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

  • URI Cuts Underwater Ribbon on New Ocean Robotics Laboratory

    The University of Rhode Island recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Ocean Robotics Laboratory at its Narragansett Bay Campus, according to a news release. Two students used a remotely operated vehicle to cut an underwater ribbon in a 30-by-20-foot test tank.

  • Missouri Child Development Center Completes $2.3M Expansion

    The Urban Sprouts Child Development Center in St. Louis, Mo., recently announced the completion of a $2.3-million expansion and adaptive reuse project, according to a news release. The new space includes a retail café, outdoor learning space, and a support office building.

  • Houston-Area High School Receives Best Project Award from ENR

    Tomball West High School near Houston, Texas, recently received a K–12 Education Best Project Award in Engineering News-Record’s 2026 Texas & Southeast Best Projects Awards, according to a press release. The new facility was completed in May and opened its doors to students for the fall 2026 semester.

  • St. Lucie County, Fla., Breaks Ground on New K–8 School

    St. Lucie Public Schools in St. Lucie County, Fla., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new K–8 school, according to a news release. The district partnered with Spiezle Architectural Group, Inc., for the design of the upcoming Ft. Pierce K–8 School, which comprises six buildings covering 215,000 square feet.