American Magazine Fall 05

American Magazine | Fall 2005

http://www.american.edu/american/fall05_inaugural.html

Inaugural lessons

BY MATT GETTY

Before its official opening to the Washington, D.C., community on October 20, the Dr. Cyrus and Myrtle Katzen Arts Center opened its state-of-the-art recital hall, spacious rehearsal rooms, inspiring sunlit corridors, professional art studios, and mirror-lined dance studio to AU students for the first time during the first week of fall classes in September.

These were some of the sights and sounds of those first openings . . .

“In addition to just having that ‘wow’ factor for an audience, it’s a great hall for artists in training, because it’s a truly honest and responsive space,” explained AU music and choral activities director Dan Abraham after his first rehearsal in the Abramson Family Recital Hall. “You can hear yourself reflected back to you, and it’s important for a singer to have that reflective quality that tells you where you are, how it’s going.”

“Going from rehearsing in a large classroom to a designed rehearsal room makes a real difference,” said William Smith after his first Jazz Ensemble practice in the Katzen. “Having the risers in there just like you would in a performance lets you arrange the players to get a good sonic balance. They can hear each other better, which means they can play better.”

“It definitely feels more professional,” said literature major and music minor Emily Rotella ’06 on her first week of classes in Katzen. “You can’t help but want to look at the music more closely and practice more to live up to that.”

“Having floor-to-ceiling mirrors on the walls is huge,” explained Liz Leitzel ’07, a management and marketing major who was drawn to take an advanced ballet class in part by the new dance studio. “You can see yourself anywhere in the room, so you can make sure you’re holding your body right, which is very important for ballet.”

“It’s kind of like giving an artist a blank canvas and saying, ‘Go for it,’” said music theatre director Carl Menninger. “Your environment has such a profound impact on you, and this whole building is really much more conducive to being creative. Even the wide, naturally lit corridors just give everything this wonderful open feel.”

“I love the natural light,” said Alicia Micozzi ’07 following her first class in one of the Katzen Center’s painting and drawing studios. “The big ground-level windows bring in a lot more sun than we were able to get in McKinley. Natural sunlight’s a lot more honest, so while you’re painting you don’t have to guess if what you’re seeing is really how it looks.”

“The facilities are just the beginning,” said dance instructor and AU alumnus Vladimir Angelov after his first week teaching in the Katzen. “Having the gallery right there and all the arts together, it will be very interesting to see what kind of collaboration develops between painters and dancers and other artists.

The building just opens so many possibilities . . . Its true impact is yet to be discovered.”