Facilities

Harris Fine Arts Center

The School of Music is housed in the Harris Fine Arts Center (HFAC), a comprehensive fine arts complex named after BYU's fourth president, Franklin S. Harris, who was known for his love of the fine arts. The Center was dedicated April 3, 1965, by President Joseph Fielding Smith. Designed by William L. Pereira and Associates, the five-level structure sits on two acres of land and comprises 283,500 square feet of floor space. The building includes five theatres, two large rehearsal rooms, many individual practice rooms, ten pipe organs, classrooms, faculty and administrative offices, a piano lab, an organ lab, a 21-station technology center, a 24-channel stereo digital recording studio, and an electronic music studios. Additional large rehearsal spaces and teaching studios for Music Dance Theatre and Media Music students are found in the Knight Mangum Building.

Built in the shape of an "H", the structure is prominently situated on the campus mall facing the Wilkinson Student Center and the Harold B. Lee Library. All the wings of the facility surround a central three-story open gallery where student and faculty art is regularly on display. The HFAC is also home to other academic areas of the College of Fine Arts and Communications, including the Department of Theatre and Media Arts and the Department of Visual Arts. The BYU Museum of Art, also part of the college, is housed in a separate building adjacent to the HFAC, where rare art and world-class exhibits are featured.

The continental-style de Jong Concert Hall is the largest theater in the Harris Fine Arts Center, with a seating capacity of 1,420. This magnificent performance space is used by many visiting artists as well as for concerts by most of the major large ensembles of the School of Music.

The Madsen Recital Hall is the principal venue for student recitals, lectures, chamber music, and choir rehearsals.

The central office for the School of Music is in room C-550, near the south staircase on the fifth floor. The Academic Advisement Center on the fourth floor and the Ticket Office on the third (ground) floor are busy centers serving students and the general public.

Music Performance Library

The School of Music maintains a Performance Library, B-311 HFAC, containing a comprehensive selection of sheet music for university bands, choirs, orchestras, and school-sponsored chamber groups. Music in the Performance Library is reserved exclusively for BYU School of Music performing ensembles and students, within the context of official university activities. Performance Library music may be checked out by current BYU School of Music students for use in BYU music classes in which they are enrolled, with faculty instructor approval.

Music Library

The Music Library, a division of the university's three-million-volume Harold B. Lee Library, contains more than 20,000 sound recordings and 36,000 monograph and periodical titles. Located on the 4^th floor, the music library is a spacious and comfortable study area with an elegant reading reference room and helpful staff.

The Music Library's Media Center has facilities for listening to recordings, viewing video images in many formats, and accessing multi-media through a local computer network. We encourage exploration of the rich collection of music housed in the Music Library. Before allowed access to this listening facility there is a minimal amount of training required. See the Music Library Reference Desk for more information.

Another listening facility in the Harold B. Lee Library, the Learning Resource Center, focuses on media support for large courses throughout the university.

A variety of music scores and parts (chamber music, scores for orchestra, band, choir) can be checked out. Special collections include the Primrose International Viola Archive and the Pratt International Harp Archive, both of which are the largest single collections of music for those instruments in the world. Also located in the library are the Bart, k-Serly, Max Steiner, Capitol Records, Percy Faith, and Bruning Sheet Music collections. A number of advanced music courses use the seminar room and the pedagogy collectino as a resource in their studies. If you have questions about the collections or facilities, see the staff at the Music Library Reference Desk.

Instrument Shop and Student Lockers

The Instrument Shop in E-395 HFAC provides instruments and equipment to students for use in BYU performing groups or for School of Music students taking private lessons through the university during regular school sessions only. There is no charge.

For a small rental fee, lockers are available through the Instrument Shop for those wishing to store their instruments in the HFAC. Also available at the instrument shop are various instrumental items: reeds, strings, rosin, cork grease, valve oil, slide grease, metronomes, etc.

Electronic Facilities

One of the most valuable facilities available to School of Music students is the Advanced Lab for Music Applications (ALMA lab) in C-485 HFAC. This lab contains 24 computer stations with MIDI keyboards and a variety of music software (including Finale music notation, ear training drills, and sophisticated music sequencers) and is available to music students whenever courses are not being held there. Graduating seniors regularly refer to this facility as one of the most valuable resources the School of Music has to offer.

Sound Recording Technology students gain valuable experience in the school's state-of-the-art recording studio. The concert hall has comprehensive sound reinforcement equipment (including a multi-input board). Other synthesizer and computer materials are available to students registered in electronic music, composition, or media music classes. The school procures and maintains the very latest electronic keyboard, computer, sequencing, and MIDI equipment.

Practice Rooms

The School of Music maintains 46 practice rooms, found on the second floor of the HFAC in the B, C, E, and F wings. These practice rooms contain a variety of musical instruments and are set up to accommodate different student needs.