Falling plaster in Galbreath Chapel has crushed the plans of several Ohio University music students.
The 54-year-old building, located on College Green, has been closed until further notice due to water damage on the ceiling discovered during Winter Intersession. Because students in the School of Music practice on the organ located inside Galbreath Chapel, its closing has forced some of them to change their plans.
Several surrounding churches have opened their doors to students in need of practice time. In addition, there is a very small pipe organ in a little practice room in the School of Music, said Paul Barte, associate professor of organ and music history, in an email.
“It is old and in some disrepair,” Barte said. “The practice organ will see more use now, but under normal circumstances, it would probably remain untouched for weeks — months, even.”
Galbreath Chapel was open to organ students liberally, from early morning to late at night, Barte said.
Now, rehearsal time is very limited, as students can only practice at the hours that are convenient for the churches that have organs. In most cases, particular venues are only available in the morning.
“Evenings are prime practice time for many students because they are, after all, generally busy with other academic responsibilities during the daytime hours,” Barte said.
One student particularly affected by the chapel’s closing is Mary Thomas, a senior studying organ performance. Thomas was set to play her senior recital this month at Galbreath as a culmination of her studies at OU.
“It is much more complicated than, for example, simply playing a different piano,” Thomas said. “Each organ is very different and adapting my performance pieces to a new organ has been difficult.”
Thomas’ Jan. 17 recital has been relocated to Christ Lutheran Church, 69 Mill St.
“The outstanding quality of the chapel organ combined with superior acoustics makes Galbreath Chapel an unmatched performance venue for organ music in this area,” Thomas said.
In the meantime, OU is still assessing the damage to Galbreath Chapel, said Harry Wyatt, associate vice president for Facilities.
The first red flag of damage was peeling paint, Wyatt said. In early December, a small section of plaster fell from the ceiling of Galbreath, jump-starting a deeper investigation into the damage.
The roof is very complex, Wyatt said. It consists of a steeple and a copula — the round structure at the steeple’s base — which has old windows.
“So there’s many, many areas that could be sources of leaks, and even if they’re not leaking now, they might leak in the near future,” Wyatt said.
There is no cost estimate or timetable for the repairs yet, Wyatt said.
“If we’re going through the trouble of taking the building offline, we want to do a really good repair,” he said. “And that does mean it’ll take time to identify the fund source, and we’ll spend a good deal of money on it. We want to do this right.”
jb351009@ohiou.edu
