Participants have included such celebrated musicians as Yo-Yo Ma, Pablo Casals, pianist Mitsuko Uchida, and violinist Joshua Bell. Over the course of seven decades, the campus’ aging farm buildings became less-than-ideal environments for music rehearsal and housing Marlboro’s world-renowned chamber music archive. Driven by a desire to best serve the needs of 21st-century musicians and the music itself, the design of the new Reich Rehearsal Building & Music Library (Reich Hall) stays true to the spirit of Marlboro and the simple, country ethos of Southern Vermont, while providing much-needed modern rehearsal spaces, a music library, staff offices, and common areas.

During the academic year, the rehearsal spaces are converted into classroom spaces; the staff offices are used by Marlboro Music’s faculty. The design for Reich Hall was inspired by a Cape Cod cottage—a 400-year-old typology derived from 17th-century English settler’s dwellings in New England and the primary inspiration for Marlboro College’s centuries-old buildings. The four pitched-roof forms step down with the natural slope of the landscape, with the upper and lower levels organized around south-facing outdoor “rooms” that provide space for community gathering.

Acoustically, within rehearsal rooms, a pattern of reflective and absorptive elements – wood panels and glass – maintain a sense of simplicity while optimizing mountain views and allowing natural light to fill the space.