Seagle Music Colony
Client
Seagle Music Colony
Location
Schroon Lake, New York
Size
29.5 Acres
Services
Master Planning | Landscape Architecture| Civil Engineering | Permitting
Status
In Progress
Founded in 1915 by Oscar Seagle, an internationally recognized baritone singer and student of famous Polish tenor Jean de Reszke of the Metropolitan Opera, the Seagle Music Colony operates the oldest vocal training program in the United States. Seagle welcomes prestigious students and instructors from across the United States and abroad, to coalesce in Schroon Lake every summer for rigorous vocal training, and to produce multiple high-caliber performances “in the mountains” throughout the summer season.
Studio A was retained to assist Seagle Music Colony with the development of a visionary Landscape Master Plan for the next ten to twenty years, and beyond. The focus of the Master Plan is to transition the Seagle Campus from what is currently a summer-only operation, to a multi-season, or even year-round destination. Included in the design is a new winterized water system, a new performance hall, dining hall/multi-purpose building, two women’s dormitories, as well as providing insulation and other environmental layers for winterizing existing buildings, and planning for proper snow clearing and stormwater management for the potentially longer operating season.
Additionally, the campus is split on either side of Charley Hill Road. In order to provide a more “campus-in-the forest-like” core, the Landscape Master Plan has created a pedestrian-friendly sequence of paths and courtyards on the south side of the road, where students can traverse from breakfast, to practice, to lunch, dinner and back to their dorms in the evening, all without having to cross the road.
The north side of the road is being converted to administrative, faculty, and maintenance facilities. The Landscape design takes its inspiration from the woodland setting and the wilderness surrounding Schroon Lake. In fact, Seagle’s existing aesthetic is pleasantly lush with greenery and a mix of young and old forest growth, reminiscent of a spectrum of living forest communities in this location, and of the variety found throughout the massive forest matrix covering the Adirondack Park.
