I was 13 when I first set foot inside the HFAC. As soon I saw the art and the student films playing, I knew that film was what I wanted to do in life. Then one day I applied to the Media Arts program and got accepted after several attempts. After that I had that same feeling from when I was a kid, confirming that I was on the right path.
- Benjamin V.

I have fond memories of wandering into the HFAC on a Friday night, looking for something to do. I’d go with friends or dates or by myself. We’d write secret messages in musical notation on the chalkboards in music classrooms, or make up games involving the gallery exhibits (“you have 30 seconds to pick which piece of art you’d buy if you could only buy one,” for example, or “tell me one word that each work reminds you of”). As an upperclassman, I began recognizing more of the artists’ names in each exhibit as friends from classes or people I’d interacted with online. I never had a class in this building, but I spent many happy hours here and it played an important role in connecting me with people who are now loved ones.
- Eden B.

I went to BYU in 1980. I worked on the HFAC cleaning crew at 3am, 3rd floor offices. I met someone I worked with; he cleaned the chalk boards in the classrooms. We dated and became engaged, but a few weeks before we were to be married I broke it off because I felt it was not right. Then I came back to BYU for another semester. I met someone else working at the HFAC. He vacuumed the carpets. I was dusting a high shelf when he came to vaccum the rug in the office and asked me to homecoming. We dated and I grew to like this young man. There was a carpeted classroom that was hardly ever dirty. I tore up paper in little pieces and sprinkled them into the shape of a heart on the floor. I had declared my love for the vaccum man. We have been married now for 41 years, with 9 children and 16 grandchildren. After retiring from the USPS, he now works as BYU Events Staff. I'm still in love, thank you to the HFAC!
- Cindy B.

I was a BYU freshman in 1964. I tried out for “The Lamp at Midnight”, the inaugural play in the Pardoe Theatre. I had no appreciation at the time of the significance of the event, as my character had a significant verbal fight with the man playing the Pope, Dr. Metten. The play was directed by Dr. Harold Hansen, one of the greats at BYU. What a great experience as a lowly freshman.
- Marvin R.

To start out, I grew up with a musical family who plays widely diverse ranges of music between Classical and Jazz. I remember seeing my sister's concerts in the de Jong Concert Hall and her recitals at the Madsen Recital Hall. Many of my other siblings also played in the de Jong Concert Hall when they played for Synthesis. I also know a good number of friends of my siblings who were in the music program with them. I became great friends with them too as I saw my siblings grow in their music life.
- Ben S.

The Harris Fine Arts Center holds a very special place in my heart for it was here I gained my testimony of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I had entered BYU as a non-church member and was welcomed with much love and friendship. In 1975, I had been receiving the missionary discussions looking for truth. During the production of Right Honorable Saint, a centennial celebration musical about Karl Maeser, we had opened the show but then lost our lead. Chip Boynton jumped in at the last minute and had one week to put together such a monumental role. The second opening night came. We had an opening prayer as a cast backstage that the spirit would be with us and Chip and all would go well. He was amazing! We again gathered for a closing prayer after the show to give thanks for blessing of a successful performance. It was during that prayer that the Holy Ghost warmed my heart and testified to me of the truth of the gospel. I shall never forget the BYU Harris Fine Arts Center.
- Rosemary Gibbons Flaherty

I had many Merit Badge Camps with Boy Scouts back in the 90’s, and I understandably had my Art Merit Badge classes in the Harris Fine Arts Center. I only went into the HFAC one other time for Education Week 2018, but I heard thousands of stories of all of the plays, choir concerts and other Fine Art Events that took place there. I will sorely miss the HFAC too.
- Jeremy L.

In 1969, I was suffering from a severe depressive illness that left me suicidal. For comfort, I went to a play at the Harris Fine Arts Center and saw "The Arms and the Man". It was a very good production. It took my mind off my depression and made me feel better for a time. I will always be grateful.
- Albert W.

As a music minor, the HFAC was my second home on campus. I had classes in the Madsen Recital Hall. I also had classes, music lessons and practice hours in the underground levels. I attended numerous concerts, recitals and plays in the de Jong, Madsen and Pardoe. Thinking about those rooms brings back a lot of happy memories. I'll miss you, HFAC!
- Jessica P.

The Harris Fine Arts Center has long been my favorite building on campus. The HFAC is where I go when I’m feeling sad or extra happy. I often go for no particular reason to wander the halls or play on the beautiful pianos in the practice rooms. There is so much magic and love in the building that you can sense right when you walk in. I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do without it.
- Tyler T.

I've sung many times with the men's chorus in the HFAC and seen a lot of beautiful art displayed in the atrium. One of the most prominent memories is Eric Whitacre directing the Men's Chorus in Sing Gently and Lux Aurumque. I'll miss this beautiful building.
- Seth J.

I spent many hours studying and teaching in the HFAC. One of my great memories is sitting on the grass outside the building before class talking to my wife (then girlfriend) during our courtship. The building will always have a special place in my heart.
- Val H.

It was one of my first concerta that I played in an actually nice place and it was the one of the last times I saw my friend.
- Matthew D.

I met my husband at the Slab, waiting to go into our BYU Singers auditions. So in a way, you could say that the HFAC is part of the catalyst to what is the greatest blessing of my life.
- Felicity C

I met my wife in the HFAC! In 2015, I was the student choral clerk for Rosalind Hall (the best boss ever) and my future wife had just joined the Concert Choir presidency. She started to come into our shared office each day to gather some materials she needed for class. After a couple weeks of small talk, I asked her out -- our first date was to a Noteworthy concert, also at the HFAC, and the rest is history! We are now graduated and have three kids. We are so sad that the HFAC is being torn down.
- Drew C.

