In October 2021, Lycoming College broke ground on the College’s new music building, located on the southeast corner of Basin and Fourth streets in Williamsport’s Old City neighborhood. The 14,000-square-foot facility will connect to the existing Mary Lindsay Welch Honors Hall, providing easy access to the popular music venue, Shangraw Performance Hall.
Lycoming College has a rich history of music, not just as an academic major or minor, but also as a beloved co-curricular activity for students studying a myriad of academic programs. Every year, more than 200 students engage in music-making on campus through their participation in choir, band, orchestra, chamber groups, small ensembles, private lessons, and recitals.
Construction of the new music building represents the first significant capital investment in the music program in more than 75 years. Slated to open in the fall of 2022, the facility will house a signature rehearsal and recital space, classrooms, soundproof practice rooms, and offices for music faculty. While Clarke Chapel will no longer house the music program, it will remain one of the campus’s most iconic performance, worship, and community spaces.
The project has caught the imagination of alumni and friends of the College who have pledged more than $5.1 million in total gifts to the facility. Lycoming has also secured a $500,000 Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant to support the site work and construction of an outdoor performance space.
“As Board chair, I take pride in Lycoming’s continued investments in academics and academic facilities that support learning. The construction of this building will also bolster enrollment by attracting both music majors and non-majors who participate in our various music groups,” said D. Mark Fultz, chair of the Lycoming College Board of Trustees. “This new music building will communicate to prospective students and their families that Lycoming is committed to providing an unparalleled learning experience.”
“The new music building complements Lycoming College’s Krapf Gateway Center, which was completed in 2019, and it represents another important step in building out the southern entrance to the College,” said Kent C. Trachte, president of Lycoming College. “This project is also another indicator that Lycoming College is committed to serving as a catalyst in the revitalization Old City Williamsport.”
