The grand opening celebration for the Michael and Anne Greenwood School of Music was a long time in the making.
Oklahoma State University marked the milestone on Sept. 11 with a standing-room only crowd nearly four years after the Greenwoods announced their lead gift in 2017. But a new building has been needed for at least the last decade to alleviate the strain on the Seretean Center, which served both the music and theatre programs.
Since 1970, OSU’s music students have called the Seretean Center home, but crowding has become more of an issue. With 12 practice rooms to be shared among thousands of students, the young musicians practiced outside or in the hallways, bathrooms and any other usable space they could find.
Senior vocal education major Martha Beaty received raucous applause at the grand opening event when she spoke about the new building’s 28 practice rooms, which can accommodate small and large groups.
The building also includes 35 studios, three large rehearsal halls, two chamber rehearsal rooms, a state-of-the-art recording studio and flexible classroom spaces, each fine tuned with the necessary tools to help students succeed. And the facility’s lobby connects to The McKnight Center for the Performing Arts, where students will get the chance to perform and have access to unique experiential learning opportunities alongside some of the world’s top performers.