From 1992-1996 my husband, Mike Handy, sang in the BYU Men’s Chorus under the direction of Dr. Mac Wilberg. Every day during their rehearsal time, I would sit in the back of Madsen Recital Hall & do homework while listening to them practice. Also, the Men’s Chorus concerts in the de Jong Concert Hall were always so uplifting & fun. I looked forward to going to those every semester.
- Amy H.

I used to sit in the atrium of the HFAC in between classes a few times a week. I was pleasantly surprised when there started to be free concerts in the atrium on Fridays while I was already sitting there. It was so nice to have the music to listen to while I worked on homework.
- Jamie H

I met my wife on the stage of the de Jong Concert Hall. We both worked on department of arts task force. I asked her on our first date in the de Jong, and she asked me on our second date on the Pardoe stage. Around one year later, I proposed to her on the de Jong stage. Our co-workers arranged to have a movie night in the de Jong. She showed up along with about eighty other people to watch the movie. About five minutes in the movie cut out and a movie I made about her life, featuring her family as the actors, came on the screen. There were several episodes in the movie leading to the final episode called “the proposal.” I came on screen, showed the ring, then started to propose when all of the lights in the concert hall went dark. The music from the end of Star Wars started playing, and the crew lowered me down from the rafters, where I had been attached to one of the lighting batons. There were spotlights on the stage and I called her up, where I officially proposed. She said yes. Twenty two years later we have four kids and have taken marital bliss to a whole new level.
- Casey G.

Growing up in Provo, the HFAC was an important part of my childhood. It’s where I saw some of the greatest plays, concerts, recitals, galleries, exhibits and other performances. I fell in love with music and drama because of these experiences and opened my mind to the great world around us. I also had many lessons at the HFAC while learning to play the clarinet from some of the most talented musicians. Our school’s band also performed at the HFAC every year, which was my favorite concert because I got to perform on the stage that inspired me. In college, I was able to see the Red Army Choir perform at the HFAC, possibly marking the high-water mark for US-Russian relations in my lifetime. Many fond memories that I cherish and celebrate. Sad to see such a wonderful building go.
- AC

I wasn’t that guy. I wasn’t the singer or the performer or the dancer. I didn’t arrive early and leave late. I didn’t stand in front of the crowd. Nope. That wasn’t me. I was the guy that polished the floors every morning at 4:00 am. I vacuumed the rugs and I cleaned the performance halls. I was behind the scenes, making it possible. It was 1985 and my gift to the arts was to prepare the venue for the performers. I worked hard and felt like my little gift was to make it sparkle.
- Britt B.

I have so many memories of this special building. Where to start? I loved sitting in the Madsen Recital Hall while BYU Singers were practicing and doing my homework.
- Renne B.

When I started my first semester at BYU, I loved checking out piano sheet music at the library and taking a two-minute walk to the practice rooms in the HFAC. I’d play around on a piano and relieve stress at the same time. Here’s to the new building!
- Isaac N.

When I first came to BYU in the Fall of 1981, I took an Honors Intro to Theatre taught by Dr. Bob Nelson. I was introduced to the magic of this building, and the performances here became a regular enrichment to my college career from 1981-1989. From Pirates of Penzance to The Belle of Amherst by Barta Heiner, The World or Dance, Homecoming Spectacular, The Magic Flute, String Concertos, singing in University Chorale, watching a one-man show on Wilford Woodruff and so much more, even a far out Percussion Ensemble. As young newlyweds, my late wife and I would often visit art displays in the lobby. We were exposed to rich and varied visual arts. My favorite memory there was seeing the original of ‘O Jerusalem’ and we later bought a print for our home. We brought our children back there for events and just to explore when we were on campus. Our scouts came here when we were on Campus for Merit Badge PowWows. Our daughter visited it again when she attended BYU as a student. What a bittersweet surprise it was then, when my wife, Tara, and I came here to watch Merry Widow and found that it was the last, farewell performance in this building… What a treasure this building has been, and how much more valuable has been the learning and growth that has been nurtured here within!
- Steve H.

Watching all the BYU Choir concerts online and just seeing the pure talent from all the singers.
- Carline C.

This place is my home. I was here from 2015 to 2022 as first an animation major hopeful, and then a graduated Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration. I love the vintage bathrooms from the ‘60s with their pink tile and pull-down panels for purses in every stall, the thin rungs of a black ladder leading to a door that probably should have been locked, but unlocked memories for years to come, an opera floating down the hallway, a cello weaving into my lecture on Paleolithic powder. Here I walked the halls with charcoal on my fingertips, paint on my wrist and hope in my heart. The students and professors here were my family. Speaking directly to the building, which at this point I’m sure has a soul—thank you for everything.
- Anna W.

Next to one of the theaters on the second floor, in a tiny little room, there was a computer and a voiceover booth. We called the room “the pocket.” Four years ago, before I graduated, I spent many, many late nights working on student capstone films and other audio projects late into the night. More than once, a security guard would poke his head in as early as 11 PM or (if I was lucky) as late as 1 or 2 AM and told me to get out of there, even though I still had so much to do. It’s weird for me to see a giant cavity in the wall where the voice booth used to be, as well as everything else stripped out. Even though I spent so many long, stressful hours in that room, I know I will miss being able to go back and revisit it. In some ways, it was like a little cozy space for me to enjoy being alone in. Goodbye, HFAC! I’ll miss you, but I’m excited for the future students who will have an incredible new facility to learn about film and theater!
- Jared R.

