Do current School of Music students pay any facilities related fees?
In general, yes. These fees help properly staff and equip the department. More information on fees is available on the School of Music KB.
Current fees (subject to change):
Practice Rooms (General-per semester): $50
Practice Rooms (Piano/Percussion-per semester): $80
Lockers (per semester): $25
Instrument Rental:
Auditions Only = $25
Half Semester = $50
Full Semester = $100
Full Semester (Audition Fee Applied) = $75
Live Video Streaming: $150
Live Video Streaming (Add-on): $50
Video Recording-Recital: $100
Audio Recording-Recital (Not Degree Required): $100
Video and Audio Recording Recital Package: $150
Performance Hall Access (up to 3 hours): $45
Student Recital Fee (Degree Required): $145 (includes access to Collins Hall plus audio recording)
Student Recital Fee (Not Degree Required): $85
I’m attending an event at the Hamel Music Center. Where should I park?
The Transportation Services site includes detailed information on the various parking options on campus. The City of Madison permanently closed the State Street Campus Garage on December 27, 2023.
Electric vehicle charging stations are available in multiple campus parking facilities. The stations are cost-free for permit holders in their assigned lots and visitors in “paid” status.
Click here to view parking options near the Hamel Music Center.
When do doors open at the Hamel Music Center for an event?
Doors are open one hour before each scheduled performance.
Can I rent the Hamel Music Center for weddings or other special events?
We do not rent the Hamel Music Center for weddings. School of Music halls and rooms are available for rental on a case-by-case basis. All School of Music rooms for any purpose are reserved and booked through music.ems.wisc.edu. In all cases, the events and users must be of a musical nature in keeping with the mission of the School of Music. Requests are not automatically approved, and all non-departmental uses of School of Music facilities require a rental fee.
Does the Hamel Music Center have a box office? What are the hours?
Yes. The Hamel Music Center box office is located in the main lobby, and is staffed by Campus Arts Ticketing staff one hour before each scheduled ticketed performance. All ticketed School of Music events are ticketed through Campus Arts Ticketing.
Does the School of Music offer practice space to non-music students?
No, our practice rooms are for current School of Music students only. University Housing has information on which dorms offer music practice rooms.
Is the Hamel Music Center wheelchair accessible?
Yes, the Hamel Music Center is an ADA-compliant building. The Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall seats 413 (plus eight wheelchair access) on the main floor; 153 (plus two wheelchair access) in the balcony; and seats 85 on bench seats in a choir loft, to total 661. Collins Recital Hall seats 189 on the main floor (plus three wheelchair access) and 104 in the balcony, with an additional three for wheelchair access, to total 299.
An elevator is available to access the second floor. Accessible restrooms are located on both floors of the building.
If you would like accommodations or have questions about accessibility to an event at the Hamel Music Center, please contact facilities@music.wisc.edu. Ushers are trained to assist patrons at all Hamel Music Center events.
HAMEL MUSIC CENTER
Location: 740 University Avenue, Madison, WI
Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall
The Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall seats 413 (plus eight wheelchair access) on the main floor; 153 (plus two wheelchair access) in the balcony; and seats 85 on bench seats in a choir loft, to total 661. A series of coffers—circular, recessed or projecting panels—along the walls also absorb and reflect sound back into the concert hall. Two 50,000 cubic-feet floating concrete reverberation chambers on the second floor, covered in fabric, are installed 30 feet high on each side of the concert hall stage. The chambers absorb sound and reflect it back out into the audience. Motorized curtains can be drawn around the walls to adjust the level of “live” sound in the hall. The hall is named for the Mead Witter Foundation of Wisconsin Rapids, which provided a $25 million gift to the Hamel Music Center.
Collins Recital Hall
Collins Recital Hall seats 189 on the main floor (plus three wheelchair access) and 104 in the balcony, with an additional three for wheelchair access, to total 299. Warm wooden elements include wooden planking sourced from tribal lands of the Menominee Indians in Wisconsin; wooden “petals” on the lighting “tiaras” suspended from the ceiling; and framed glulam beams (laminated timber of exceptional strength) that support the cement-filled ceiling. The hall’s colorful and dynamic wallpaper was designed by Tandem Press founder and printmaker William Weege, professor emeritus of UW–Madison’s Department of Art. The hall is named for Paul J. Collins, a 1958 graduate of the School of Business. Collins honored his mother, Adele Stoppenbach Collins, a 1929 School of Music alumna, with multiple graduate music scholarships and two professor endowments, then provided a significant donation to fund the new recital hall.
Sing Man & Florence Lee/Annette Kaufman Rehearsal Hall
The Sing Man & Florence Lee/Annette Kaufman Rehearsal Hall provides space for large ensembles, and also may host pre-and post-concert educational talks, events, and receptions. Motorized curtains can be drawn around the walls to adjust the level of “live” sound in the hall. The irregular shape of the room in addition to fabric-wrapped panels prevents the presence of standing sound waves.
Dressing rooms
Two large dressing rooms at the Hamel Music Center, including the Daniel Gregg Myers Green Room, offer performers a comfortable space for students to congregate and warm up in advance of performing in either of the halls, and where friends and family can gather following performances. The Myers Green Room is named for an alumnus, Daniel Gregg Myers, who died one year after his graduation from the School of Music in 2008.
Recording studio
A recording studio on the main floor is equipped with monitors, mixing boards, and cameras into the concert and recital halls allowing for communication with performing artists.
Bathrooms
Gender-neutral bathrooms are available on both the main and upper floors.
MILLS CONCERT HALL
Location: George L. Mosse Humanities Building, 455 N. Park Street, Madison, WI
MORPHY RECITAL HALL
Location: George L. Mosse Humanities Building, 455 N. Park Street
Morphy Recital Hall has a capacity of 170 and is used primarily for student solo and small ensemble recitals.
MUSIC HALL
Location: 925 Bascom Hill, Madison, WI
Music Hall is a proscenium theater with a capacity of 380, is the home of University Opera and also hosts a variety of solo and chamber performances.
CLASSROOMS, REHEARSAL ROOMS, PRACTICE ROOMS
The School of Music also houses many academic classrooms, rehearsal rooms, and practice rooms.
CHARLES H. MILLS MUSIC LIBRARY
Location: Memorial Library basement (B162)
Mills Music Library, a member library of the General Library System of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, is the primary resource for music materials and information on the UW campus and in the state. While the library’s main clientele are from the UW campus community, Mills is open to the general public with appropriate identification.
Over the course of its history, Mills Music Library has grown from a 2,500-item departmental collection to a research library of more than 250,000 titles, with special collections containing an additional 250,000 items in all formats. Special strengths include Americana, musical theater, recorded sound, and ethnomusicology.
The Music Library houses staff offices, open stacks, a seminar room, a special collections (Locked Case) facility, and the Audio Facility. Music Library study carrels and reading tables provide seating for about 50 users.
