certainly not that we don’t appreciate the performing arts-up until now we [just] haven’t found it possible to build a premier concert hall.”
Snarrenberg believes the University needs both a large concert hall and smaller recital halls if it intends to match up to the high-caliber institutions it currently aspires to emulate and compete with.
Both Schwarz and freshman Aaron Lewis believe the University’s performance spaces are not only lagging behind other private institutions, but public universities as well. They cited the new Touhill Performing Arts Center at the University of Missouri in St. Louis as a facility that “puts everything on [the University’s] campus to shame.” Last spring, performances of the University opera “The Most Happy Fella” were forced off campus into the St. Louis Art Museum because of insufficient facilities on campus.
Lewis, who came to the University with a primarily performing arts background, was shocked when he discovered that the facilities at his old high school were better than those on campus.
“My public high school is home to a beautiful, state-of-the-art, 671-seat performing arts center that looks like an Italian opera house,” said Lewis, reflecting on Edison Theatre’s failings. “I miss it, because while the University puts on many wonderful shows each year-and I have had a blast working in the theatre here-our talented vocalists and actors are not being presented in a manner fitting to the caliber of their performances.”
Snarrenberg commented that the acoustics in Edison are so dry that there is no resonance in the hall.
“The performers on stage really can’t hear each other playing, which is one reason [the Music Department] doesn’t use it very often,” he said. “We need something designed for music that can also be used for other things. Unless [a new building] is designed for music, it won’t be much of a change.”
Snarrenberg believes the current state of performance spaces on campus also limits musical groups in their rehearsals.
Lewis, who is a member of the Mosaic Whispers, said that a cappella groups are not allowed to practice in the music buildings while any classes are in session-which often forces them to practice late into the night, after classes have finished for the day.
“I have requests to the administration going back 40 years [that include] plans for music spaces,” Snarrenberg said. “Some of the initial plans for Edison Theatre included those for music spaces, [but they] didn’t make it.”
Givens said that the University is currently commissioning a study of Steinberg Auditorium to determine if it could be made more suitable for music by changing the acoustics of the room so that it more closely resembles a concert hall.
“Just because it’s bad now doesn’t mean it can’t be made better,” said Givens. “Space-wise we think it’s ok, but we realize it needs to be made acoustically and aesthetically better.”