The centerpiece of the expansion work now taking place at The Music Settlement is a new building, the Mandel Music House, but the more significant result of the effort is likely to be a bridge.
A metaphorical bridge, that is. With the new building, and the programming it makes possible, the 114-year-old University Circle institution is hoping to forge fresh and deeper connections to its immediate neighbors and partners across the region.
The new Mandel Music House is “not only about growing our physical footprint,” said Geri Presti, the Settlement’s president and chief executive officer. It’s also about “deepening our role as a community anchor…ensuring that access to music education and cultural experiences is inclusive, visible, and welcoming.”
On a practical level, the $12 to $14 million project – slated for completion next fall – solves at least one major problem: the need for space. By renovating and expanding Gries House (to become the Mandel Music House), one of its three historic structures, the Settlement is expanding its footprint by 17,000 square feet and creating 14 new studios. (The other historic Settlement properties are the Kulas and Burke mansions, which nestle the Gries House.)
Demand for the space is real. In recent years, interest in the Settlement’s renowned music instruction, music therapy, and creative aging programs has skyrocketed in tandem with its highly sought-after Early Childhood program, which has had a wait-list for as long as anyone can remember.
The project also offers an answer to the perennial question of what do with aging structures, in a city that’s full of them. By renovating and expanding rather than tearing down and rebuilding, the school is modeling for others the potential and power of historic preservation.
Elise Yablonsky, chief place management officer at the nonprofit University Circle Inc., said The Music Settlement is one of several major institutions that “define” University Circle and described the Mandel House effort as “a project that respects and enhances the Wade Park Historic District…”
“It’s a testament to the notion that we can preserve historic architecture,” added Cuyahoga County Executive (and former Settlement parent) Chris Ronayne, a former president of University Circle, Inc.
Merely adding space, though, albeit in a respectful manner, isn’t the only goal. While it preserves one structure, The Music Settlement is also looking to raze another: the proverbial ivory tower, the nagging notion that music and the arts aren’t for everyone.
Along with soundproof lesson rooms and a new percussion studio, plans for the new Mandel House include two features designed to help the Settlement reach out more broadly: a covered patio and a state-of-the-art music technology lab.
The former, Presti said, will be a platform for free, open-air concerts, while the latter, which will contain keyboards, beat-making equipment, and music production tools, is expected to be made available to the public at low or no cost. Specifics on those plans are still in the works.
The school also intends to install a new public playground, to replace the one overtaken by the Mandel Music House, and expand its ancillary parking lot on nearby Mistletoe Dr., to accommodate the expected increase in vehicle traffic.
These new facilities “will allow us to host more free and low-cost public events,” Presti said, noting that the patio will enable the Settlement to hold “more informal, welcoming community gatherings” and that the technology lab will permit both “guided sessions as well as open access hours…regardless of prior experience.”
The impact of the Mandel Music House won’t only take the form of new offerings, either. Having more space will also empower the Music Settlement to do more of the work it’s already doing.
Along with more space will come a combination of new hires and more hours for current (part-time) instructors. That, in turn, Presti said, will yield more free performances and other activities in local libraries and community centers, and new teaching partnerships with area schools.
The expansion is also likely to generate more free concerts on site, as a direct result of higher enrollment. Many of those enrollees, meanwhile, are likely to continue receiving Community Merit Scholarships, a longtime offering, which cover private lessons, Suzuki training, and the Jazz at the Music Settlement program.
A “major focus” of the Settlement will be “meeting people where they are,” Presti said, noting that the school is developing “partnerships with organizations and schools…to ensure our programming is shaped by community input and responsive to local needs.”
All of this is music to the ears of Ronayne, whose current and former missions include helping local neighborhoods and institutions thrive. Indeed, he praised the Settlement’s expansion plans, describing them as the latest example of the school bridging “town” and “gown” and exhibiting a clear “place-based” mindset.
“It’s groups like the Music Settlement that make that real,” Ronayne said. “They’ve done a wonderful job of integrating their campus into the neighborhood. They’ve really made the effort to open their doors to musical education for all.”
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