Eldridge Barn and Music Shed annex up next for renovation

by Andra Moss

In an unprecedented public meeting, the Trustees of the Ellen Battell Stoeckel Trust (EBST), deans of the Yale University schools of music and art and the directors of the Yale Summer School of Music and Art came together at the Hub (some virtually) on Jan. 26 to share with the Norfolk community several new initiatives planned for the 72-acre Stoeckel estate.

David Low, EBST trustee, outlined two major capital projects for 2022-23 that will upgrade and expand the facilities for Yale’s world-class programs that are held in Norfolk each summer. 

With the completion of the Art Barn restoration, the trust has identified two new projects as foundational in the long-term strategic plan for the estate. They involve a renovation of the Eldridge Barn and the replacement of the annex behind the Music Shed.

Low explained that these two projects are vital to meeting several clear priorities for the Yale summer programs: the importance of world-class rehearsal, performance and studio space; the need for fellows, students and faculty to all be housed on the estate; and the need for flexible-use facilities, with potential for off-season programming.

Addressing the issue of housing, Melvin Chen, director of the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, explained that music fellows would no longer be hosted in the homes of Norfolk families. He thanked all the host families, appreciating that “very strong relationships have formed between the families and the fellows.” Nonetheless, he said, Yale had recently decided to no longer allow hosting by local families, for a variety of reasons, “the most pressing [being] health and safety, housing them in environments that we can’t control.” This summer, all fellows will reside in the estate cottages; the music faculty will stay at the Manor House on Maple Ave.

Given this change, it became even more imperative that the trust find a way to house faculty, fellows and students on campus. Converting the Eldridge Barn to a residence for up to 16 people will help tremendously. John Martin, the architect behind the Art Barn project, will spearhead this renovation as well. The building will be reconfigured to hold 11 small sleeping rooms, including five doubles, each with an en suite bathroom. No kitchen facilities are needed, but a shared laundry will be added (which those in the cottages can use as well), and a new common room will open onto a patio facing the flower bridge. The structure will be shingled to match the Music Shed and Art Barn. It will also be heated and air-conditioned for possible year-round use.

The Music Shed annex is a very different project. It requires the demolition of the early 1970s addition at the far end of the shed (a separate structure) that has essentially been unusable for years owing to drainage issues. 

“There’s been a long-felt need for improved spaces for the artists,” said Jack Beecher, director of operations for the EBST. With these enhancements, “the new space will have a real green room, quality rehearsal spaces and the technology needed to attract the best artists.” The project will additionally bring air-conditioning to the shed and improve and expand the restroom facilities. With much of the same team that worked on the award-winning Art Barn tackling these two projects, Beecher said, “We think we can do even better this time.”

Low agrees, saying that the time has come for enhancements that are worthy of the distinguished history of the arts in Norfolk and that will continue to draw the finest musicians and artists here well into the future.  

Low and the EBST trustees are fully committed to the $8.5 million project. They have received a couple of significant gifts already and are looking for support from a diverse group within the Norfolk community, as well as a larger circle of supporters. “We want the community to be part of this process as we move forward,” Low said.

The plan is for shovels to be in the ground in September 2022 and both buildings to be completed by early May 2023, an aggressive schedule. “This,” said Low, “is the moment.”