A Space for Music: Music Front and Center

With the dedication, on February 9, of the Perry and Marty Granoff Music Center, the Tufts Department of Music marks its transition from a scattering of worn-out facilities to a graceful, state-of-the art building. In 55,000 square feet of acoustically engineered space, the center houses a box office; three classrooms of 65, 35, and 25 seats; 20 faculty offices; a multimedia lab; 12 practice rooms, including one for percussion; five teaching studios with grand pianos; ensemble rehearsal areas, including a two-story space that doubles as a recital hall; new, high-tech quarters for the Lilly Music Library; a world music room, home to collections of Asian and African instruments; and a skylit atrium that can serve as a reception area.

The crown jewel is the 300-seat Distler Performance Hall. The department chair, Professor Joseph Auner, calls it “a big, resonant space that keeps the sound alive” and “the best small recital hall in the Boston area.”

The Granoffs, parents of alumnus Michael Granoff, A91, are music lovers who also supported the establishment of the Granoff Family Hillel Center at Tufts. Marty Granoff, a Tufts trustee, considers students of the arts “very important to the fabric of a university.”

Many alumni and friends contributed to make the new center possible, including:

Asher Plaza: gift of Martin Richard Asher, A53, and Sheila S. Asher
Murnane Lobby: gift of Preston Robert Tisch, H96, A71P, A76P, and The Tisch Foundation in honor of Dr. Thomas W. Murnane, A58, D62, DG65, G68, J97P
Distler Performance Hall: gift of Stephen Distler, A74, and Roxanne E. Kendall, J75
Ruth Lilly Music Library: gift of Ruth Lilly
Karl Leichtman Performance Stage and Agnes Varis Music Lecture Hall: gifts of Trustee Agnes Varis, H03
Fisher Performance Room: gift of Itzhak and Ruth Fisher, A04P, A08P
Robert and Leona Maguire Seminar Room: gift of Lynne Maguire, J76
Reading Area: gift of David T. Zussman, A53, J80P, and Randi Zussman, J80P
Remis family Orchestra Seating: gift of Robert and Ruth Remis, J54, trustee emerita, and Richard and Pamela Remis, A07P, A10P
Beelzebubs Box Office: gift of The Tufts Beelzebubs and The Beelzebubs Alumni Association, Inc.
Percussion/Loud Music Room: gift of the family of Barbara and C. David Chase, A72; Dan, A05; and Paul, A06
Technical Booth: gift of Brian J. McCarthy, A75, A07P, and Shelley Bestmann McCarthy, J75, A07P
“Barnstormers” Room: gift of Gregory T. Barmore, A64, and Donna Berg Barmore, U67, in memory of Eric Barnes, A64
Electronic Billboard: gift of James D. Sperling, A74, and Virginia A. Loeb, J75
Four Practice Rooms: gifts of the Belok Family, in memory of Erich Leinsdorf; Alexandra Morgan Ciardi, J78, (1957–2005) and dedicated to her memory; the family and friends of Edward P. Roberts, A74; the Dave Connolly, A81, Practice Room, a gift of the Jay Pritzker Foundation
Drum Studio: gift of James Soutar, A88, and Abby Lai
Reading Table: gift of Arthur W. Zeckendorf, A81, A09P, and Constance H. Zeckendorf, J81, A09P
Steinway Grand Piano: gift of Lawrence S. Bacow and Adele Fleet Bacow in honor of their parents, Ruth and Mitchell Bacow and Margaret and Joel Fleet, M.D.

Links
Photos and multimedia presentations
Perry and Marty Granoff

Photograph by alonso nichols