IU’s Musical Arts Center to be renovated

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — As part of the Indiana University Bicentennial, the Musical Arts Center auditorium at the Jacobs School of Music will be refurbished for the first time this summer. The 1971-built facility is the home to IU Opera and Ballet Theater along with dozens of concerts each year.

The project includes replacing the original 1,460 seats and carpet, and adding accessibility accommodations, which means a small number of seats will be removed. The summer renovations are funded by a gift from the Well House Society of the IU Foundation. 

IU President Michael McRobbie made the announcement during the opening performance of IU Opera Theater’s “La Traviata” over the weekend. 

“The news of the refurbishment of the seats and carpet in the Musical Arts Center is a thrilling development — the achievement of a long-held aspiration of many patrons of the MAC,” said Gwyn Richards, the David Henry Jacobs Bicentennial Dean and general manager of IU Jacobs School of Music Opera and Ballet Theater. “As we celebrate the IU Bicentennial, these gifts will prepare the Musical Arts Center for the celebration of the Jacobs School of Music Centennial that begins in 2021.”

Renovations are set to begin in the summer and will happen around previously-scheduled events. The refurbishments will be complete by the fall prior to the 2020-2021 MAC performance season.