The result of the yearlong, $5.2 million renovation of Bridges Hall of Music is visually striking. But the most dramatic difference is in the ear of the listener.

When Mabel Shaw Bridges Hall of Music reopened in September after a 13-month, $5.2 million renovation, concertgoers marveled at the beauty of the hall, the brilliance of the hand-painted ceiling and the impressive new pipe organ standing above the stage.

Less obvious, perhaps, were four large windows and two musician galleries recovered from an earlier seismic renovation, and new hardwood flooring, window glazing, lighting and audience seating. Outside the auditorium, other changes not readily apparent included off-stage storage areas, an elaborate eight-inch honeycombed structure above the ceiling, an elevator, the addition of a handicap restroom and a new fire sprinkler system.

The most dramatic change, however, was in the ear of the listener. According to William Peterson, professor of music, College organist and current chair of the Music Department, the building known affectionately as "Little Bridges" had been in great need of a more flexible acoustical environment, one that made it possible to tune the room--much as one tunes an instrument--for every kind of music, from chamber groups to ensembles to the impressive new organ.

The challenge before the Department of Music was to transform what is considered architect Myron Hunt's 1915 masterpiece into a concert hall that ensured excellent acoustics for every performer.

The process began by assembling key players. In 1998, the music faculty met with representatives from C.B. Fisk organ builders, the acoustical consultant, the architect and special consultants, including a lighting designer and an engineer, to plan for the project. "That conversation," says Professor Tom Flaherty, then chair of the department, "opened up a questioning process concerning Little Bridges itself. It was, in many respects, a continuation of the conversation held prior to the only other major renovation in 1971."

According to architect Brooks Cavin III of Claremont Environmental Design Group, the challenges that faced his firm when engaged to renovate and restore Little Bridges during the 2000-01 academic year included: the arrival and placement of a new organ from C.B. Fisk; better storage for grand pianos and other instruments; fulfilling the spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act (even though it doesn't apply to historic buildings); and installing new heating and air conditioning equipment, sprinklers, wiring and plumbing. "The most profound challenge and the one least visible," says Cavin, "concerned the improvement of the hall's acoustical properties while respecting the integrity of Myron Hunt's design and the historic tradition and use of Little Bridges."

Although Bridges Hall's one previous renovation in 1971 was primarily concerned with seismic issues, the Music Department at that time requested that the acoustical properties of the Hall be analyzed and that recommendations for improvements be formulated. The College, in fact, implemented many of the recommendations for improvement submitted by acoustician Paul Veneklasen.

Dana Kirkegaard, the acoustical consultant hired in 1998 to help prepare Little Bridges for a new organ, began contemplating some of the same issues identified by Veneklasen--issues that concerned the presentation and reception of music within a space that has served for many decades as the musical heart of the campus and as Pomona's principal teaching laboratory and public performance venue.

Veneklasen's major observation--that "Little Bridges has been noted for its fine acoustical properties for a solo or quartet, but that the music from a large orchestra or the organ suffered from a lack of echoes and reverberations of the lower tones"--still held true, despite several improvements by him made during the earlier renovation. The goal in 1971 was to improve bass response and reverberation time, and headway was made, especially through the removal of carpeting and draperies, but also by adding layers of plywood in the attic, to the stage floor and between the tongue-and-groove birch wainscoting around the hall. However, Little Bridges continued to suffer from a narrow range of sounds, and Kirkegaard was engaged to extend it in several respects with an emphasis on reverberation time.

"Before the current renovation," says Tom Flaherty, "Bridges' reverberation time was well under two seconds, and barely half that in low frequencies. Although organs and large ensembles prosper in spaces with reverberation times of five to six seconds, even 2.3 seconds would work in a space like Bridges, if the reverberation time were more even across the spectrum." Flaherty says that not only the organ but also the orchestra, band and choir benefit from the increased reverberation in the Hall.

Another issue challenged Kirkegaard, according to violinist and Professor Alfred Cramer: "Bridges provided a discernably better aural experience from the audience than from the stage; in fact, when performing on the Bridges stage, especially in the orchestra, it was difficult to hear the other musicians. The aural feedback that a great hall sends to its musicians was entirely lacking." Experienced musicians, says Cramer, "who prepared their performances in other spaces could cope; however, I doubt whether any group could become first-rate rehearsing in it. Like a good instrument, a good hall teaches musicians to play well. Bridges did not."

When describing what he does, Kirkegaard--who holds degrees in physics, art history and cultural history, as well as architecture--says it's important to get beyond the lore surrounding a building, since concert halls are often deemed better than they really are. "Listening to and working with musicians is the key," says Kirkegaard. "Musicians too often are ignored." Once there is a collaboration among acoustician, architect and musicians, "the goal of creating a three-dimensional sense of envelopment--for both performing musicians and the audience--is possible."

Armed with measurements of the sound properties of the hall and input from musicians and architect, Kirkegaard devised a unique acoustical treatment above the ceiling in the attic, an 8-inch, resin-impregnated honeycombed structure that is bonded and screwed to the ceiling. The decorative ceiling, which looks solid, was, in fact, porous and loosely nailed. Now it reflects sound more readily. Likewise, an inch-thick inner glazing has been added to the 12 large windows, thereby reducing outside noise and extending reverberation time. Reshaping the rear and side walls, including the reinstallation of wainscoting in the balcony, helps to deflect sound, and new banners over the windows and behind the balcony can be adjusted to help obtain the tonal qualities desired from a particular performance. Even the new hardwood chairs on the floor of the auditorium have been designed with special openings and cushions made from a particular fabric to allow sound waves to pass through them in order to be reflected by the hard surface of the floor. All told, reverberation has increased by a factor of 1.5, but it can also be less, if needed, due to the banners, which can change things spatially, tonally, dynamically, and in terms of resonance. At the same time, the overall bass resonance has been improved significantly.

So what is the net result of the changes to Little Bridges? "Pomona College," says Peterson, "has created in Bridges Hall an acoustical environment that complements the finest organ it has ever known, that enhances the musical experiences of a great many students who sing or play in the large ensembles, and that provides audiences with a musical setting that is noble and inspiring." The creative collaboration of acoustical consultant, architect, engineers and faculty musicians is bringing to the community great music in an acoustical environment that works to the advantage of all types of music, including--at long last--music produced by our large ensembles and, soon, the organ.

Graydon Beeks is director of music programming and facilities and professor of music;
Don Pattison, a former editor of Pomona College Magazine, is currently director of foundation and corporate relations.