I attended BYU from 1987-1991 and had choir class and piano lessons in the HFAC. I used the piano practice rooms on the second level. When my boyfriend played a beautiful composition piece for me, he asked me if would marry him. I told him YES! We have been married for 33 years now!
- Heather G.

I was a freshman at BYU when I was made the stake choir director. Stake Conference was held in the de Jong Concert Hall. I got to conduct not only the entire congregation in singing hymns, but a stake choir rendition of "Behold the Wounds in Jesus' Hands." It was a defining spiritual and musical experience during my formative years and something I will always treasure.
- Michael Y.

My wife and I both have many memories in the HFAC. She was in orchestra and choir, and I did opera choruses and a music minor. We both remember all the fun conversations we had with friends at the Slab. We also have so many memories of going to BYU concerts and plays and basking in the performances of the incredible groups and soloists who have come through. Our most special memory was going on our first date to see Bishop Causee and Maestro Giusti perform their album of hymn arrangements. The HFAC will always hold a special place in our hearts, and we look forward to many more years of musical memories at BYU.
- Jacob D.

The Harris Fine Arts Center and its denizens have given me many unforgettable experiences. As a transfer student to BYU after my mission, I thought the law school was the most beautiful building on the outside, but the HFAC was the most beautiful building on the inside. I will miss its tiers, halls, alcoves, galleries and stages. I will remember my peers and roommates waltzing in the Mormon Arts balls, dancing through layers of loveliness. I will forever treasure Dr. Mack J. Wilberg, leading the Men’s Chorus in “Betelehemu.” The soprano in Mahler’s 4th symphony sings for the little children in paradise: “There is not yet any music on earth that can compare with ours.” Perhaps that is true, but on many occasions, the Harris Fine Arts Center brought us all closer to paradise. Recently my friend Bonnie Bingham and I enjoyed such an occasion when we got to attend the VOCES8 a cappella concert in the de Jong Concert Hall of the Harris Fine Arts Center. Due to illness, I had missed their performance when they came to perform a few years before, so I was looking forward to the 2022 performance with great anticipation. The a cappella devotional music of VOCES8 became important to me on Christmas Eve 2017 after I heard the song “Bogoroditse Devo” from the All-Night Vigil by Sergei Rachmaninoff on Classical 89 FM radio. I was sick during the holiday break that year, so I was home alone. As Rachmaninoff’s beautiful anthem began to play, I felt transported to the scene of the first nativity, and I knelt in adoration. Later, I looked for the song online and found the VOCES8 rendition of “Bogoroditse Devo.” I listened to it often and shared it with my friends, students and family members.
- Cynthia H.

I worked on the design of the Museum of Art with the architect who was in the architectural firm that designed the HFAC, James Langenheim. Personally, I enjoyed many years in the building working with many campus clients here on renovation projects with my responsibilities with Physical Facilities Planning. As a student I had many dates in the building, my wife having graduated from the music program. Our favorite photo is of us together, her sitting on the LOVE sculpture leaning on me, before our marriage over 40 years ago.
- Gene L.

I remember singing countless times with the Women’s Chorus and jumping off the risers to finish a song!
- Angela G.

The HFAC will always hold a special place in my heart, and my connection to it is a surprising one. I am not a music or arts student, but the HFAC is dear to me all the same. From 2020 to early 2021 when COVID meant that all classes had to be online, I would participate in my Zoom classes daily from the seating areas on the main floor of the HFAC. I didn’t feel guilty talking out loud as I would have had I been in the library, and I was occasionally serenaded by music coming from some random corner of the building. It was a comfortable place for me for the entirety of that year, and in the following year that “safe space” nature of the HFAC for me translated into being the reason I would frequently sit by the base of the stairs to eat my lunch. It was my comfort zone. I will also always have the fondest memories of playing Sardines with my various FHE groups, using the same hiding spots I’d acquired over the years. I’ll always miss the pink-tiled walls of the bathrooms, the enormous amount of well-stocked vending machine options found in the tunnel and the beauty of the de Jong. The HFAC was my haven!
-Cheynie W.

Singing Carmina Burana as a member of Women’s Chorus just weeks before Covid. Those performances are some I will NEVER forget
- Emily F.

I was on BYU Theatre Ballet for 5 years, all of which I performed in the beautiful theatres in the HFAC. Some of my best college memories were made while performing in the HFAC. In March 2022, I proposed to my now wife on the de Jong stage after we performed together in Ballet in Concert. The HFAC will always hold a special place in my heart
- Ryan H.

The Annual Mormon Arts Ball was an elegant evening for a poor college couple. Best part of the evening: trying to merge in to the fast moving polka circle without getting run over. So much laughter (even for those who fell down!). Memories for a lifetime.
- John J.

The HFAC blessed me with countless incredible music experiences. One in particular that I will always treasure is singing on the de Jong stage with my mom for the BYU Singers Reunion concert in 2022. Being able to sing with my mom in a choir and on the very stage that changed both of our lives will forever be one of my most precious memories.
- Lauren L.

We used to come here for band festivals every year when I was in high school. The building has such a cool design, but it seriously is such a labyrinth. It just gives it more personality that way.
- Josh G.

