Nazareth College – Glazer Music Performance Center

The Nazareth College Arts Center is known for its prestigious music programs. Performances include orchestra, wind ensemble, chamber choir, women’s choir, men’s choir, jazz ensemble, and opera. The new $15.5M, 24,000-SF Glazer Center houses a 550-seat performance hall, control room, percussion rehearsal studio, piano seminar office, rehearsal rooms, and practice rooms.

In the early project stages, AD assessed options for upgrading or expanding the Callahan Theater, Linehan Chapel, and the Xerox Auditorium to house a large performance space. It was determined that the best option was to build a new facility for the music program. AD’s team specifically designed the venue for large instrumental ensembles to ensure an appropriate acoustics environment for optimal performance and experience.

The project had several unique challenges, including budget, schedule, simultaneous use of the concert hall and other acoustically sensitive spaces, and providing sufficient volume to support large ensembles given the small audience seating capacity. To meet this last goal, the team captured what would otherwise have been underutilized space backstage as well as above the hall’s circulation areas and several acoustically sensitive warm-up, teaching, and practice spaces. Substantial sound isolation construction was developed to allow for simultaneous use.

The acoustic design features operable doors and retractable curtains on three levels to provide a large range of acoustic adjustability to accommodate a wide range of music programming as well as lectures, panel discussions, master classes, and seminars.