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The Bienen School of Music’s facilities are among the best of any music institution in the nation.
The school’s three buildings - the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Center for the Musical Arts, Regenstein Hall of Music, and Pick-Staiger Concert Hall - form a musical village on the southeast corner of Northwestern’s Evanston campus on the shores of Lake Michigan.
Ryan Center for the Musical Arts
Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Center for the Musical Arts
Ryan Center for the Musical Arts
Carol F. Rice Lobby
Ryan Center for the Musical Arts
Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall
Ryan Center for the Musical Arts
Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall
Ryan Center for the Musical Arts
Shirley Welsh Ryan Opera Theater
Ryan Center for the Musical Arts
David and Carol McClintock Choral and Recital Room
Ryan Center for the Musical Arts
Common Area
Ryan Center for the Musical Arts
Practice Room
70 Arts Circle Drive
Evanston, IL 60208
Opened in 2015, the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Center for the Musical Arts is situated on the lakefront and integrates completely with Regenstein Hall of Music, with two connections between the buildings on each of Regenstein’s three levels. The Ryan Center’s three performance venues include the Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall, Shirley Welsh Ryan Opera Theater, and David and Carol McClintock Choral and Recital Room.
Designed by Chicago-based architectural firm Goettsch Partners, the design features a limestone base supporting an exterior that is primarily glass, taking maximum advantage of the site’s lakefront location and views of the Chicago skyline.
Access to Bienen School practice rooms is only available to current Bienen School students and non-majors during any quarter they’re enrolled in lessons and/or an ensemble. Access requires a registered HID-enabled WildCARD, and student cards are programmed with different access to certain rooms depending on a student’s area of study.
Please contact musicfacilities@northwestern.edu with questions about practice rooms and card access.
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall
Aerial view of stage
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall
Exterior view
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall
Balcony view
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall
Orchestra view
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall
Exterior view facing South
Since its inception in 1975, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall has functioned as both a classroom and performance facility for Bienen School of Music performing ensembles, faculty recitals, festivals, and professional guest artists. The hall’s stage canopy, wall panels, and sound curtains can each be arranged and adjusted according to the type and size of the forces performing.
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall seats 989 guests and wheelchair accessible seats (16) are located on the ends of rows G and H. The main entrance for concerts is located on the west side of the building, while the ticket office is located at the southeast entrance.
Regenstein Hall of Music
Exterior view
Regenstein Hall of Music
Master Class Room
Regenstein Hall of Music
Hallway outside Master Class Room
Regenstein Hall of Music
Exterior view of Regenstein Hall and campus
Access to Bienen School facilities and practice rooms are only available to current Bienen School students who have permission to be on campus (upperclassmen, graduate students, and sophomore instrumental majors). A registered Wildcard is required to enter all Bienen School spaces.
Please contact musicfacilities@northwestern.edu with questions about practice rooms and card access.
Additional Practice Room Information
The Northwestern University Music Library is among the nation's largest music libraries and is distinguished internationally for its extensive holdings of printed music and archival materials documenting music composed since 1945. The library offers roughly 300,000 volumes of books, printed music, sound recordings, and journals; maintains subscriptions to over 400 periodicals and a full array of online resources; includes thousands of music manuscripts and pieces of correspondence; and houses the archives of John Cage and other notable musicians. Additionally, the Music Library's computer lab (pictured) provides a multi-purpose workplace for beginning- to mid-level music-technology projects. The library serves the Bienen School of Music, the entire Northwestern University community, and researchers from around the world.
Learn more about the Music Library