Commitment to Music

Faculty, staff, and retirees join forces for new music facilities.

Dramatically improved facilities for the study and performance of music has been a dream of faculty, students, staff, and alumni of the College of Music for a long time. That dream is finally becoming a reality.

Ken Bloomquist served on the faculty of the college from 1970 to 1992 and as director of the Music school from 1978 to 1989. He and his wife, Ann, have joined forces with current College of Music Dean James Forger and Deborah Moriarty, professor of piano and chair of the Piano Area, to name the student practice floor of a new addition to music facilities. 

“MSU is a model of success in the performing arts nationally and internationally,” Bloomquist says. “We have quality students, professional and respected music faculty, and a university that is known worldwide. On top of that, we are able to attract and invite the world’s greatest artists to our campus. Our faculty, our students, and our patrons deserve high-quality spaces in which to practice, perform, and experience such high-quality music.”

The Bloomquists have challenged MSU Music alumni and the Spartan Marching Band alumni to join them in supporting the Music Pavilion. 

“Ken and Ann Bloomquist had a tremendous impact on the music programs at MSU for many years,” Forger says. “They have been tireless champions of music at our university, and  Deborah and I are thrilled to add our personal contribution for the same purpose as theirs, to name the student practice floor in our new, state-of-the-art facility—space where students spend countless hours honing their skills and artistry.”

Glen Brough, an assistant director in the Office of Admissions and visual coordinator for the Spartan Marching Band, together with his spouse April Clobes, the president and CEO of the MSU Federal Credit Union, recently made a naming gift for the student lounge in the new pavilion.

Enthusiasm for the project is running high with more than $11 million in private support raised in just 14 months. In addition to the Bloomquists, Forger and Moriarty, MSU retirees including Selma Hollander and Chuck and Philippa Webb have gotten behind the project as well.

More than half of College of Music faculty and staff have contributed to the Music Pavilion. Their collective contributions of more than $100,000 will name the Student Study Mezzanine on the second floor of the pavilion, which will overlook the two-story lobby in the new construction.

Exterior rendering, looking north from Circle Drive.

Exterior view from Adams Field.

An area for students to gather will be named in honor of a gift from Glen Brough and April Clobes.

A new place to practice percussion, with specialized acoustics to protect students' hearing and produce a superior sound.

A student study space overlooking the lobby will be named in honor of the more than $100,000 contributed to the project by current Music faculty and staff.

Floorplans show the carefully-planned layout of the new and improved facilities.

Very little has changed in the Music Building since its construction in 1939 and an addition in 1956. The facility is used round the clock by students who need and deserve practice and rehearsal spaces that are engineered with advanced acoustical properties to enhance their learning and preserve their hearing. 

“We feel a sense of ‘mission accomplished!’” Ken Bloomquist says. 

Ann Bloomquist adds, “We will be so pleased to be able to name this floor in honor of the music students, present and past. We believe they are the lifeblood of the College of Music.”

Learn more about the project at music.msu.edu/pavilion

If you would like more information about naming opportunities in the Music Pavilion, please contact Senior Director of Development Rebecca Surian at surian@msu.edu or (517) 353-9872.