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Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony Opens New Arts Building At Danbury's WestConn

DANBURY, Conn. -- After years of planning, designing and building, the the new Visual and Performing Arts Center at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury will hold its official ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 4.

The new Visual and Performing Arts Center at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury is finished and ready to be dedicated at the school's Westside Campus.

The new Visual and Performing Arts Center at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury is finished and ready to be dedicated at the school's Westside Campus.

Photo Credit: Western Connecticut State University

The event will be in the West Lobby of the new 130,000-square-foot building on the university’s Westside campus, 43 Lake Ave. Ext. This special event is free and the public is welcome to witness the official induction of the center into the university campus and community. A reception will immediately follow the ceremony.

“The new Visual and Performing Arts Center at Western offers the opportunity to receive a high quality arts education in an amazing facility, at the relatively low cost of a state university,” said Dan Goble, dean of the School of Visual and Performing Arts and Professor of Music.

The center emphasizes the individual character of each of the university’s art programs, and, expressed in the center’s interplay of shapes, materials and light. Each program – visual arts, theater arts and music – is identified with a metal-clad geometric shape housing its signature activity: the concert hall, the proscenium theatre and its north-facing art studios – reflecting the intimacy of theater, the expansiveness of performed music and the creative concentration of the visual arts.

To RSVP for the event, visit www.wcsu.edu/ribboncutting or call Janet McKay at 203-837-8460.

On Sunday, Sept. 28, a Gala Open House will be held at the VPAC and will feature the facility’s performance, exhibit and studio spaces being fully utilized by students, faculty and staff, creating a true “behind the scenes” look at the center in action.

Art students will benefit from light shining through double-height, northern-exposed windows in the spacious painting and sculpture studios. They will work in photography and graphic design studios equipped with both the latest computer technology and the legacy technology of traditional film development. The Art Gallery features northern-exposed light, a Panelock 200 display system, all atop end-cut maple flooring.

Music students will rehearse and perform in the Concert Hall, which features a tri-level, in-the-round seating experience for an audience of up to 350; variable acoustics; and state-of-the-art performance audio and lighting. A recording studio will house WCSU’s new Audio and Music Production degree program.

Theater students will perform on the facility’s Main Stage Theatre and Studio Theatre — both loaded with technology and functionality beyond many Broadway venues. Two theatre rehearsal studios, both equipped with audio/visual technology and sprung dance floors complement the university’s increasingly popular musical theatre program. Dressing rooms, practice rooms and individual Master of Fine Arts in Visual Arts studios are all incorporated into the spaces.

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