The Journal

Issue date: 9/28/06 Section: LifeStyle

Media Credit: Ashley Gieseking The interior of the new Community Music School is now under construction on Garden Avenue.

After 80 years of guitar strings being strung and French horns being played, the Community Music School of Webster University has moved from University City on Delmar Boulevard to Webster University's main campus.

The CMS accommodates more than 2,000 people, ranging from infants to the elderly. Classes for the school can range from jazz drum lessons to choral lessons.

The new CMS building is scheduled to open in two phases. Teachers and students will be moving into the CMS building and the lower level will open in early October. The lower level will have 11 one-on-one instructional studios and four large ensemble studios.

The 500-seat performance hall will open in March 2007. Peter Sargent, dean of the Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts, said the two-phase opening will help CMS transition easily and slowly into the new building. The former CMS building is an old temple in University City off Delmar Boulevard.

Sophomore Colleen Johnson, a piano performance major, said she is happy about the move because it will make it easier for her to drive back and forth from the CMS to her work-study job.

Sophomore Phillip Graves, a jazz technician major, said it's better for the CMS to be close to the rest of campus.

"I think it's a good idea because it saves a lot of gasoline especially for students who have to (use the facility) and have to drive all the way back to Webster Groves," Graves said.

The CMS was relocated to campus because of the far proximity of the former site to the Webster campus and the cost of maintenance on the former CMS building. Sargent said the distance between them caused problems with scheduling practices, meetings and events.

"This is an incredible opportunity to solidly blend (CMS) with the university," Sargent said, describing the move.

Though the CMS has been in existence for 80 years, it has been under the administration of Webster University for five years.

The history of CMS began in 1925 when a local piano teacher, Edna Lieber, founded the school. Her teaching staff was formed with various members of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and with the help of the school's then-Board President, Alice Gerdine, the CMS expanded.

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