As the University at large increases the amount of study space available, and the College of Liberal Arts provides the student body with kiosks throughout campus for easy e-mail and Internet access, the School of Music has done little to meet the needs of its growing student population. Waiting at times more than an hour before gaining access to a practice room in Ferguson Hall, music students are in desperate need of additional spaces in which to spend the multiple hours necessary to becoming a successful musician.
Although the unseasonably warm weather currently allows students — except pianists — to practice outside, the arctic air is gradually becoming our constant companion once again, forcing students into the overcrowded halls of Ferguson, where they will stay throughout much of the day.
Unfortunately, little room remains within the West Bank building that could be used for additional practice space. As an urban campus, the University will always have problems with finding space to accommodate its natural growth.
Nonetheless, trombonists and cellists who must spend much if not all of the day on campus and do not live in Middlebrook Hall — which lies across the street from the music school — have little choice but to use Ferguson’s rooms for practice time. For some, lugging a heavy instrument back and forth between home and school is an impossible task.
Although the demand for space is primarily within a four- or five-hour period, the School of Music should make creating additional practice space for its students a top priority. Meanwhile, many of the pianos could use a tune-up.