The new 21,600 square foot building is named for Mary Ann and Ron Weber in honor of major gifts by the Webers toward the design and construction of the facility. The building was designed by world-famous architect Cesar Pelli, of Cesar Pelli and Associates of New Haven, Connecticut. We know the Music Hall will become a campus and a community destination providing enrichment and enjoyment, and further defining UMD as an exciting regional arts center. The building's public performance area will include a stage able to accommodate a 70-piece orchestra and seating for an audience of 350. A chorus loft behind the stage area will allow expansion of audience seating to over 400 which would totally surround the stage.
Accent lighting is designed to accommodate a large variety of performance and artistic needs.
All of the building will be fully accessible including lobby, green room, box office, rest rooms, coat room, storage, elevator, physical plant, and audience, performance, rehearsal and media spaces. The facility will accommodate the delivery of cultural and educational outreach to the entire area while attracting internationally recognized performance artists to the campus. The UMD Music Department has more than doubled in size in the last six years with a significant increase in technological emphasis. Enrollment is just over 100 undergraduate music majors, with 24 graduate students, and 450 performing ensemble participants. Each year UMD music ensembles perform over 100 concerts, with a total attendance of 15,000 people.