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Department of Music and Dance Facilities

Rehearsal | Sound Archive | Richard F. Wright Jazz Archive | Instruments | Music and Dance Library | Performing Venues | Computer Lab

Instruction, Rehearsal, and Research Spaces

The instructional and performance activities of the Department of Music and Dance take place in several locations on the Lawrence campus. Murphy Hall is a five-level facility containing offices for faculty in applied music, music theory and composition, opera, musicology, and ensembles. It contains choral and instrumental rehearsal halls, the Music and Dance Library, the Electronic Music Studio, the Kansas Center for Music Technology, classrooms, and practice rooms. Murphy Hall contains offices for faculty in music education and music therapy, the Psychology and Acoustics of Music Laboratory, and classrooms. Robinson Center contains the dance faculty offices and two large dance studios, including the Elizabeth Sherbon Dance Theatre.

Archive of Recorded Sound

The Archive of Recorded Sound is an exceptional collection of sound recordings of great historical significance. It contains more than 75,000 items, including the Wright Jazz Collection, the Seaver Opera Collection, and Bierley Early Band Collection. The Archive contains all equipment necessary for playback of its various early recording technologies, including Pathe, Edison, and cylinder players. The Archive is a tremendous resource for performers and scholars.

Richard F. Wright Jazz Archive

Visit the Richard F. Wright Jazz Archive Page

The Richard F. Wright Jazz Archive at the University of Kansas is one of the most complete of its kind in the Midwest. Its holdings thoroughly cover all major jazz periods from the 1920’s and 1930’s on 78-rpm recordings. The Archive also has an on-line database of its recordings.

Instruments

The Department of Music and Dance has a significant inventory of musical instruments. There are 150 pianos, mostly Steinways, Yamahas, and Baldwins, including six concert grands. Other specialized equipment includes a Roland keyboard lab; the Collegium Musicum instrument collection which includes recorders, shawms, sackbuts, cornetts, crumhorns, lutes, violas da gamba, cornamuses, a ranket, a Baroque trumpet, and percussion instruments; a clavichord; four harpsichords; six practice organs; and a full complement of band and orchestra instruments.

Thomas Gorton Music and Dance Library

A fine library is a fundamental component in any school and the Thomas Gorton Music and Dance Library is an exceptional resource for the faculty and students of the Department of Music and Dance. Books, scores, sound recordings, periodicals, and microforms number in excess of 100,000, fully servicing all degree programs offered. The facility contains listening equipment, study carrels, and computer terminals for on-line searches. The Library is staffed with professional music librarians who are able to assist with any need.

Performing Venues

The Lied Center of Kansas

The Lied Center is a multi-purpose, 2000-seat hall with exceptional acoustics, state-of-the-art sound system, rehearsal and dressing rooms, and administrative spaces. Most of the band, orchestra, jazz, opera, chorus and orchestra, and dance concerts take place in this facility.

The Crafton-Preyer Theatre

The Crafton-Preyer Theatre, an 1100-seat proscenium stage facility, is home to most musical theater productions as well as occasional dance and music ensemble presentations.

Swarthout Recital Hall

Swarthout Recital Hall, a 389-seat facility with exceptional acoustics, is dedicated to faculty and student solo and chamber music performance and occasional chamber opera productions. The William Inge Memorial Theater is an intimate black box facility seating up to 125, where small opera productions are staged.

The Bales Organ Recital Hall

The Bales Organ Recital Hall is a 200-seat facility dedicated to organ teaching and performance. The facility contains a tracker action pipe organ built by Hellmuth Wolff and Associates of Montreal, Canada.

Music and Dance Computer Lab

Lab hours are as follows:
Sunday: 1-10pm
Monday: 12:30-1:30, 4:30-10p
Tuesday: 12:30-10p
Wednesday: 4:30-5:30p, 7:30-10p
Thursday: 12:30-1:30p, 4;30-10P
Friday: 11:30-12:30p
Saturday: noon-5p