We have finally left the old Tyler Building and moved up into our brand new Center for Design, Media and the Arts Building, just up the hill at the Alexandria Campus. It’s right across from the Bisdorf Building.
The inside is just as nice the exterior. It houses the Music, Art, Photo, Graphic Design, Theater, Communications, Physical Education and Early Childhood Development Departments.
Our new Music Department resides on the left side of the building’s first two floors! You can get to the second floor by simply walking up the entry staircase. There are also elevators and handicap parking is right outside the building. All in all it’s really been wonderfuly designed.
The Music Department is now conviently close the new Barns&Noble Bookstore, which houses its own Starbucks! They offer all the regular drink and food options that used to be a car ride away. They also offer numerous healthy food options as well as snacks.
Long gone are the old, drab, Tyler hallways. Our new building walkways, offer TV screens and bulletin boards to grab information on the go. They also offer seating and easy access to great views and even a soda machine right there in the department on the second floor. Want to relax in between classes? There are plenty of places to grab a seat and plug right into any of the tables or walls nearby.
And of course there are our new rooms! One of the most important aspects to the new rooms is that nearly all of them, have piano and not just any piano: Steinways!
The main piano teaching studio has two Steinways and is perfect for duets.
Even our instrumental teaching rooms have pianos. We are pretty thrilled.
There are also numerous student practice rooms that have Ipad entry gates. We are setting them up in the coming weeks so that everyone can reserve their practice time. Each of the practice rooms offer our new Boston Steinway uprights. They sound great!
We even have a new percussion room that is so spacious that our entire Jazz Band can easily jam. Plenty of room for marimbas and the sort!
Room 130 is not only our percussion teaching studio, it also doubles as the practice room for our drum students.
We also have stunning new classrooms! The Theory room and Mac Lab are open all week for classes and Lab Hours.
And just when you think, you’ve seen it all… we now have Instrument Lockers!!! Yep, no need to walk all the way to your car with your instrument in between your day’s classes. See our teaching assistant, Jacob Gardner in the Mac Lap to reserve your locker.
The other great room we have now, is the new Recital/Choral Hall in room 118. It’s absolutely lovely. We’ve even broken it in with our first Concert!
A great program enjoyed by all. So if you haven’t gone for a full tour of the entire building, It’s all just as impressive. There is a workhout center on the second floor that is free to current students.
And if you are really adventurous, stop by the third floor to see the visual Arts departments! The classrooms are just as nice!
We have a lot of upcoming events, so stay tuned, here on the blog and on our Facebook page Facebook/MusicatNova to find out what is happening next!
Blog Post by Britt Conley – Assistant to the Music Department