By Jennie Robinson
City Council District 3
President ProTem
When I entered the newly renovated performing arts wing of the Sandra Moon Center for the first time, I felt like Dorothy walking into Oz. But instead of a yellow brick road, I followed a wooden ramp that led to the backstage door of the old Grissom High School auditorium. All five of my children were involved in theater during their time at Grissom, so I was familiar with the drab corridor inside that door. The addition of a lot of construction equipment and associated mess didn’t improve it.
But when I turned into the newly renovated band room, I was met with an explosion of color. Gone was the nasty carpet that was marred by decades of horn players making good use of their spit valves. In its place was fresh flooring that incorporates the blue, turquoise, black and white colors that are now the signature of the Moon Arts Center. New walls, new furnishings, and new technology completed the refreshed space that was home to generations of Grissom Band students.
Allison Dillon-Jauken, Arts Huntsville Executive Director, met me in the new Large Rehearsal Space (formerly the old band room) to start my tour. Arts Huntsville has assumed management of the 12,500 square foot space which includes office and rehearsal facilities for Huntsville’s nonprofit performing arts groups. Amy Jones, Special Projects Manager for Arts Huntsville, and Chris Carter, Production Manager for Arts Huntsville joined us for the tour. Amy and Chris have been an active part of the renovations and were excited to show me the new rehearsal space. They told me that Huntsville Youth Orchestra, Brass Band of Huntsville, and Huntsville Concert Band were eager to start rehearsing that week.
My guides then led me to the old Choral Room which has become the Small Rehearsal space. I saw that it also had new floors, new paint, new colors, and new furnishings. The space was home to young voices for years and will now provide rehearsal space for Huntsville Community Chorus and Huntsville Master Chorale.
We then took a tour of the office spaces that the Arts Huntsville tenants will occupy. Allison told me that these organizations need administrative space (which has been someone’s garage for a few of these groups) as well as space to house extensive music libraries and special equipment. These needs were incorporated into the design as well as space for board meetings and a break room. You could almost hear the collaborative wheels turning as musical groups share a common space and find new ways to work together.
Now that they have moved into their new office and rehearsal space, the Arts Huntsville tenants are eagerly anticipating work to begin on Phase IV of the Moon Arts Center—the Auditorium and Event Hall as well as a new lobby. A 1996 needs assessment conducted by Arts Huntsville determined that one of the arts community’s greatest needs was a 600-seat proscenium theater and rehearsal space. A needs assessment conducted just last year showed that performing and rehearsal space continues to be a top need. The Sandra Moon Center is poised to fill that gap. Designs for a new auditorium, lobby, and Event Hall (the lunchroom) are being completed and construction is scheduled to begin in 2024.
I returned later that week to sit in on a rehearsal of their Brass Band of Huntsville’s Youth Academy band. As I listened to students from high schools throughout Huntsville tune up their instruments, I thought, “These walls have missed music.” The Moon Arts Center will now be a home for generations of musicians, young and old as they expand their talents and find joy in music.
Dorothy was right. There really is no place like home. So welcome home to all the Arts Huntsville tenants and everyone who will delight in performances for years to come at the Sandra Moon Arts Center.
South Huntsville Neighbors 