College announces new music building

The Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts has received funding to begin design and construction of a new $75 million music facility and $15 million renovation of Kimball Recital Hall. These funds were approved by the Nebraska Legislature earlier this year.

“This is the culmination of years of hard work and discussions with our community, supporters and university, but our dream is now on the verge of reality, and we could not be more excited about the opportunities,” said Chuck O’Connor, endowed dean of the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts. “Now, our Glenn Korff School of Music will have a facility to match the stature of our faculty and programs. We are eager to visit with alumni and other interested donors about the exciting plans we have for the new building and earn their support for this vital project.”

Toward that end, the University of Nebraska Foundation, the HixsonLied College, and the Glenn Korff School of Music are seeking $15 million for additional facility expenses and to provide naming opportunities for music spaces to support music scholarships, professorships, student opportunities and special equipment.

Music has been a vital part of the university since 1894, and the Glenn Korff School of Music has enjoyed exceptional growth and national prominence throughout its history.

“The time has come to replace our friend, the Westbrook Music Building, and renovate our beloved Kimball Hall,” said Sergio Ruiz, director of the Glenn Korff School of Music. “These hallways have been filled with incredible music created by the talented students and faculty at UNL for more than 50 years. We are excited about this new chapter to create new and expanded facilities to meet the continued growth of the school and to keep

Conceptual image of the new music building, as seen from the northeast corner of the building, which will be located at 10th and Q streets. Renderings are courtesy of HGA. The design has not been finalized and is subject to change.

music and dance education thriving for years to come.”

The new building will replace Westbrook, which was built in the mid-1960s.

The proposed site for the music building and recital hall is the northeast corner of 10th and Q streets, where it will stand as an iconic entrance to the southwest corner of UNL’s city campus and connect the Haymarket district in downtown Lincoln to the campus.

The project will accommodate rapid growth in enrollments in music and dance majors in the Glenn Korff School of Music.

If you are interested in learning more about the project, please contact Dean Chuck O’Connor at (402) 472-9339 or email charles. oconnor@unl.edu, or Director Sergio Ruiz at (402) 472-5775 or e-mail sergio.ruiz@unl.edu.  ■

Anticipated new spaces in the new facility will include:

• an elegant 300-seat recital hall

• rehearsal halls of various sizes to house bands and the opera program, as well as UNL’s percussion, jazz, orchestral, choir and chamber music ensembles

• a state-of-the-art digital recording facility

• instructional space, offices and practice rooms for faculty, staff and students

• fresh food options for music and other students in the arts sector of campus

• refurbished organ, stage and audience facilities in the Kimball

Recital Hall