Art and music have always been a big part of my life. When I was a kid I came to the MOA and the animation department. I got to talk to a couple of students and my passion became apparent. I decided I wanted to be an animator. In 2021 I was thrilled to take pre-animation classes here to grow my skill and drive. Though they were more difficult than I could’ve imagined, the classes I took at the HFAC shaped me into a better person. Now I’m a part of the choirs and I have the opportunity to sing a requiem, a last goodbye to this beautiful place. I will miss it.
- Kaden K.

I met my husband through BYU Concert Choir in the Madsen Recital Hall and laughed at him across the room every time he dropped his music off of the front ledge. We flirted, commiserated and laughed day after day at the Slab for the last two years of our college degrees. The de Jong will continue to ring with the final glorious chords and the spirit that once filled its seats will never leave. We are so grateful for this building, a wonderful vessel of hope, pain, tears, frustration, learning, love and joy.
- Kayla R.

It was in the HFAC that I became the first college graduate in my family since immigrating to the US. Many great memories of Public Relations courses and the wonderful Dr. Laurie Wilson!
- John S.

In December 1973 at about 10 p.m., my best friend and I looked for a quiet place to be alone and talk. We settled on the HFAC, downstairs in one of the practice rooms. As we talked, he asked me to marry him! I said yes. Forty-nine years and six wonderful sons and 25 super grandchildren later, we still hold the HFAC with fondness in our hearts as the beginning of a grand adventure.
- Jerroleen S.

I loved wandering the second floor along the practice room hall and listening to the cacophony of people practicing different instruments all at the same time. It was wonderful! Also, being on stage in a combined choir concert singing Christmas music, surrounded in the most complete surround sound of 400+ singers and and orchestra, is a fabulous sublime memory.
- Callis G.

I performed in the Chorus of The Magic Flute in 2019. It is my favorite opera, and I was so excited to start college by performing in it. I had so much fun with my fellow performers, as we struggled not to laugh while onstage, and played Pokémon in the wings. I made friendships that have lasted beyond going on my mission, and hopefully after college as well. It has been an honor to study in a building with such a rich history, and I hope I join the alumni of successful musicians as I enter my career.
- Rachel M.

I have six children, ages 7-23. All of them went through the Young Music Makers program starting with Susan Kenney down through Emilee. We have come here every Saturday for 20 years. My second daughter is here now at BYU singing in Concert Choir a solo tonight in 'Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier.' Dr. Wells was in Men’s Chorus with my husband. When my daughter Glory sang 'Matchmaker' with Men’s Chorus last year, we said, “Now you’ve both been in Men’s Chorus with Dr. Wells.”
- Noel T.

I came to watch my cousin perform here. There weren’t any seats left by my extended family so I sat a few rows up. I ended up sitting next to a girl. She was very curt with me but somehow by the end I got her number. We’ve been married 10 years now. We’ve come back and visited this building many times now. Very grateful for it.
- Tyler B.

In 1964-65 I was a senior majoring in Russian at BYU. Russian cellist Daniil Shafran and his accompanist wife Nina came to BYU early in 1965 to concertize in the gorgeous but barely-completed de Jong Concert Hall of the HFAC, and I was asked to serve as interpreter for the Shafrans for a day even though my Russian then was primitive. Shafran spoke no English and was demanding; he wanted the stage piano tuned to A= 444. It was done, but not entirely to his satisfaction for some reason. He got through the first half of his concert program all right, but during the intermission Shafran announced that he would not return to play the second half of his program unless the overhead lights were readjusted to his demands. The de Jong stage manager said they couldn't do that without bringing in special equipment and Shafran threw a hissy fit. I was struggling to translate his demands and the stage manager's answers, but Shafran was adamant. Finally I gave up translating the stage manager's answers and told Shafran that this was a brand new facility and everything was not quite finished yet. Since new Soviet buildings often have problems, Sharfan immediately understood and agreed to complete the second half of his program. Later as BYU Professor of Russian I taught classes in the HFAC, loved the artistic ambience and often remembered how my Russian was put to the test back in 1965. I'm surprised to have lived to see the beginning and the end of this remarkable building.
- Donald J.

I have spent so many hours in the practice rooms in the basement of the HFAC. When I was tired (which was often), I would find a quiet place under the stairs and take a nap. I always felt safe and held by the building while I worked, rested and expressed myself through music each day. Its quiet solitude was always comforting.
- Amberlee A.

I tripped on the stairs and hit the floor right alongside my violin case. Since this building has such great acoustics, the crash reverberated and people peeked out across all three floors so see what happened. I had a friend carry me out of the building with bruised pride and a sprained ankle. I willl miss this place, but definitely not the stairs.
- Anya Searle

The music and story of "The Rainbow Academy" musical has strong connections to the HFAC. The live piano for the cast album recorded entirely in Studio Y using CASCADE Fat Head Ribbon microphones! The first full read-through of an earlier draft of the musical was done in the HFAC, and conversations regarding recording the original cast album also occurred here. The musical was almost performed in two separate locations in the HFAC, and consequently censored in another room of the HFAC. So through happy and bittersweet moments, our musical has a lot of memories there. We hope that the demolition brings closure and new, happier moments and memories and musicals to come.
- The Rainbow Academy

I did a few MASK clubs here. I made a lot of good friends and had a really fun time. The HFAC is such a labyrinth; I love it.
- Noah C.

I remember eating hearing from Mitt Romney and Jimmer Fredette in the de Jong, and having my first taste of Graham Canyon on its patio.
- Jamison D.

Women's Chorus and Men's Chorus held a country swing dance in the gallery! It was so much fun to dance and sing along to "Footloose"! It was a swingin' good time!
- Elizabeth G.

