Tamarah Minami ‘27

Piano Practice Room During the Flood. Photo Credit: Tamarah Minami

In November 2006, the basement of the Marshall Field music building flooded. Five inches of water covered the floor from end to end. The flood rendered the basement unusable for several weeks.

This past Friday, Sept. 29, the basement flooded again.

Catherine Berdie Whitman ‘24 a music and philosophy student and assistant to Music Director John Yannelli, was downstairs when the flood began. They remembered seeing the water start to drip into the room they were in, which they didn’t find unusual at the time. They explained that the room often leaks, so they simply moved to another room. But then, they heard rushing water.

A few minutes after they saw the water start to come in, water began to cover the floor of the practice room hallway. It poured out from several practice rooms and into the jazz room, endangering precious equipment. Students and staff members rallied together to help move the equipment upstairs.

Students Splashing in Flooded Hallway. Photo Credit: Tamarah Minami

Friday’s flood was the largest since the flood in 2006, but it is only one of many smaller floods that have happened at the Marshall Field Building.

Before the 2006 flood had taken place, the music program was working to find a new building.

On May 15, 2006 a letter was sent to then president Michele Myers from the Music Faculty voicing very strong concerns regarding the limitations of MFH to adequately serve the needs of the music program. The letter requested “that the college begin in earnest to work towards the building of a new music building for music at SLC, equating spending more money on repairing the building’s various problems to “throwing money into a bottomless pit.’” They argued that Marshall Field, an old structure, was simply not built to withstand heavy weather. Furthermore, they explained how the building is not well suited for the music program in general, a statement echoed by Yannelli.

The music building is an old private house which was acquired by the school in 1954. According to Yannelli, the house was designed so that the organ could be heard through the entire building. This meant that none of the air vents were insulated. While this was ideal for the household, it is far from such for a music building. The lack of insulation causes sound to bleed throughout the house, resulting in the need for staggered class and performance times. When the building was first acquired, then-president Harold Taylor planned to only house the music department in the building until a suitable one could be built.

In response to these concerns, the Sarah Lawrence President, Melissa Tolea Meyers, promised that a new music building would be the next project built on campus. However, the board did not at the time have the funding to undertake such a large project.

After the 2006 flood, a “French drain” was built, a gravel and pipe filled trench which would help prevent water from flooding the basement when the water table rose. The interior walls were also reconstructed due to mold contamination. However, students and faculty alike expressed their concern that this would not be enough to prevent further flooding.

The administration then agreed to build an annex onto the Carriage House as a stopgap until the new music building could be constructed. An architect was hired to draw up plans for the annex. The plans detailed 1,400 square feet of space, which stretched from the existing carriage house into the music parking lot, and rose two stories high. The space included rehearsal rooms, jazz rooms, a soundproof recording studio, and an open performance space which would have been available to use for all students. While many classes would still take place within Marshall Field, equipment could be stored within the annex, keeping it safe from weather. These facilities would also not be solely for music students, they would also be used by visual art, dance, and film and theater students; who often already use the existing music building for their interdisciplinary work.

However, in 2007, Myers retired as president and in 2008, the financial crisis hit and the project was called off.

Now, students and faculty are once again calling for this new space to be built.

Despite problems with facilities, the music community at Sarah Lawrence has continued to prosper. The SLC Music Fest, which was started two years ago, is a club that hosts student-run shows that attract a large number of students, both as audience members and performers. On Saturday, Sept. 30, students gathered on the South Lawn to hear the most recent show, dancing and eating dinner on picnic blankets.

The music program itself hosts about 10% of the student body, as well as students who take individual lessons, or simply use the rehearsal rooms for their own practice.

Equipment being sorted upstairs. Photo Credit: Tamarah Minami

According to Whitman, the program does more than just make music; it helps build community.

“This school has so many different kinds of people, with such disparate interests, and while this is one of the school’s greatest strengths, it can also make you feel somewhat isolated,” Whitman said. “Because of this, the clubs and specific disciplines at school have been the main way for students to connect. Music especially has been a way to connect and work with other students.”

This sense of community was in full display on Friday. Students rushed to help after hearing about the flood. Together with operations and faculty, they trudged through water, carrying cords, instruments, speakers, and other equipment upstairs. This continued for several hours, until all the endangered equipment was brought upstairs and wet equipment was laid out to dry. However, after inventory is taken, these materials will be put back in the basement. And it is only a matter of time before it floods again.

Students Rescue Equipment As Marshall Field Floods Once Again