FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 8/23/05

Greenville College Music Department Moves into Music Center 

GREENVILLE, ILL. –  The Greenville College music department began moving from LaDue Music Center across College Ave. into the old Free Methodist Church building, the college's new Music Center, Monday afternoon with the help of the college's football team.  The move will continue through the end of this month with the pianos being professionally moved Tuesday, August 30.

Though remodeling is not yet complete on all floors of the building, classes will be held in the Music Center this fall. The college will hold a reception, open to the public, showcasing the building once the construction is complete.

While LaDue Music Center housed most of the music department, practice facilities and faculty offices were also located in the Music Annex, behind Joy Hall. The new Music Center allows a central location for all music classes, faculty offices, and practice spaces.

“This facility will allow us to better serve students and more of them,” said Tom Stampfli, head of the music department. “The sound control available is state-of-the-art so various things can be going on at the same time without sound disruptions.”

Construction workers have labored through the summer to get the building ready for use by the music department. Additional work will be needed to complete the third floor of the former education wing of the church, as funds become available.

Much work has already been done over the past eight months to create new classrooms, practice rooms, recording studios, and faculty offices. The project has required extensive soundproofing throughout the building, including triple layers of drywall and even sound baffles inside the air ducts.

Greenville College seeks to honor one of the great patriarchs of the Greenville College choir and music program, Dr. James E. Wilson, by establishing the James E. Wilson Music Development Fund. This special fundraising effort will support the renovation of the new Music Center, as well as future development of the music program. Future plans include conversion of the church sanctuary into a recital hall, which will be named the James E. Wilson Recital Hall.  

The college master plan calls for the newly vacated area in LaDue and Marston to be reconfigured in the future as funds are available. Eventually the space will be used to accommodate the college's growing education department.

Greenville College is a four-year accredited Christian liberal arts school with more than 1300 traditional undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree completion students.  Founded in 1892 and affiliated with the Free Methodist Church, the college is located in Greenville, Illinois, 45 miles east of St. Louis.

CONTACT:
Christy Grimes ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )
Assistant Director of Public Relations
Greenville College
(618) 664-6515