By Michael Bambuch
Dear President Freeland, (again). We are members of the Northeastern Chorus, an ensemble of musicians dedicated to the higher learning and richer experience of the musical arts, but first and foremost, we are one of the largest and most established student groups on campus. You can see us on Wednesdays, sometimes pushing a small cart, which fits in a closet in the NUBiLAGA offices.
Sadly, our “office” is the cart we push. But not having an office to organize business is the least of our worries. We do not have a stable and consistent rehearsal space, the ones provided to us do not meet the standards of a group half our size or reason. To add insult to our many injuries, the culmination of our professional musicianship falters when we are to perform to an actual audience. The loss of St. Ann, once our premier concert space, has been a great detriment to the community and Northeastern, but has also punctured a hole in the vocal performing arts of our esteemed university. The Curry Student Center Ballroom, one of our many temporary homes, has been acoustically muted and deemed less enthusiastically purposeful for any type of classical concert.
It is not only the lack of space that defines our problem; it is the lack of consistently having any space to use. We are bounced around from campus building to campus building resulting in confusion and added mishap. In some instances this 60-acre establishment of higher education shipped us over to the New England Conservatory resulting in a hefty bill for three hours of rehearsal. We happily sent the bill to the university, of course.
There are no more corners for a music program of this magnitude to be forced into. I don’t believe we speak for just the chorus, but for the Department of Musical Arts here at Northeastern. Just beyond the captivating towers of the multi-million dollar creation of West Campus is Ryder Hall, inside which, on the third floor, music majors share pity with one another. The five practice rooms are usually available to students, that is, available so long as no professor is giving private lessons within. In the event that one does free up, you can expect prison-like quality with insufficient air flow. May it be understood that under most circumstances, private music teachers at universities are provided with private studio rooms with space and tuned pianos for the purpose of helping to prepare their students for their musical endeavors. The band and orchestra cram themselves into 354 Ryder to rehearse for the upcoming concert. Concerts in your high school auditorium sounded better than those in the closet- sized space these musicians perform in.
For a university’s administration which boasts in practical application of education, what better ways are performance artists able to communicate the effectiveness of their education than through on-campus performances? How can we, as the student groups, do this when there is no space to begin with? We feel as if we are still in high school, rallying to keep the music and arts education afloat in a country of budget cuts and “no child left behind.” In a private university of this magnitude, the students should never feel this way.
The university should take pride in the students who are contributing towards this establishment’s positive reputation. Members of our chorus have sung the national anthem at Fenway Park, wearing Northeastern logo sweaters. How’s that for free PR? How about this administration returning the favor to us?
Why can’t you see the need for strength in every program this university has to offer? Investing time and money into the arts program of such a diverse establishment has more benefits than I believe you may see. I implore you to open yourself up to us. The want and the necessity is there. Our music program is nothing if you take away the very walls that resonate our education. I am asking you, Richard M. Freeland, where are you? Your students need you. Your performing arts want to hear your voice as much as we want to sing this school’s praise.
– Michael Bambuch is a junior psychology major and the president of the NUCH.
