In late September, construction began on the Wygal Hall replacement building, a nearly $100 million project set for completion in 2028. The appearance of construction barriers and machinery around the build site, along with the demolition of Bristow Hall, marked the beginning of a new era for music at Longwood University.
Skanska, a Swedish construction contractor, is overseeing the project. The company previously completed the construction of Longwood’s $40 million Joan Perry Brock Center, which opened in August 2023. The contract for the new music building’s construction is worth $73 million, according to a recent Skanska press release. According to Vice President for Administration and Finance Matt McGregor’s written report to the Board of Visitors in September, over $97 million has been allocated to the project.
The new building will sit across from Dorrill Dining Hall, which just underwent a major renovation project over the summer. That said, the Dorrill renovation was paid for by Aramark, rather than state funds.
Wygal Hall has served as home to the music department since its opening in 1971 and has not been renovated since. Students who frequently use Wygal’s facilities voiced opinions to The Rotunda that the upgrade is long overdue.
“At times, it feels like Wygal Hall is falling apart,” said Tabitha Bright, a sophomore music major. “The music program has really outgrown its current building.” Recent issues in Wygal include HVAC repairs, plumbing leaks and problems with the elevator system.
Longwood’s multiple music ensembles, which will benefit from the new rehearsal spaces, have had to meet in Jarman Auditorium instead of Wygal due to space restrictions. They will also be able to relocate to the new music building when it is completed.
“Everything you can imagine will be specifically for acoustic music. It’s not a multi-purpose [building] like Jarman, where we make it work for all these different things. It was specifically built for orchestra and choir and for that kind of music to be made there,” said Dr. Michael Waddell, director of bands at Longwood University.
The new 60,720-square-foot building, designed by CMJW Architecture, will feature multiple rehearsal spaces, classrooms and a state-of-the-art 500-seat concert performance hall. Although the building will mainly serve as the new home of the music department, spaces will serve all of the approximately 600 students who take classes held in Wygal every year.
Waddell believes the new campus addition will benefit not only Longwood students, but members of the community as well. “It’s going to be the newest, nicest music building in the state and one of the most state-of-the-art places in the country for students to come study music and for people to come enjoy music.”
“Even students that might not be making music — but might take a music class — for them to be able to walk into that space and go ‘oh, wow,’ maybe they’ll be encouraged to come back to other events because it’s going to be such an inviting space,” said Waddell.
The construction site is currently occupied by debris from Bristow Hall, which was demolished in October. Bristow previously housed Facilities Management and other related departments. Those departments are now located in the newly built Charter Hall, which opened in 2025.
A name for the new music building has not yet been selected, but concept images for the new construction can be found on display at Wygal Hall and on Longwood’s website. The building is expected to be completed in April 2028.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.therotundaonline.com ’