I LOVE the sax players ability to play the sax. I really thought they did a great job!! It was so fun to listen to them share their talent with everyone. I really liked the last song they played the best. It was my favorite. I want to bring my roommate next time because he’s my friend and I want to show him how good they are.
-Oliver S.

I cleaned the HFAC in the early morning for nearly 2 years during my undergrad. I’ve been in every single room in the building. The best rooms were the animation rooms where you could see the students interesting, creative and out-there story boards and drawings. Thanks HFAC for helping me to support my family and pay for my degree.
- Dillon F.

I will miss singing in each of the rooms and discovering their particular resonance. The large warehouse space in the basement had such a fun echo. The Madsen and de Jong will forever hold a special place in my memories.
- Carrie J.

About a week into my first semester as a freshman, I realized that there was no where I could be alone at college. I had 6 roommates and a shared kitchen, busy classes and buildings. Then I discovered the grand piano rooms in the basement of the HFAC and my introvert heart rejoiced. I wasn't a music major but I viewed the HFAC as a welcome respite and spent many spare moments between classes practicing piano or sometimes just sitting in a room that felt like my own.
- Julianna B.

I have such wonderful memories of the HFAC and the College of Fine Arts and Communications. I spent so much time in the building during my college years 1976-1982. I received both my BA and MA degrees here and remember walking across the stage in the de Jong getting my diplomas, of course with the help of the CFAC faculty, my fellow students and staff. And now, I work here at BYU (for the past 18 years) and have enjoyed so much spending time in that dear old building, from the many musical concerts, performances, devotionals, Education Week, taking classes as an adult learner and even now learning to play piano and the countless hours of practicing in the basement. BYU will not be the same with the HFAC, but it will long be in the hearts and memories of so many of us.
- Royce V.

A speech & art ed student, I cherish numerous memories of learning, creating and connecting in the HFAC. THE highlight, however, occurred at the end of a 1990s Celebration of Christmas concert when the audience was invited to join all the performing groups in singing, "Jesus, Once of Humble Birth." The sound was beautiful, both loud and reverent; the spirit, absolutely transformative! Singing that hymn now in sacrament meeting, I often get emotional at the memory and can still recall where I sat in the de Jong Concert Hall. To me, it will always be a Christmas song of praise to Jesus Christ.
- John P.

I have compiled a lifetime of memories of the Harris Fine Art Center—decades filled with performances enjoyed, classes (both taken and taught), strolls through galleries and so much more. My most vivid and treasured memories have taken place, though, in the A wing on the HFAC’s fourth floor—hallowed ground to me. That was where I first began to fall in love with a fellow student in 1979 when he and I were enrolled in different art classes held in classrooms off that hallway—he in A-430 and I next door in A-440. As time unfolded, we married, both graduated and started our family. He began a career in graphic design and I was fortunate while raising our children to teach calligraphy classes part-time as adjunct faculty for the BYU Department of Art for 26 years, a job I truly loved, full of delightful and enriching interactions with wonderful students. I taught in the same classrooms in the A wing where David and I had both been students, as well as in others off that hallway and upstairs on the 5th floor. A few years into my tenure I was issued a locker in the A wing 4th floor hallway for storing teaching supplies—it was annually renewed by the Art Department until I stopped teaching 19 years later. I will never forget the number (944) and the combination (42-0-34) and for years afterward whenever we have happened to be in the HFAC, we have always paused in our beloved 4th floor hallway to try the combination; usually the locker doesn’t open, but occasionally it does! (We always slam it shut quickly and guiltily when that happens.) I am sad to think that I have tried that locker combination for the last time, but am forever grateful for the rich memories that I will carry with me of the HFAC A wing fourth floor and how events that took place there over many years have guided the direction of my life and forever will be a blessing to me.
- Nancy N.

The Madsen Recital Hall is a special place for me. Many of my most cherished spiritual experiences occured while listening to performances in that sacred space.
- Chad M.

I spent many many hours in the practice rooms downstairs so it was always a nice treat when I’d get a chance to practice in my professor’s office. One night after finishing up practicing in Dr. Shumway’s office I decided to turn off the lights and listen to Mussorgsky pictures at an exhibition. I opened up the blinds and looked out over campus. It was beautiful to see the lights and listen to beautiful music to finish out a long day.
- Katie P.

When I was a freshman, our Ancient Instrument ensemble, headed by Homer Wakefield, would at each week in December before Christmas, go up on the high lobby floor and play Christmas carols on recorders with Professor Wakefield on the harpsichord. Students loved our mini-concerts and the spirit of the season our music brought to the HFAC.
- Dan B.

I remember the first time I entered the HFAC as a freshman with a deep desire of studying music. When I entered through the doors, I remember being amazed by the design of the building. I saw the tall stairs, the black ceiling, and the bright but warm lights. I felt the Spirit very strong and received a confirmation that I had to study there; that that was the building I had to study in. After that day, I worked extra hard so I could be admitted into the program. I am so glad I eventually made it. The HFAC has seen me grow my talent and build my character. It has seen me single, married and now with a baby. I have learned all I know about music there. I have struggled but eventually succeeded there. I have cried, I have laughed, I have sung my heart out, and I have made beautiful music in this building. I will always cherish all the memories I’ve made at the HFAC, which is like a second home to me. The HFAC is sacred ground for me. I am very grateful for every moment I’ve spent there and for every friendship I’ve made. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING, DEAR FRIEND! You will always have a sacred place in my heart.
- Cristy Ruiz

For over 50 years, the HFAC has held a special place in my heart. My first official date with my future husband was to the Mormon Arts Ball held in the B.F. Larsen Gallery. A year later we were married. My husband passed away a few weeks ago and tonight I attended the last performance held in this beautiful building.
- LeeAnn B.

