About Our Campus
A powerful sense of community emerges each summer at the Brevard Music Center. Faculty, students, and staff live and work together on the campus. Shared experiences (dining in the cafeteria, rehearsals, classes, concerts) create connections that last long after the summer. A quiet, beautiful natural setting encourages work, play, rest, reflection, and perspective.
In many respects, Brevard maintains a culture of informality. Virtually every rehearsal is open to students and faculty. A great deal of informal instruction occurs, from faculty and from older students to younger ones (or from younger to older). Many lifelong friendships are forged each summer, and countless Brevard alumni retain strong attachments to the place and to its people.
With respect to student residential life, Brevard's two divisions, High School and College, operate under different policies and procedures. High school and college students live on different parts of the campus. Campus life policies for college students are liberal, analogous to those found on many college campuses.
Housing
Students, staff, faculty, faculty families, and many of Brevard's guest artists reside within the 180-acre Music Center campus.
Students live in simple yet comfortable residences, which are cabin-style dorms. Most have rooms with bunkbeds and roommates, and a shared bathroom with individual toilet stalls, individual shower stalls, and shared sinks/mirrors. All residences are air-conditioned with either central air or window units.
A Dean of Students, five Assistant Deans, and a team of Resident Assistants (RAs) comprise the student life staff. Each member of the staff brings experience in campus residential life. Most are musicians as well, and each is subject to an interview, reference check, background check, and training before they commence work at the Brevard Music Center.
All high school dorms will have two RAs; all college dorms will have one RA. There are separate, dedicated buildings which serve as high school or college hang-outs; these two locations have wifi with games and activities, etc.
Brevard does not provide co-ed or married-student housing. Students are housed according to age and gender. If you have any questions about housing, please contact admissions@brevardmusic.org.
Facilities
Rehearsal and Performance Venues
Large ensembles rehearse and perform in the recently renovated Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium, Brevard’s 1800-seat, open-sided concert hall next to Lake Milner.
Chamber rehearsals, studio classes, and masterclasses may be held in BMC’s newest performance space, Parker Concert Hall. The hall features concert seating up to 400, with a retractable modular seating system that makes the year-round space uniquely versatile.
The Brevard Symphonic Winds and other ensembles rehearse in the open-air, historic Straus Auditorium, constructed in 1920 and re-purposed as a performance/rehearsal venue when the Brevard Music Center moved to its current campus in 1946. Additional performances may take place at the Porter Center at Brevard College.
Practice rooms
Brevard Music Center maintains nearly 110 air-conditioned practice rooms, teaching studios, and classrooms. These rooms vary in size, accommodating different-sized rehearsals, theory / musicianship classes, studio classes, and more. Steinway is the official piano of the Brevard Music Center, and all of the pianos are Steinway products.
Recreation
Students in the High School Division gather in Harmony Hall for games, movies, ping-pong, and socializing. French Quarter, near Sonata Lake, serves as the hub of activity for the College Division. The Residence Life staff coordinates recreational activities throughout the summer. Soccer games, ultimate Frisbee, movie nights, pizza parties, and barbecues are common occurrences. Swimming in Sonata Lake are popular activities during posted hours, when a lifeguard is on duty. Off-campus outings such as hiking or rafting in the nearby Pisgah National Forest are scheduled on certain weekends.
Downtown Brevard, with numerous shops and restaurants, is located 0.8 miles from the Music Center campus. A sidewalk connects the campus directly to Brevard's Main Street. Visit the Heart of Brevard website for more details about local stores and activities.
Student Services
Student Services Office
From June 1 to August 6, the Student Services Office serves as an on-campus hub for student and parent questions, packages and mail, room scheduling, and more. Contact information and hours are available in the Student Handbook, which is released in a student's MyBMC account by late April each year.
Health Services
Registered nursing staff manage the BMC infirmary. One nurse will be on campus seven days a week, with on-call services available. Our Medical Director does rounds on campus twice a week to meet with students by appointment; medical staff will refer students for off-campus physician services when necessary. Transylvania Regional Hospital, with a full range of emergency services, is located less than ten minutes away by car.
Campus Dining
All members of the campus community - students, staff, visiting artists, faculty and their families - dine at the Searcy Cafeteria. The Cafeteria is open for three meals each day. A variety of options, including vegetarian and gluten free, is always available. The food service staff will make accommodation for special dietary needs when necessary.
Security
Brevard Music Center is patrolled regularly by the City of Brevard Police Department. The Music Center engages licensed off-duty police officers to manage security after dark.
Brevard Music Center subscribes to the GroupCast messaging system, which provides instant notification to students and faculty via cell phone, text message, and email, in case of emergency. The Music Center maintains a complete emergency plan, developed in consultation with local and regional law enforcement officials, which prescribes behaviors for every campus employee and resident. Emergency procedures are posted in every campus building.
Computer & Cell Phone Coverage
Students with phones, laptops, or tablets will find several wireless hotspots on campus.
Cell phones must be fully silenced or turned off during lessons, rehearsals and concerts. Because of the surrounding mountainous terrain, cell phone service can be intermittent in certain campus areas.