Construction Update - Week 9

At left, yards and yards of duct work and electrical wiring were installed this week, as workers finish up the infrastructure and prepare the space for painting and installation of doors and lighting. Also, and orginal tin medallion from Mount de Chantal, seen below left, is now in the workshop for removal of old paint. it will surround the chandelier that hung in the Mount's "Parents Parlor."

Construction Update - Week 8

Much of the drywall in the Conservatory went up this week, with walls solid and ready for the painters to begin their work. In the photo, we see the familiar view through the Lobby and into the Parlor and Recital Hall, and the progress is apparent when comparing it with previous views from the same vantage point. Note the large bulkhead constructed this week in the Parlor ceiling. Inside, the chandelier that graced the Mount's entry hall will be installed in a raised ceiling.

Original Mount tin, shown here in detail, will line the raised ceiling above the second Mount chandelier, to be installed in the Conservatory's Sisters of the Visitation Gallery. Both chandeliers are currently being rewired.

Your support means so much as we build the Conservatory and renovate the objects to continue the Mount's legacy in Wheeling. Please click the "Donate" button on the left side of this page, and follow the instructions for contributing online. Or call Kathryn Kelly at WJU, 304-243-8160. Thank you!

Mount de Chantal Conservatory Construction Nearing Completion

Construction is well underway at Wheeling Jesuit University on the Mount de Chantal Conservatory of Music, which is set to open late this fall within the university's Center for Educational Technologies building.

Read More...

Construction Update - Week 7

In the Conservatory's Sisters of the Visitation Gallery, workers craft a rounded raised bulkhead in the center of the room. The chandelier that hung in the Parents' Parlor at Mount de Chantal will hang in the center of this eight-foot-wide raised opening in the ceiling, suspended from its original tin medallion and surrounded by additional tin ceiling from the Mount. Directly under the chandelier will be an upholstered round banquette for seating.

From stage right, we look out into the Recital Hall and see, from left, the doorway to the stage-left storage room, the doorway leading out into the Parlor, and the window into the sound booth.

Construction Update - Week 6

One of the iconic scalloped-edge windows from the Mount de Chantal art studio is undergoing restoration over the next several weeks, as workers carefully make the repairs necessary to overcome more than a century and a half of exposure to the elements. Once restored, the back-lit window will be the highlight of the Conservatory lobby, where all visitors will be able to see and enjoy it.

Construction Update - Week 5

Drywall was installed in many areas throughout the Conservatory this week. In the photo at left, we look from the Sisters of the Visitation Gallery through the Lobby and into the Parlor, where the doorway to the Recital Hall has been framed. In the Lobby, a wall is being prepared for the installation of one of Mount de Chantal's original scalloped-edge windows.

At left, the Recital Hall stage takes shape in this side view, as drywall goes up to enclose the stage-rightstorage area.

Construction Update - Week 4

The right side of the Conservatory's Recital Hall stage is taking shape in this photo, along with one of the storage areas that will flank the stage. Raised 12 inches from the floor, the curved stage will accommodate an orchestra of up to 30 musicians.

Construction Update - Week 3

Framing went up this week for the walls throughout the Conservatory. In this photo, taken from a spot in the parlor, we look out through its arched entryway into the lobby, and through another arch leading to the Sisters of the Visitation Gallery.

Construction Update - Week 2

What a difference a week makes! Workers have nearly finished dismantling walls in the spaces that will be transformed into the Conservatory. At left, two workers pause in the future Recital Hall. Below, we see progress in the room that will house the Sisters of the Visitation Gallery. This view faces the wall that will hold a reproduction of the well-recognized G.P.A. Healy paining of Romaine Goddard, the Mount's first harp graduate.

Construction Update - Week 1

Demolition began July 15 on the first floor of Wheeling Jesuit's Center for Educational Technologies building, in preparation for what will be the Mount de Chantal Conservatory of Music at Wheeling Jesuit University. Workers addressed the Recital Hall first, with these photos showing a view toward the future stage (Top) and the removal of an interior wall (Bottom).

Scholarship Winner Announced

Samantha Herrington of Bethel Park, Pa., has been selected to receive the first ever Mount de Chantal Music Scholarship at Wheeling Jesuit University.

Funded through a grant from the Sisters of the Visitation, who for 160 years operated Mount de Chantal Visitation Academy on the property adjacent to Wheeling Jesuit, the competitive scholarship is a $10,000 award. This scholarship, renewable for four years, is awarded to an incoming female freshman who actively participates in one of the University's conducted ensembles, maintains the required grade point average and has a record of Christian service.

Read More...

Recently Acquired: Mount Graduations Photos & Sr. Joanne's Piano

Remember these? Holding a place of honor in the Mount's front hall for years, the senior class photo composites have been donated to the Conservatory by the Sisters of the Visitation. They will be displayed in the Sisters of the Visitation Gallery in the Conservatory, along with Sr. Joanne Gonter's own piano, also shown here.

Franz Liszt bust to be displayed in the Conservatory

In early June, four members of the Mount de Chantal Class of 1963 visited Wheeling Jesuit to hear about plans for the Conservatory, tour the space, and see the Mount de Chantal objects that will be displayed there. Shown with a bust of composer Franz Liszt are Kathleen Cagnina Lane of Strongsville, OH; Mary Margaret Shelton-Donahue of Carrollton, GA; Lois Krchmarsky Naegele of Wheeling, WV; and Anne Ford Taylor of Saratoga Springs, NY.

Original Painting of St. Cecilia, donated by Michelle Dufalla

An original painting of St. Cecilia, likely done by a Visitation sister circa 1880, was purchased from the Mount by alumna Michelle Dufalla, right. In 2013, Ms. Dufalla donated the painting, along with a bust of Franz Liszt, to Wheeling Jesuit. The painting hung for generations in the Mount's Music Hall, and the bust was a fixture in the piano studio of Addison Jones, and later Bill Hines. Accepting the donation on behalf of the University is Kathryn Duda Kelly, also a graduate of Mount de Chantal.

800-pound tower bell, donated by the Sisters of the Visitation

Four Mount de Chantal Alumnae from the class of 1961 examine the 800-pound bell that hung for more than a century in the bell tower at Mount de Chantal. The bell is one of the items donated by the Sisters of the Visitation to Wheeling Jesuit for the Conservatory. It will be displayed outside so that visitors can see and touch it. Posing with the bell during their tour of the Conservatory space at WJU are Katharine Klos, Dolores Wallace, Catherine Rakow and Mary Rita Sonderman.