I will always treasure the time my family and I have come to see the musicals performed in the HFAC. It was the highlight of doing family things. I will miss this place.
- Malie N.

I love to sing. In high school I would come to the HFAC and practice singing in the practice rooms. As I’ve come for school here, those practice rooms became a safe haven for me. I was so grateful for the ability to work on my talents in such a nostalgic place for myself.
- Malie N.

I worked in the theater ticket office next to the Pardoe Theatre. I was given two free tickets to every show and loved watching the productions. In the fall of 1990 a new guy in my ward asked me on a date to a theater production. I didn’t tell him I had two free tickets to the show, so I let him buy the tickets. It was the first of many dates and the HFAC was the setting for the blossoming romance. We were engaged in February 1991. We spent a lot of time in the HFAC. We loved seeing the changing art exhibits and attending theater, dance and music productions. We have since walked through the building many times with our children (3 who have been BYU students). If we were visiting campus from Ohio - a walk through the HFAC was a tradition. I will miss that. If I had known in the fall of 1990 how much the new guy and the HFAC would come to mean to me - I probably would have used my free tickets for the date!
- Anne L.

Tuba Christmas is so fun!
- Drew G.

Last Tuba Christmas!
- Merrit H.

My first year at BYU, my sister and I would go early to the practice rooms. Once we were stopped once by custodial while belting out songs on the truck ramp "too early" one morning when roommates had set our clocks ahead. Ushering at the de Jong allowed me to meet many people and share in countless concerts and performances. Band practice and performances were memorable. Once when Brother Bachelder told us on the de Jong stage we sounded too much like a marching band? Countless other memories of classes, performances, exhibits, abound. It was a joy to have my children also make and share their own memories there. Farewell, good friend!
- Jolene C.

So many productions, so many memories. At age 12, I attended “Lamp at Midnight,” one of the first productions at the HFAC. Seven years later I was in a play, “Abe Lincoln in Illinois,” directed by Charles Metten. Years later, my daughter danced in the community dance program and my sons were in BYU choirs. I will never forget the splendor and power of Beethoven’s Hallelujah with the combined orchestra and choirs. I am a part of all that I have met at the HFAC. Thank you BYU.
- Clark B.

Saw a ghost.
- Josh C.

I have so many fond memories of participating in concerts as a member of the BYU Men’s Chorus in 1997-98 and 2000-01. But perhaps my favorite memory is when I was the conductor for our BYU stake choir for an Easter performance and my “friend” and later wife was the accompanist on the organ. It started a tradition of making music together in our marriage and later with our seven children, one of whom is now a violin performance major and whom I have had the privilege of watching perform in the beloved de Jong Concert Hall.
- Jason G.

When the King's Singers came a year ago I had so much fun watching them sing and have fun on stage! I will miss this building and all of the fun amazing things that happened inside of it.
- Holly S.

I have seen and participated in performances in the HFAC since I was a kid. I especially loved coming to watch the Nutcracker here on elementary field trips. But my fondest memories include hanging out in the Madsen lobby before Concert Choir rehearsal and doing the NYT crossword puzzles with my fellow choir friends. Performing in the Christmas choral concerts were also some of my favorite. I’m so glad I could share concerts at the seeing with my own kids, VOCES8, Synthesis, King’s Singers… all so amazing.
- Heidi S.

I have been in this building for several years, watching concerts and participating in graduation ceremonies. There has always been a special feeling of sacrifice in this building of the countless people that have worked so hard on this beautiful campus. So grateful for the many moments that have brought joy to my family and friends in the historic HFAC.
- Emily W.

In this building, I gained a deep and abiding appreciation for words of truth shared through the medium of vocal music led by exceptional conductors under the life-changing influence of the Holy Spirit which lit a flame within my soul that has never left me. Thank you, dear friend, for providing me with the place that has become a Waters of Mormon for my soul.
- Nathan M.

In January of 1996, I met my wife for the first time in an HFAC art class. After a couple of weeks, the instructor asked us to choose a partner and draw them, so I spent that whole class gazing into the eyes of my future wife. A week or two later, there was a snow storm, and somehow, everyone in the class heard that class was canceled - except for the two of us. So we sat alone together and held hands for the first time. We were married just a few months later. Since the HFAC is so significant for our family, it’s fitting that our oldest son is participating in the very last concert in the de Jong Concert Hall.
- Ben C.

I was 13 when I first set foot inside the HFAC. As soon I saw the art and the student films playing, I knew that film was what I wanted to do in life. Ever since then, I felt so drawn to this building. Then one day I applied to the Media Arts program and got accepted after several attempts. After that I had that same feeling from when I was a kid, confirming that I was on the right path.
- Bejamin V.

I remember being a freshman 4 years ago and standing in front of the HFAC just crying. I didn’t think I could do it. 4 years later, I am a semester away from graduating with my music degree and will be forever grateful for the opportunity to study here!
- Grace S.

I cannot even fathom how many hours I’ve spent in this building! I’ve probably experienced the full range of emotions within its walls - joy, panic, sadness, delight, peace. Lots of happy and sad tears shed during my time at BYU. I was especially grateful to have been a member of BYU Singers from 2015-2016. What a gift to spread such quality music in such a top-tier ensemble. HFAC, you’ll be missed. Sorry I used you as a swear word replacement so often.
- Amanda R.

