By: Mehak Khosla, MCHS News Editor and Brodie Mansfield, Opinions Editor
Photo courtesy of Brodie Mansfield
Moreau Catholic is opening its doors to a new building—The Brother Donald Blauvelt C.S.C. Performing Arts Center, shortened to BPAC. The BPAC will serve as a new music hall for the students of the band, and will serve future mariners to come.
Brother Donald was a Holy Cross brother who made a huge impact on Moreau, as well as Dr. Guneratne, president of Moreau Catholic. He was a teacher, mentor, and the school’s first dean of women when Moreau first became co-ed.
“Brother Donald is someone who meant a lot to me personally, and a lot to Moreau Catholic, because he was a huge mentor and inspiration, and just an extraordinary educator, and he really taught me a lot about being a Holy Cross educator and just gave fantastic advice and comfort,” said Dr. Guneratne.
This project to create a new building on campus started rolling when an anonymous donor donated $1 million and asked that the building be named after the Brothers of Holy Cross, so that they could be honored.
Dr. Guneratne said, “And that we could honor a particular brother if we chose to, who had been really significant at Moreau Catholic. So, we decided to name the building for Brother Donald.”
Photo courtesy of Dr. Guneratne (Dr. Guneratne and Brother Donald Blauvelt)
One thing that Dr. Guneratne really emphasized was that the football field has been renovated around three times, but never the band room. She talked about how students who participate in band come down every Friday, play during football games, and go back into the same room, and that room hasn’t been upgraded. The lack of recent improvements to the building ultimately influenced the choice to build a new ensemble building.
The BPAC is the start of a new chapter for the arts of Moreau. Not only does the school get to honor Brother Donald Blauvelt’s legacy, but they are also investing in the creativity of Mariners.
Investments like this take time, which is why the plan for the Brother Donald Blauvelt, C.S.C. Performing Arts Center took five years from concept to construction. The building went through a full year of design alone to ensure the needs of incoming Mariners were met and to help support the community.
Dr. Guneratne mentioned her, and the facilities committee went around and toured different bandrooms. “We also looked at other universities…We asked them, ‘What do you love about your space?’ And then we also asked them, ‘What do you hate about your space?”
Plans incorporated input from not only students and teachers, but also alumni and research from other schools and universities, with the goal of refining the design.
Dr. Guneratne explained, when interviewed, “We had several design-build firms pitch us on why they would like to be our partner for the project.”
Ultimately, DevCon Construction was selected as Moreau’s partner, known for their work on the SK Hynix HQ in San Jose, which was a design and build project consisting of renovating a 90,000-square-foot two-story lobby. Studio Bondi was selected as the architectural group for their expertise in the arts. In addition to designing Moreau’s new performing arts studio, Studio Bondi also designed Marin Academy Performing Arts Center, both projects coming out beautifully.
The new BPAC consists of several different facilities in one, but will mainly serve as the band director, Mr. Firmeza’s new classroom.. The BPAC has soundproof rooms that will consist of two ensemble rooms, a space where musicians can work together in small groups. A recording studio is also included in the building. It even has a locker room so students can store their instruments, and it houses a mini performance space that can fit approximately 150 people.
The building will officially open on October 4 at 10 a.m. The groundbreaking ceremony will also be a celebration of Moreau’s 60th anniversary. Guests will make their way to the festival area with refreshments and snacks. Later, they will move to the new building, where there will be a short performance from the band and choir. After, since alumni will be at the event, there will be an open house with self-guided tours where alumni can take a walk down memory lane and see what has changed and what has stayed the same.
“It doesn’t feel fast, but from the moment they put the shovel in the ground, they told us 12 to 18 months, and it’s been about 13, 14 months,” Dr. Guneratne said.
Remarkably, the building that was started barely over a year ago will be opening to guests at the ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 4. This new construction represents more than simply a building; it represents Moreau’s commitment to meeting the needs of their students. In addition to the new building, new batting cages were also built toward the back of the building.
“[Media arts teacher] Mr. McKenna helped us come up with this term. It’s not a multipurpose space; it’s a multi-periential space,” commented Dr. Guneratne.
The space isn’t simply going to be a band room; the new building and its surroundings will be used by many students, both inside and outside of band. There is an open common area for students to occupy, and there are both a softball batting cage and a baseball batting cage for use by Moreau’s teams. The space was designed to feel open and inviting to all Mariners, present, past, and future.
Photo courtesy of Brodie Mansfield
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