Adjacent to the Chazen Museum sits a sign, the lone marker in an otherwise barren lot: “Future Home of the UW School of Music Performance Center.” In a few years’ time, the new venue—which will host a 325-seat recital hall and a large rehearsal area—will make its debut. This extravagant new complex will allow the prestigious music school to reach new heights. Its expansion, however, paradoxically worsens one of its greatest flaws: its exclusivity.
The School of Music is home to a myriad of gifted musicians. Those who major in music are fortunate enough to have access to its various facilities and course offerings. Obviously, there are hundreds of other students at UW-Madison who are also interested in—and immensely talented at—making music. It’s these students that get the short end of the stick.
There are around 100 different undergraduate music courses on the Course Catalog. Go to the School of Music website, however, and you’ll find a considerably smaller number of classes available to non-majors: There are only 15 of them. And while those select classes are of excellent quality and can certainly be challenging, they seriously constrict the options of the non-major music aficionado.
Granted, many ensembles do allow non-majors to audition—but they stress that most members have “significant” experience, or are music majors. Even the descriptions of the groups contain strong enough language to discourage casual musicians from auditioning. The timing of the auditions is also tricky: They are held several days into each semester. As a result, it is difficult for non-major students to plan their semester’s schedule without knowing which group they will be placed in (if any).
Even those students who love making music but have no interest in joining an ensemble have a difficult time gaining access to the school’s facilities. Private practice rooms to practice playing an instrument or singing are hard to come by on campus. Some dorms have practice rooms (most apartment complexes and houses don’t), but there’s usually only one of them, hardly fulfilling the demand for rehearsal spaces. Many of the rooms are also near common areas, such as laundry rooms, computer labs and study spaces. The knowledge that dozens of people are within earshot is enough to dissuade many people from singing (or playing) their hearts out.
There are a multitude of music practice rooms on the bottom floor of Mosse Humanities Building, where the Music School hosts most of its classes. Many of them are replete with grand pianos, percussion sets, stands and other equipment. The only problem? The practice rooms need to be rented, for a price of at least $130 per year. Fees that exorbitant force many students—many of whom already have student loans or very little disposable income—to opt against playing music. Other schools, such as the University of Minnesota and the University of Washington, rent out practice rooms for more affordable rates.
Although the new performance center will certainly be a huge draw for the school and allow the program to continue its excellent tradition, it uses up money that could have also been used in making the program more accessible for all students. Investing even a tiny portion of the $22 million poured into the facility would have allowed non-majors to also enjoy the resources that the School of Music has to offer. One of the fundamental purposes of a music school is to foster a love for music in its community. By offering limited classes to non-majors and obliging students to pay high dues to pursue their love for music, the UW School of Music—despite all its prestige—does the exact opposite.
Sebastian is a freshman majoring in environmental studies and history. Do you agree with him? do you disagree? Let us know what you think. Send any comments to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