There is a room on this campus that is unlike all the other rooms. You may not notice it if you’ve just come in for the first time, though you just as likely might. This room is alive and exciting, sharing a heartbeat with anyone who enters. Mind you, it has every reason to be weary and tired, a sort of dark and foreboding room. Every day, we come to the room, hundreds of us, and we breathe out all of our woes. This room has taken in my tears, and thousands more before mine. It has taken in heartache and heartbreak, anxiety and crippling stress, the fears and passions of those who possess them; it has felt the weight pressing on those who have stopped feeling. The room is sacred to us. I’ve never heard a single word of protest from this room. The room doesn’t give any of our woes back to us, either. In fact, it breathes abundance. I learned in this room that there is always enough. The room pushes back at our doubtful, tired breaths that there is always enough - enough air to breathe, enough words to speak, enough of ourselves to give. “Breathe in the abundance,” the woman at the front of the room tells us. And we do. I usually take my breath from the very front of the room, high in the corner, above the organ pipes. The air in that corner is blazing with sunshine, bright blue skies and the smell of pine trees. Sometimes if I don’t want that air, I might take my breath from the middle of the room, just above my head. There the air is warm with a soft welcoming glow, even when everything else is frozen and distant. Wherever I take my breath from, it brings focus. I learned in this room to be entirely present. The room reminds us every time we come inside that we can be excellent if we focus. Sometimes we try to do more than one thing at a time, and the room patiently waits for us to focus once more. It rewards us for our focus by singing to us. Overtones whistle over our heads and make our endorphins dance. The woman at the front of the room speaks again, her enthusiasm shining through in a sing-song Welsh accent. “Why would you ever choose to be anything but excellent?” she asks. We smile at each other, breathe together and sing. We focus on the words. Words that give meaning to everyday worries. Words that give hope, help and healing. Words that inspire. Words like “esse quam videri - to be rather than to seem.” I learned in this room the real meaning of words. There are so many that we forget some, even most of them. But this room doesn’t forget. The room reverberates with the ageless, empowering meaning in the words. “Benedictus qui veniet - Blessed is he who will come.” The room envelops us in the words. “My sin, not in part but the whole, is laid on the cross;” “Cover my defenseless head with the shadow of Thy wing;” “Oh Praise God in His Holiness;” The room echoes the word “Alleluia,” over and over and over again. We all have to leave this room at some point. The woman at the front is leaving soon. She’ll take a lot with her; for some she will take almost everything. In years to come, I will leave this campus and the room with it. It may well be that someday the room itself will disappear. But the air will still be there. In those days, we’ll remember the words. We’ll remember the focus. We’ll remember the abundance. The woman at the front speaks to us for the last time. “Wherever life takes you,” she says, before pausing to breathe in, “don’t ever forget the air of this glorious room.”
- Taylor R.

I applied to attend BYU in 1993 but was rejected. I talked to the admissions office and they said the only way I could get in was a half tuition scholarship from one of the departments so I went to the HFAC in the fall of 1993, found the audition board and auditioned for "Merry Wives of Windsor" directed by Barta Heiner. I told her I wasn't a student, but if I could get a scholarship, I could be. She got the ball rolling and I started as a student in the spring of 1994. I was not only in "Merry Wives of Windsor," but "Scapin," directed by Charles Metton, and "Philadelphia, Here I Come," directed by Marion Bentley. I treasured my time in the HFAC as a theater education major and later as a broadcast journalism major before dropping out of school to pursue other interests. I spent so many hours in the HFAC studying, attending performances and rehearsals and hanging out with my friends. This building was the gateway to my acceptance into BYU and I will always be grateful.
- Derek C.

During my time at BYU as a member of the Women's Chorus, the HFAC was always my favorite place to be. Through the music that we sang, I felt my soul grow closer to Christ as our songs testified of Him. I progressed as both a performer and a daughter of God, and I am so grateful for that wonderful opportunity.
- Morgan B.

I will never forget singing “Angels We Have Heard On High” under the direction of Mack Wilberg during the Christmas Celebration concert in the very early 1990s. It left such a deep impression in my heart as how it might feel to sing with the angels announcing Christ’s birth. In all my years since I hold that memory and privilege so dear to my heart. Even more profound is to see my daughter basking in the beauty of singing on that same stage having those same experiences that will impact her life forever! I currently sing with the Kansas City Symphony Choir and I know my love for choral music and the thrill of singing with the symphony started in the HFAC and on the stage in the de Jong concert Hall.
- Holly H.

My first drum solo at BYU and encounter with one of my best friends, Nate Camp, was in the HVAC.
- Kevin S.

I came to BYU as a new convert. Dr. Woodbury was director of Men’s Choris in those days. He was so inspiring. He even let me take a picture of his ear for my photography class. I was still singing when Dr. Wilburg and Staily first came to BYU. Our performance improved remarkebly. Returning in 2018 for graduate work I was overwhelmed at the excellence of performing groups and individual talent. One afternoon my spirits were lifted by Beth Christiansen’s rendition of Liszt’s Appasionata, Etude 10. I believe BYU Fine Arts is at and headed for international performance and leadership.
- Bill C.

The HFAC will always hold a special place in my heart. Ever since I went to Summerfest at BYU when I was fourteen, it just felt like home to me! I spent most of my days as a student in that maze of a building. One of the best parts is that I have been able to take my daughter to the Young Musician’s Academy- held in the same room in the HFAC that so many of my Music Ed classes were in. I’m going to miss the nostalgia that comes with being there, but I’m grateful for the memories and excited for there to be a new building!
- Emily B.

