Gisele Schierhorst, Head of the Music Library, and Christine Fena, Undergraduate Success Librarian, authored a discussion and analysis of the impact the Libraries’ ongoing concert series has had both on SBU music students and the larger SBU community. The chapter, ” ‘Being Able to Play for a Wider Audience’: Student Musician Perspectives on Performing in the Library,” appears in Creators in the Academic Library: Collections & Spaces, edited by Rebecca Zuege Kuglitsch and Alexander C. Watkins, and can be viewed in the Academic Commons.
The experience of walking into the Melville Galleria and being greeted unexpectedly by the sound of SBU student musicians performing on their instruments is one that many on campus have come to treasure. The chapter traces the history of the concerts and the collaboration with the music department, and shares student musician perspectives on what performing in the library meant to them during their time at Stony Brook. They found that the experience helped them practice new repertoire, perform for a wider audience, adapt to different acoustics, and feel generally more connected with the campus community. As one student explained, “Performing at the library made me feel like a member of the campus community rather than just a separate department on one side of campus,” and another, “By moving out of our typical performance spaces, we engage with the greater campus community and have the opportunity to create new performance experiences we wouldn’t normally have.”
Many thanks to Gisele Schierhorst, SBU Libraries, and the Music Department for keeping these concerts going. Be sure to check back on the library events page to see when the next one will be!
Christine Fena
