PHILLIPS EXETER ACADEMY, CLASS OF 1959 MUSIC CENTER
Exeter, New Hampshire | 2016 

Architects: William Rawn Associates, Architects, Inc. 
Client: Phillips Exeter Academy 
General Contractor: Consigli Construction, Co., Inc. 

Located in the shadow of Louis Kahn’s Exeter Library , the new Class of 1959 Music Center commands a new quadrangle and opens the arts to campus. While Kahn celebrates the individual learner through a façade module of perimeter study carrels, the Music Center celebrates the ensemble.

Phillips Exeter Academy’s Music Department refers to its teaching style as “Supercharged Harkness,” an amplification of Exeter’s unique Harkness table collaborative teaching process. This concept envisions the performing arts as “pure collaboration… it is Harkness at its feet; it is people working together so that the table never goes away.” The notion that participation in ensemble allows individually talented students to be exposed to the satisfaction of working collaboratively is celebrated in the new building.

At the heart of the new Music Center is “The Bowld,” a 4,000 sf flexible performance space that also serves as the main rehearsal room for the orchestra. A 40’ tall north-facing curtainwall serves as the performance backdrop, immersing the space in views of the landscape. Conversely, the activity of rehearsals and performances animates the campus.

• A large-scale barn door facing the lobby with a glass sidelight ensures that The Bowld is connected to the public life of the building whether open or closed. The barn door is often used as a performer entrance for the large ensembles that change over quickly during performances.

• Adjustable acoustics concealed behind wood slat walls and a flexible flat-floor configuration enable a wide variety of uses, from small ensemble performances to full orchestra rehearsals and performances with seating ranging between 300 and 200 audience members. A wood bench surrounds the stage on three sides, providing a place for students to informally gather throughout the day, and to sit and watch rehearsals.

The new Music Center enables the music department to invite the community into their home for performances for the first time. It also contains a new Harkness Classroom – bringing Exeter’s signature collaborative teaching method to the Music Building for the first time. Additional new program includes a library and electronic music suite (adding electronic music to the pedagogy), 4 new teaching studios, faculty offices, and a 600 square foot Musicianship Studio.