Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Messiah College

Calvin and Janet High Center for Worship and Performing Arts

  • 08/01/13
Messiah College 

PHOTOS © NATHAN COX

Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, PA, recently opened the 92,000-square-foot Calvin and Janet High Center for Worship and Performing Arts. The music program had long outgrown their previous facility and desperately needed updated rehearsal and performance space. Completed in January, the High Center has exceeded the expectations of both faculty and students.

The focal point of the building is the 778-seat Parmer Hall, created to host musical concerts, worship services, lectures and other events. The large stage can accommodate a 100-piece orchestra with a choral terrace for 116 singers above. The acoustical design of the room has features that allow an incredible presence and warmth for unamplified musical ensembles along with crisp, clear sound from amplified groups on stage.

Outside of Parmer Hall, music education and rehearsals were the driving force for design. A smaller performance venue located just across the corridor is the High Foundation Recital Hall. This 156-seat room emulates the incredible acoustics of Parmer Hall on a smaller scale. It hosts numerous music recitals, small lectures and academic classes. Nearby, there is an instrumental rehearsal room for large bands and orchestras, a choral rehearsal room for the college’s many vocal ensembles and a chamber rehearsal room for smaller music groups such as brass quintets or string quartets.

Each room was designed for maximum flexibility in order to be easily reconfigured to accommodate the needs of any group. There is also a classroom, a keyboard instruction lab and a fully functional recording studio. Students can practice in one of eighteen private rehearsal rooms.

Twenty faculty offices, which double as private teaching studios, line the perimeter of the building. Student instrument storage is provided in custom-made cabinets kept in closets throughout the facility.

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management August 2013 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Illinois District Boosts Security at High-School Stadium

    Richmond-Burton Community High School in Richmond, Ill., recently announced that it has completed the redesigned entrance to its high school stadium with a new focus on school security and community engagement, according to a news release. The district partnered with Wold Architects and Engineers on the project as part of District #157’s year-long facilities master plan.

  • El Paso District Breaks Ground on New Elementary School

    The Canutillo Independent School District in El Paso, Texas, recently announced that construction has begun on a 119,000-square-foot elementary school, according to a news release. The district partnered with Pfluger Architects, Carl Daniel Architects, and LDCM Solutions on the new Davenport Elementary School, which has an expected completion date of 2027.

  • abstract representation of hybrid learning environment

    The Permanence of Change: Why Hybrid Is the New Baseline

    Hybrid learning is here to stay, and it's reshaping how campus spaces function.

  • Illinois State University Breaks Ground on College of Fine Arts Transformation

    Illinois State University in Normal, Ill., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts transformation project, according to university news. The series of new constructions and renovations will upgrade spaces in Centennial East, the Center for the Visual Arts, and the Center for the Performing Arts, as well as replace the existing Centennial West facility with a new Commons Building.

Digital Edition