Facilities

The entire project included renovations to 8,500 square feet of existing spaces in the Music and Music Practice buildings and increased the overall college facility space by more than 40%. Since its opening, the pavilion, named in honor of lead benefactor Dr. James K. Billman, has enhanced student learning with advanced acoustical engineering and custom designed spaces within a climate-controlled environment. The $41.5 million project was completed with $17.8 million in privately raised dollars from generous donors. Features of the pavilion include five large halls (one renovated) for orchestra, band, choral, jazz, and percussion rehearsals, numerous practice rooms of various sizes that protect student hearing and minimize sound from room to room, a student lounge, a large atrium and gathering space, a student study mezzanine, and an outdoor courtyard.

The College of Music wishes to thank all those who played key roles in leading this ambitious Billman Music Pavilion project to a successful conclusion. This list represents donors of $10,000 and more. In addition, are grateful for the generous contributions of many others who supported this project.

Gathering Spaces

• Dick and Ruth Charles Atrium
• Murray Family Terrace
• Brough Student Lounge
• Dr. Roy J. Simon Courtyard

Multi-purpose Rehearsal Halls, Venues and Practice Spaces

• Large Rehearsal Hall
• Eichler Rehearsal Hall
• Murray Performance and Rehearsal Hall
• Hollander Vocal Arts Hall for Choral/Opera and Student Recitals
• Schalon Percussion Hall
• 45 Practice Rooms: Single and duo piano, chamber music, Jazz, Percussion
• Studio Spaces: Percussion, Band, Jazz

James K. Billman, Jr., M.D.
Craig and Lisa Murray, Jessie, Courtney, and Becca
Byron and Dolores Cook
Selma and Stanley Hollander
Dick and Ruth Charles
Edwin H. Eichler and Wanda Hayes Eichler
Marcella Gast Schalon

Drs. Lou A. and Roy J. Simon
J. Robert Houston III and Eileen G. Houston
Merritt and Candy Lutz
Donald F. Koch, Ph.D. and Barbara J. Sawyer-Koch, M.P.A.
Ken and Sandy Beall
Hari Kern and Ralph R. Edminster, M.D.
Randolph Cowen and Phyllis GreenBarbara Dixon
Patrick and Victoria McPharlin and Family
Ronald J. and Helen M. Priest
MSU Federal Credit Union

William and Jan Simpson
Kenneth G. and Ann M. Bloomquist
April Clobes and Glen Brough
Jewell Family
Joseph and Jeanne Maguire
Beth E. Muelder
Tom and Denise Frieder Carr
Martha A. Scharchburg
Jim and Pat Clay
James Forger and Deborah Moriarty
Christman Company
Governor John and Michelle Engler
Nancy Trithart Faber
Robert R. and JoAnne K. Gulliver
Kenneth L. and Marla Beth Knas
Sandy and Bill Mason
Charles and Constance McCallum
Paul E. and Margaret A. Mistele
Gayle and Marlene Gardner
James Pingree Nelson Honoring Violin Maker Tim Jansma
Chuck and Philippa Webb
Ken and Carole Yerrick

Robert and Catherine Barna
Dale L. and Helen R. Bartlett
Alena Fabian, M.D.
Carol and Ron Horowitz
Christopher and JoAnne Miller
Steven H. Noll
David C. Rayl and Joel E. Maurer
Barbara E. Wagner
Walter and Elsa Verdehr
Joanne and Bill Church
Thomas and Catherine Luccock
Tammy and Archie Hoebecke
Jeffrey S. Clark
Professor Pam Fraker and Mary Davison, R.N.
Leon and Linda Gregorian
John, Ann Marie and Abby Lindley
Rhonda Buckley-Bishop and Kelley Bishop
Rebecca Detrich Surian and Christopher Surian
June Youatt and Charley Ballard
Konrad and Suzette Hittner
Michael and Patricia Kroth
Richard and Lynne Fracker
Sumner and Irene Bagby
Professor David E. and Rebecca Adams Blair
Donald A. and Lavonne C. Bomeli
Marc Embree and Jane Bunnell
Tom and Wilma Kehler
Joe and Janet Lulloff
Kevin L. Sedatole
Professor Suren Bagratuni
Ralph and Albertine Votapek
Rodney and Cookey Whitaker
John and Carole Whitwell
Gregory and Pamela J. Zbasnik
Catherine J. Reinlein
John and Gretchen Forsyth
Michael and Paula Koppisch
Judith Stoddart and A.C. Goodson
Ron and Mary Lee Sakowski
John and Nancy DiBiaggio

Dedicated in 1939 and built with help from a $90,000 grant from the United States Public Works Administration, the Music Building is Michigan State’s first building designed to serve the liberal arts. Music classes used to meet in several different buildings across campus, but since its opening it has served as the hub of music learning and performance on campus. Situated in the beautiful northern part of campus, the Music Building is a neighbor to the iconic Beaumont Tower and the famed Adams Field, site of Spartan Marching Band pre-game activities on football game days.

The two-story building with a lower level consists of multiple classrooms, faculty and staff studios and offices, a piano tech lab, and numerous practice rooms. There is character and a sense of rich history in its corridors, and it is the home of both Cook Recital Hall and Hollander Hall. The lower level includes a tunnel under our courtyard, enabling comfortable movement between the Music Building and the Music Practice Building when needed.

Its five stories include faculty offices and studios, Graduate Studies offices, practice rooms, classrooms, composition labs, the Music Theory Learning Center.

Significant renovations to the auditorium in the Music Building were completed in 2012. The venue has since been known as Cook Recital Hall in honor of Byron and Dee Cook, longtime supporters and friends of the college. With seating for 180, it features state-of-the-art acoustics and remains a popular venue for a variety of student, faculty, and guest recitals.

Extensive renovations to Fairchild Theatre in the MSU Auditorium were completed in 2014, becoming another sought-after stage due to superior sound quality. Audiences immediately recognized an improved concert experience, and a large number of the College’s performances fill this 400-seat performance space each season.

Since its opening night in 1982, Wharton Center has generated state and national prominence for its success with touring mega hits and sold-out sensations. It is also the home of MSU large ensembles that feature the best of our student musicians, conductors, and composers. Our performances in Wharton Center include everything from orchestral masterpieces to innovative band and choir repertoire and everything in between. 

This versatile performance, rehearsal, and event space was built for the primary use a jazz and hosts many other events in the college, including recitals and master classes. Its warm aesthetic, finely tuned acoustics, and intimate seating make it a popular space for jazz concerts and other performances. Located in the Billman Music Pavilion, Murray Hall seats 156, 130 on the main floor and twenty-six in a balcony.

Hollander Hall is one of our spaces scaled for smaller audiences, primarily used as a vocal arts rehearsal space. It does, however, host recitals of all kinds. Guided by the same architects and acousticians who designed and reinvented the concert experience in several of our other venues, Hollander Hall seats ninety people for general admission events. 

This classic chapel has been the site of Spartan weddings and other services for decades, but it became one of the College’s performance venues following the custom design and installation of a beautiful new pipe organ. A focal point among many other renovations in the chapel, the Red Cedar Organ is a work of art made possible by the leadership gift of Ed and Wanda Eichler. The intimate seating and grand sounds of the organ create memorable music experiences. 

Known to all Spartans as one of the most recognizable landmarks on the MSU campus, Beaumont Tower also houses a carillon with bells that rival the best instruments in the world. The College of Music is home to the University Carillonist who performs in the top of the tower, teaches students to play, brings in guest artists, and presents the concerts that fill the north campus with music throughout the year.