Concordia University Wisconsin has launched a campaign to raise funds for a new music building that will devote 6,800 square feet to rehearsal and practice rooms for the 225-plus students at Concordia who are majoring in music programs or involved in one of CUW’s 12 music ensembles.
The proposed two-story facility will occupy a portion of Regents Courtyard. The first floor will adjoin with the Undercroft, while the upper level will connect to Concordia’s Chapel of Christ Triumphant, which is intended to remain the primary concert space for Concordia’s ensembles.
Concordia has raised over $1.7 million toward the overall $4 million-dollar-goal. The project was first announced publicly in December.
Features of the new building
This will be the first time in university history that music students and faculty will have a dedicated, centralized rehearsal home on campus. Furthermore, the new structure will allow for the addition of sorely needed practice rooms and upgrades to rehearsal spaces.
Once the project is completed, the university plans to reallocate space by converting the current orchestra room into classrooms and lab space for Concordia’s new engineering programs.
The new building will feature:
On the main level…
- A designated rehearsal room for orchestra and band with capacity for approximately 75 musicians.
- A block of lockers for individual instrumentalists.
- A storage room, for larger instruments and the university’s sheet music inventory, that connects to the Chapel, allowing for easier access and transportation of instruments from rehearsal to performance space.
On the lower level…
- A designated rehearsal room with risers for choral groups.
- A total of 14 sound-proofed practice rooms (currently there are only three available to students).
- Offices and a reception area for Concordia’s five fulltime music faculty
Students studying parish music will still have access to the organs in the Rogate Chapel and Chapel of Christ Triumphant. Handbell ensembles will continue to practice in their current space within the redesigned Undercroft.
Music at-a-glance
Music is the only program within the university that has a foothold in both the academic and extra-curricular realms. As such, the Music Department’s reach and scope of benefits is wide-ranging.
“Sometimes it’s difficult to fully quantify the impact of music because it’s so far-reaching, but the power of it is undeniable,” said Music Chair Dr. Louis Menchaca, who has served at Concordia since 1992. “We have the academic component, but we’re more than just the academics. Students who participate in music at Concordia are honing their problem-solving and communication skills, they’re building relationships, and, most importantly, they’re growing in their appreciation of their God-given talents and learning to channel those into declarations of praise and witness for Him.”
An overview of CUW music’s broad reach:
225+ individuals involved in music at Concordia
12 music ensembles
13 endowed scholarships supporting approximately 100 students
5 music degrees available:
40 students, in an average year, across all grade levels choose to major or minor in music at CUW, contributing to the pool of sorely needed called workers at LCMS congregations nationwide
47 academic programs (outside of music majors) are represented among music participants
5 fulltime faculty on staff
18 part-time adjunct instructors employed
Annual domestic trips undertaken for Kammerchor, Wind Ensemble, and Alleluia Ringers; International tours every four years
Want in?
Since 1881, Concordia University’s focus has been to teach and prepare students for careers and vocations that serve The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Music has always been an integral part of that goal. The Music Department contributes to the spiritual, cultural, artistic, academic and co-curricular enhancement and advancement of the university. As CUW has grown in scope and size, the Music Department, likewise, remains integral to the university mission.