VCSU has a small but beautiful campus on the National Register of Historic Places. The new Center for the Arts is the first significant addition to the campus since the 1960s and houses both the music and art programs. VCSU was originally a normal school; its primary emphasis in the arts is the nurturing of future educators, with a deliberate focus on the use of technology in music education. The Performance Hall is the primary venue for music performance and for VCSU assemblies and presentations. With a recital screen built into the upstage wall and extensive adjustable curtains behind an elegant wood grille, the hall can offer an ideal acoustic environment for everything from wind ensemble to chorus to brass quintet to jazz and rock. The Choral Rehearsal room doubles beautifully as an intimate recital hall. The Instrumental Rehearsal room supports band and jazz and rock. Classrooms, labs and studios serve art, music and sometimes both. The building includes a piano lab, computer lab and an unusually fine recording suite to support VCSU’s emphasis on technology in teaching. One of the classrooms is deliberately designed to double as an ensemble rehearsal room, and the practice rooms include rooms specifically for piano, percussion, and chamber music.
