Renovation begins at the choir school

Friday, Aug. 07, 2015
Renovation begins at the choir school
Intermountain Catholic
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Shown from left at the groundbreaking for the restoration of Jacquelyn M. Erbin Hall at The Madeleine Choir School are Sara Rich, the Finance Committee chairperson; Thomas K. McCarthey, Jr., Capital Campaign chairman; Terry Stephens, a patron of the school; Ben McAdams, mayor of Salt Lake County; Peter Corroon, Steering Committee chairman; Msgr. Colin F. Bircumshaw, administrator of the Diocese of Salt Lake City; Fr. Martin Diaz, pastor of the Cathedral of the Madeleine; and the Rev. Frederick Q. Lawson, a patron of the Madeleine Choir School. IC photo/Marie Mischel
By Marie Mischel
Intermountain Catholic

SALT LAKE CITY — The turn of golden shovels held by dignitaries represented “the visible beginning of a new milestone for The Madeleine Choir School. The dirt, the sledge hammers – we are finally doing this, and we are so very excited,” said Jill Baillie, principal, during the July 23 groundbreaking for the restoration of Jacquelyn M. Erbin Hall, one of five buildings on the campus near the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City.
The groundbreaking ceremony included a blessing of the construction site by Monsignor Colin F. Bircumshaw, administrator of the Diocese of Salt Lake City.
Renovations to the historic building, built as the Rowland Hall School for Girls, will provide classrooms, science laboratories and a library, as well as seismic retrofitting, among other improvements. The building is named for a Judge Memorial Catholic High School graduate who went on to become a pediatrician.
“Jackie Erbin was devoted to the health and well-being of children and young people, and it is our hope that her legacy of devoted service continues now with the addition of the choir school,” said Gregory Glenn, pastoral administrator, at the groundbreaking.
Among those who also spoke at the ceremony was the Rev. Frederick Q. Lawson, a patron of the Madeleine Choir School, who reminisced about his family’s connection to the site. His mother attended kindergarten at Rowland Hall School, his sister graduated from there, and while attending St. Mark’s School, the Rev. Lawson himself went to chapel there.
During his comments, Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams called the Madeleine Choir School “the gold standard of a quality, model school system education system for our kids.”
The importance of cultivating the arts is often forgotten in education today, McAdams said, and added, “Thank you for cultivating a respect and a value and an appreciation for the arts.”   
The estimated $5 million renovation will help the school accommodate its growing student population, said Matt Kitterer, director of advancement. Currently, the school has two classrooms for grades K-5, with one classroom for the pre-school and grades 6-8. By 2018 they anticipate having two classrooms for each grade.
Demolition on the interior east wing of Erbin Hall has already begun. The renovation, which is expected to be complete in August 2016, will create four floors of new classroom space, Kitterer said. 
During the 2015-16 school year, a construction wall will separate the building’s two wings. Classes will continue to be held in the west wing, while the existing library building will house two classrooms. 

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