Naperville Central ready for the sound of music
Naperville Central's halls finally will come alive Monday with the sound of music — at least in the newly opened fine arts wing.
Faculty members are quick to tell you the 61-year-old school never was ideally set up for music instruction, and the past year — with music classes sharing space and practice time on the auditorium stage — was a logistical nightmare.
But it all ends Monday morning when the school's band, chorus and orchestra students take over the new Fine Arts and Music Wing.
“We can now start getting the band room kids out of the other rooms we've had them relocated to and free those rooms up for other classes,” Ralph Weaver, Naperville Unit District 203's director of facilities and construction, said during a guided tour of the wing Friday. “These kids were on the stage in the auditorium, which eliminated the auditorium's use for production. So we can now use the auditorium for what it's supposed to be used for, and that's plays and musicals.”
The new chorus and orchestra classrooms are more than double the size of the previous rooms and they all have high ceilings to produce perfect sound quality. Natural lighting finds its way into just about every room in the wing.
“It's staggering. This facility going up for our kids is absolutely breathtaking,” band Director DJ Alstadt said. “It's so exciting to have a facility that is the size that reflects the size of our program.”
Only one room in the entire wing doesn't get at least a small does of natural light or have stunning acoustics. The new black box theater, a large square room with black walls and a flat, black floor, is a rare addition to the performing arts program.
Weaver said Central's will be one of only a few such spaces in area high schools.
“The layout here allows for limited sets, simple lighting effects, and the catwalk that covers the entire theater from above allows the students a place to work on their lighting techniques,” Weaver said. “The seating, if they need any, will be some loose chairs or small bleachers we can roll in and out.”
Staff members have been “exuberant” since he let them move in during late December, Weaver said.
At least one school board member, Terry Fielden, who has overseen the renovation, is just as happy because it also keeps his name from being “mud” at home. No one was more concerned about the timeliness of the project than his daughter, who asked for daily progress reports.
“My daughter is in band and all of the kids could not be more excited over the new space. I am pleased to see that we have provided an adequate music space that places us on par with many high schools in the area,” he said. “The music students at Central have been underserved for many years and will now enjoy a facility that will help them achieve their potential.”
The south addition of the overall $87.7 million renovation project was completed for use by students and staff on the first day school year.
When it's complete, the project at Central, 440 W. Aurora Ave., will include a three-story addition housing all major subject areas.
The 3,000-student school also will have received infrastructure upgrades, a new learning resource center, new athletic spaces, improved traffic flow and synthetic turf on its football field.