Geneva College celebrates groundbreaking for music building

BEAVER FALLS, PA (05/01/2013)(readMedia)-- "Sing to the Lord a new song" will be the theme of the groundbreaking ceremony for the new music building scheduled for Friday, May 3 at 10 a.m. at Geneva College. Students, faculty, staff and alumni will gather on the pedestrian walkway as the first shovels of dirt are moved from the adjacent Alumni Hall lawn, the site of the new music building.

Construction for the 8,000 to 11,000-squre-foot building will begin in July, and proceed at a fast pace that will culminate in a fall 2013 completion. The project will include practice rooms, studios, classrooms, a piano lab and a large, multi-purpose meeting space that can be used for music recitals, guest speakers and receptions.

President Ken Smith noted that music enriches the overall experience of a Geneva education, and so all members of the community will benefit from the new facility in some way. Regarding the groundbreaking, he said, "It is a celebration of God's gift of music at Geneva College and the tradition music has become in the 165-year history of the institution. It is also a celebration of the new music building that will be built on our campus ... and the new songs that have yet to be sung here at Geneva."

In honor of the event, Geneva's student choir, The Genevans, will sing a rendition of Psalm 98. "O Sing to the Lord a New Song," composed just for them by Diane Whitacre for their 75th concert season, and performed under the direction of Dr. David Kenneth Smith.

Chairman of the Music Department Don Kephart, who is Director of the Marching, Jazz and Symphonic bands at Geneva, will also address those who gather at the groundbreaking. Alumnus Don McBurney, who has a rich history of involvement in music program at Geneva, will share some brief retrospective thoughts, while sophomore music education major Amie Speers shares anticipation on behalf of the student body.

Following the ceremony, dirt dessert cups will be passed out to the event-goers.

Geneva College invites students to accept the challenge of an academically excellent, Christ-centered education. Offering nearly 40 undergraduate majors, an Adult Degree Completion Program with fully online and campus-based options, and seven graduate degrees, Geneva has programs that place students at the forefront of higher learning. Adhering to the inerrancy of Scripture, the liberal arts core curriculum fosters a breadth of knowledge through the study of humanities, social and natural sciences, and experiential learning.