UAMusic Announces New 'Laundry Room' Rehearsal Lab

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Students rehearsing the Laundry Room Lab.

With an exploding interest in jazz studies and performance at the University of Arkansas, the Department of Music is excited to announce a new rehearsal lab on campus. The "Laundry Room" — named for the space's previous use as a laundry facility — is a brand new performance lab where young, developing music students can learn, teach, and rehearse.

Located just south of the Harmon Parking Deck at 110 N. Harmon Ave., the Laundry Room provides a perfect place for rehearsals that include electronic amplifiers for guitar, bass, and vocals. Top-notch equipment has been donated by fervent supporters of the Department of Music and the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. Guitar and jazz courses are already being taught in the Laundry Room and the university's musical theatre will also have access to the rehearsal space. Jake Hertzog, UAMusic's professor of guitar, says that the long term goal is to have the best electronic and recording equipment within the surrounding states with the express purpose of student use.

Hertzog's aim is to simply give the opportunity for music students to be more employable by becoming "multi-talented." Hertzog iterates that the department works to have a "balance of classical music education, but as teachers and musicians we are also responsible for the last 100 years of music too … Charlie Parker, Stravinsky, and even Led Zeppelin and the Beatles."

Hertzog has inspiring goals for the Laundry Room facility. "What we add [through the Laundry Room] will help us stay competitive and stimulate innovation and knowledge." This new space for students will "open the flood gates to teach and rehearse with high-end equipment on campus with electronic music instruments."

While the Laundry Room had humble beginnings as a literal laundry facility, this new rehearsal venue will aid in the training of numerous musicians in the coming years. The department looks forward to continued success in the new interests in jazz studies with recent hires like Jake Hertzog and others, the jazz program is gaining strong support.