The Peabody Institute’s new Building on the Breakthrough strategic plan outlines a course for Peabody’s continued leadership in performing arts education through five key areas of focus: Academic Programming, Financial Aid, Expanding Our Reach, People and Culture, and the Mount Vernon Campus. Having invested in innovation, access, and excellence and guided robust growth over the last decade, Peabody is well positioned to further advance its commitment to providing world-class training, enhancing the student experience, and expanding and strengthening its impact in the performing arts community through this new vision.
You can track regular updates on the 25 goals detailed in the strategic plan at peabody.jhu.edu/buildingonthebreakthrough. Here are a few recent highlights.
The Peabody Institute’s new Building on the Breakthrough strategic plan outlines a course for Peabody’s continued leadership in performing arts education through five key areas of focus: Academic Programming, Financial Aid, Expanding Our Reach, People and Culture, and the Mount Vernon Campus. Having invested in innovation, access, and excellence and guided robust growth over the last decade, Peabody is well positioned to further advance its commitment to providing world-class training, enhancing the student experience, and expanding and strengthening its impact in the performing arts community through this new vision.
You can track regular updates on the 25 goals detailed in the strategic plan at peabody.jhu.edu/buildingonthebreakthrough. Here are afew recent highlights.
Mount Vernon Campus
A transformation has begun at Peabody’s Mount Vernon campus, with a goal of cultivating a campus environment that meets the needs of a growing community and many specialized programs. A plan and program for the renovation of the housing towers is beginning to take shape, with input from many in the Peabody community. A design team (Ennead), construction partner (Whiting-Turner), and an acoustical consultant (Kirkegaard) are all in place to advance the work of repurposing spaces and expanding square footage to meet programmatic needs. Meanwhile, work is under way in Miriam A. Friedberg Concert Hall, which is expected to reopen in the spring with long-awaited acoustical upgrades and new technical systems. And Peabody’s Facilities and Student Affairs teams are preparing apartment-style student housing in the newly updated former Waterloo Apartment complex for students to move in next fall.
Academic Programming
Among the incoming class at the Conservatory this fall, Peabody welcomed its first cohort of students in the new Bachelor of Music in Hip Hop program. Led by composer, producer, beatmaker, pianist, and professorWendel Patrick, the program has also welcomed new faculty includingGrammy Award–winning rapper, songwriter, and record producer Lupe Fiasco as a distinguished visiting artist;the pioneering turntablist DJ Babu; and beatboxer and multidisciplinary producer Max Bent.
The Hip Hop program joins Computer Music and Music for New Media: Film and Game Scoring in an academic department focused on technology-supported music creation. Music, Technology, and Media is chaired by Sam Pluta and designed to strengthen the student experience by facilitating collaboration across disciplines. The more production-oriented Recording Arts & Sciences and Acoustics department continues to be chaired by Scott Metcalfe, with a new Recording Arts Production track also launching this fall.
Taken together, these programs represent a continued focus on leveraging Peabody’s historic strengths in the areas where music meets technology and developing next-generation training for today’s artists.