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Building Name
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Alexander Music Building
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Description
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Construction was finished on the Alexander Music Building in 1980, and was named for Frederick M. Alexander who was the head of the Music Department from 1909-1941. The entire building was designed with the needs of the music department in mind, consisting of 86,000 sqft. with practice rooms, an organ recital room, and a large recital hall containing a stage and seating for 150 people.
Unique features of the building include instrument repair rooms containing equipment to re-plate brass instruments. Special resilient caulking and sealant were used in place of a traditional mortar to ensure that sound would not be transmitted throughout the structure. Since solid walls tend to transmit sound vibrations like a tuning fork, solid walls were broken up, and practice and recital rooms were designed with non-parallel walls.
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Namesake Biography
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Frederick Alexander was born on the 23rd of December, 1870, to Samuel George and Martha Emma (Hanchet) Alexander. He received an A.B. from the University of Michigan in 1894; privately studied organ with J.C. Batchelder of Detroit, and studied theory with Professor A.A. Stanley of Ann Arbor. Alexander's accomplishments were numerous; he was the Head of the Department of Music and the Director of the Conservancy of Music at Michigan State Normal College, 1909-1941. During his tenure at M.S.N.C, Alexander was the Head of the Department of Music at the University of California, Berkeley (summers), 1919-1921, and was a Lecturer on History of Music at Northwestern University, summer, 1928. Other accomplishments include the Director of Music at the opening of the Greek Theater, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, 1906; Conductor of the Normal Choir and All Choral Ensemble, M.S.N.C. 1909-1941; Conductor of Choral Music, California State Normal School, San Francisco, summer, 1921; Conductor, Massed Chorus Festival, Washington D.C., 1929-1930; Guest Conductor, National High Schools Chorus, Chicago, 1930; Conductor, Bach Festival (combined choirs from Michigan High Schools and Normal Choir), 1931-1941; Conducted the first Michigan performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion in Ypsilanti, April 27, 1922; inaugurated choral music in Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C., April 23, 1934, under Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation sponsorship. Alexander also served as the Dean of the Michigan Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and served as the organist of several Detroit churches, most notably the Woodward Avenue Baptist Church. He was also an active member of the Detroit Athletic Club, Detroit Boat Club, the University Clubs of Detroit and Chicago, and the Washtenaw County Country Club. Frederick Alexander died October 14, 1955, in Lemon Grove, California; with his passing he provided $90,000 for the purchase and installation of a pipe organ for Pease Auditorium.
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Building Namesake
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Frederick Alexander, Music Department Head, 1909 - 1941
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Year Constructed
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14-Oct-78
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Date Dedicated
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18-Oct-80
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Building Functions
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Music Department, classrooms, rehearsal space, recital halls; Foreign Languages Department, and classrooms
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Architect
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Wakely Associates, Inc.
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Original Cost
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7065534
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Architectural Style
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International
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Square Footage
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86000
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Rights
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This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. In addition, no permission is required from the rights-holder(s) for educational uses. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the owner, Eastern Michigan University Archives (lib_archives@emich.edu).
