SWARTHOUT RECITAL HALL

has been the principal performance venue for KU’s School of Music since its doors opened in 1957. The hall provides performance space for faculty and student musicians and visiting artists. Each year, thousands of patrons attend nearly 350 performances in Swarthout, featuring talented soloists and chamber music ensembles.

For music majors, taking the Swarthout stage to perform their senior recital is the culmination of years of training and the capstone of their educational experience at KU. The senior recital is as significant as graduation for many students and is often attended by parents, extended family, friends and former music teachers.

The current condition of Swarthout Recital Hall does little to enhance the recital experience. Many seats are visibly worn, and some are unusable. Deteriorating flooring detracts from the hall. Audiovisual equipment, lighting and acoustical materials are obsolete. After 55 years of use, with thousands of performances and hundreds of thousands of patrons, Swarthout is in great need of renewal. Essential modifications have been identified and plans developed to transform Swarthout into a 21st-century performance hall. The revitalization will include:

• New flooring and seating
• Acoustical enhancements
• Renovated stage and back-of–house
• New loading dock
• Accessibility improvements
• Technical upgrades to provide professional performance audio, video recording and live web streaming

PRIVATE SUPPORT IS ESSENTIAL

This vital renovation will cost approximately $1.5 million. In our state’s current and projected budget environment, public funding is not available to bring Swarthout Recital Hall up to modern performance standards. Support from alumni and friends of KU’s School of Music is critical to the success of this project. We need your help to provide KU music students with an academic performance space worthy of their talent and hard work.

Click here to give or for more information, please contact:

Michael E. Arp, Associate Development Director KU Endowment 785.832.7410 marp@kuendowment.org

Robert Walzel, Dean University of Kansas School of Music 785.864.3421 Robert.Walzel@ku.edu

All gifts will count toward Far Above: The Campaign for Kansas and help us build a greater University of Kansas.