Carleton music students sit in anticipation over the university’s ongoing negotiations to purchase Dominion-Chalmers United Church, located in Centretown.
On Dec. 5, Carleton’s Board of Governors began negotiations to purchase Dominion-Chalmers (DC), a space used mostly for Carleton choir performances. The church is known for holding concerts and jazz festivals, drawing nearly 1,000 people annually.
In a statement released by the university, Carleton president Alastair Summerlee shared how the program will evolve.
“The acquisition of this unique community asset would provide valuable performance space for Carleton students and faculty that isn’t available on the main campus,” he said.
With the university being at full capacity for events on-campus, DC will include a recording studio and added space for public lectures.
“The university will partner with community groups to expand our outreach activities and reinforce our commitment to community engagement,” Summerlee said in a statement.
He added that external dollars will help fund the church, without “[impacting] the capital budget of the University.”
Looking at the venue, DC would house practice rooms and additional space for students to utilize, according to Kevin Lin, a third-year music student from the Carleton Music Students Society (CMSS).
“The extra space we now have access to can and will be used for private lessons for students and teachers who may live far away from each other,” he said. “It would be a middle ground for them to meet.”
He added that the church could also be used by students to practice, since there aren’t enough practice rooms on campus.
Lin also said how the church will encourage and engage students to get involved in concerts and gigs.
“What I’m looking forward to most is having a space to host events and gigs,” Lin said. “This is incredibly important because having space to rent out [to] host events could be so helpful to students who may need a place to host their own gigs and the department to make gigs for profit.”
Aside from DC being a hub for Carleton music students, it also raises the opportunity for other students of different disciplines to use the church themselves.
Netanya Richards, a first-year music student, said the church isn’t just for arts students.
“Perhaps non-arts students studying architecture or religious studies could use the space as a way to examine the structure of the building and the institution of church,” she said.
There is high opportunity to expand arts programming, especially for the Carleton University Art Gallery, which would use the church as exhibit space. Other groups in the community such as the Ottawa International Writers Festival and the Ottawa Chamber Music Society have expressed interest in also using the church.
“It won’t be easy, but if Dominion Chalmers can be marketed correctly by the music department, it could be very beneficial for the department, CMSS, [and the church],” Lin said.
Photo by Graham Swaney
