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A symphony of construction
SSU's Green Music Center 50 percent complete, still raising funds for final touches
September 14, 2007
By Nicolas Grizzle
The concert hall at the Green Music Center is the largest building at the facility. It will hold 1,400 seats and have variable acoustics when finished in fall 2009.
Standing amidst 50-foot cranes, concrete structures spouting rebar and large trucks creating dust clouds as they drove by, Floyd Ross said, "This is the hospitality area of the Green Music Center."
The center is about 50 percent completed, and the new music education center is expected to open for students and faculty in fall 2008.
Ross, executive director of the Green Music Center at Sonoma State University, conducted a tour for The Community Voice Thursday, September 6. Joining him was Susan Kashack, vice president of marketing and communications for SSU, Scott Tarr, contractor for Rudolph & Sletten Inc., which is in charge of construction and other university officials.
Dubbed the "crown jewel of Sonoma County," even before its completion, the Green Music Center will cost nearly $100 million to build. It's been through multiple architectural renovations but what has been finalized is "pretty close to what we started with," said Ross.
It's more than just a world-class concert hall. Yes, it will include a 1,400-seat indoor concert hall modeled after Tanglewood music complex in Lenox, Mass. (it's even been called "Tanglewood West"), but it's a lot more than that. The center will be the permanent home for the Santa Rosa Symphony and the university's music department (including music education), and encompass a restaurant, gift shop and administrative offices as well as a rolling grass hill, which could house an outdoor concert.
Remember when the Eagles played a sold-out show to 10,000 fans on Sonoma State's soccer field a few years ago? Ross says the Green Center could theoretically host that, if donations came in for an outdoor stage to the east of the concert hall. "Do you anticipate a problem getting funding for that?" he was asked.
"Not if someone writes us a check," he chimed back.
Still Fundraising
The issue of funding is a bit of a sensitive subject among students and faculty. Some say the Green Center is diverting funds which would otherwise be used for academic instruction and to fund necessary programs and classes. The state budget for the past few years has cut funding to the California State University System, and many departments at SSU are feeling the sharp sting of the governor's pen.
The project cost includes $60 million for construction, $13.8 million for design, project management and testing, and $10 million for interior finishing and furnishings. Some of this money has yet to be raised, said Kashack, but "that's how these things work," she said.
Though it is called the Green Music Center, it's not because of its "green" design. The center is named after primary donors Donald and Maureen Green, who gave the initial $10 million toward the project. Ross said the university isn't seeking LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification because the cost would escalate even further than it already has. But Tarr said they are recycling all non-used construction materials like wood, metal and anything else possible.
Acoustic Excellence
The concert and recital halls are designed to maximize the quality of sound coming from acoustic instruments. The concert hall, designed after Seiji Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood, will remain open at the back for 10,000 to watch and hear the performers on sunny days. The chairs in the hall are designed to reflect sound as non-disruptively as possible, and the split-block construction and oblong shape of the recital hall helps diffuse reverberations.
Thick, sound-absorbing curtains will be deployed at preset lengths and areas to lessen the echo of the large building, and speakers in the ground will project sound from the hall as naturally as possible to would-be picnicers in the grassy knoll.
Windows are a feature throughout the center, as the architects, Kirkegard and Associates, wanted to take advantage of the natural beauty of the area as much as possible. The site stands on the edge of town at Expressway and Petaluma Hill Road, and is surrounded by picturesque mountains and open space.
But When Will it be Done?
Construction is expected to be complete by fall 2009, and the university hopes to draw more music students. Kashack said the university is already seeing a slight increase in the number of music majors this year.
The concert hall is the last piece, as it takes the most effort and attention to detail. That will hopefully be finished by fall 2009 in time for the grand opening ceremony sure to take place. But, as Kashack said, "This is all dependent upon consistent fundraising."
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