When I returned to BYU in 2015 to finish my undergraduate degree after a 15-year hiatus, my initial classes were in the HFAC. It was a great place to start, since it was a building I had distinct memories of. I took night classes in upper rooms, studied animation in basement theaters, and loved watching projects unfold in the common/display areas. I love it's unique layout and all the different ways you can access the building. I'm very sad to see it go. I'll be visiting soon to get one last walkthrough before it's gone. One of our first art projects for ART 101 in 2015 was to draw Sirius Black as a class. The attached image is our combined work laying on the main floor of the HFAC, as seen from the third floor.
- Nate F.

I went to class in the HFAC almost everyday when I transferred to BYU as an Art Education Major. I loved my art classes, figure drawing, printmaking, sculpture to name a few... As well as my art education classes, taught by great professors who really taught me how to bring art lessons to life. I gained a great knowledge and joy for teaching art while sitting in class in the HFAC, as well as life long friends with my classmates. I have used all that I gained in that beautiful building and shared it with many students as I have taught art for the past 19 years.
- Kate K.

The Harris Fine Arts Center was a huge part of my education. I played in the orchestras, took speech and art classes, and wandered the halls near the practices rooms and the tunnel. I will never forget private lessons with David Dalton and being invited to the viola master class with William Primrose, the greatest violist who ever lived. Irreplaceable will be the magical annual Mormon Arts Ball of yesteryear where orchestras and jazz bands provided the dance music on four floors, surrounded by plays, art displays, and concerts in the theaters, performance halls, and galleries. BYU students and friends in tuxedos and gowns dancing the night away in the excellence of culture which rivaled that found in the great cities of the world. Through the many years in the Harris Fine Arts Center, my treasured experiences moved the needle in awe from First Time Participant to Performing Artist and everything in between.
- Nancy N.

I have many great memories of the HFAC. There is one I find particularly humorous. I went to a practice room one evening to memorize saxophone music for the marching band. Pretty soon someone came and asked me to stop as I was interrupting a performance. I guess my playing was "show stopping."
- April F.

The night I met my husband Jason I had to call the evening short because I had to get up very early the next morning to secure my place in line to sign up for a practice room. In an effort to signal his interest in me, Jason offered to stand in line for me so I could get an extra hour of sleep. Not only did he hold a place for me, but he was the first in line! I got my preferred room, we went to a sophomore recital that night, and were married 8 months later.
- Kathryn W.

Oh beautiful HFAC, my place for reading the New Testament, be inspired by displayed art, waiting for my love to walk in, taking her to a concert for class credit. My life will not be the same without you! Thank you for warming my heart and hands on my way to the Cougar Eat.
- Robert S.

My first date with my husband was at a BYU performance of the Barber of Seville. His hand was on his leg or the arm of the chair the entire play—at least, until I leaned over to him about an hour and a half into the opera and said, "You don't have to, but you can hold my hand if you want to." He was relieved and held my hand. Well, kind of. We spent the next ten minutes trying to figure out how to comfortably hold hands over those HFAC chair arms!
- Krista R.

Fond memories of firing the gas pottery kilns late at night and having Security try to kick us out of the building. Big gas kiln roaring away, flames belching out of the top of the kiln. Told Security, “Fine, you finish firing the kiln.” They let us stay. We did have a note from the Warren Wilson, our instructor.
- Earl B.

I sat in Freshman Orientation in the de Jong Concert Hall in September of 1989. It was like a lightning bolt hit me--my major was going to be Public Relations. It has taken me to Washington, D.C., New York and now I've returned to Utah. I sat in the de Jong Concert hall at the beginning of November 2022 and watched my son joyfully play piano in the Jazz Ensemble Concert. We came full circle.
- Kathryn N.

The Harris Fine Art Center (HFAC) hair is fine art center is a piece of my family’s history. Both my wife and I sang in the choirs our freshman year of 1994 to 1995. As I was in the men’s chorus and she in the women’s chorus, we did not truly meet until years later. She was nearing graduation and attended a Men’s Chorus concert that I was singing in. During intermission, I came up to the waiting area outside of the de Jong concert hall, and she was there with a group, including a young man who had asked her out for the evening. He was momentarily distracted, and I took advantage of the opportunity to ask her on what became our first date. As they say, all is fair in love and war. We attended the Christmas concert in 2022! It's our favorite, but our two oldest children are both singing in the BYU Concert Choir together this year, and it is the last concert that will be performed HFAC concert hall. So in a way we are also going to commemorate the building where our family has enjoyed so much music over the years. Thank you BYU music dept!
- Daniel W.

As a singer I spent a lot of time in the HFAC, but I really got to know every nook and cranny of the building when we played epic games of couples tag in there on group dates. The rules were; no running, and we had to hold hands, and keep moving.
- Julie B.

While my girlfriend was doing a semester of study abroad in Jerusalem, I would go down to the basement of the HFAC to learn 'Forever in Love' on the piano. When she got home I played her this song and knelt down on my knee and proposed to her. We've been married for 27 years now and are even more in love!
- Travis R.

As a freshman, used to get up at 3:30 AM every morning and go buff the floors at the HFAC. I waxed and polished those floors until the shined. I used to admire the student art on the walls while I worked. Good times.
- Gary G.

I spent many hours in the bowels of HFAC from the fall of 1968 until I graduated in spring of 1970. During that time I worked on the KBYU-TV remote crew. Most of that work was running camera at Devotionals, Forums and sporting events. I was pretty excited when we got our first color TV cameras, which were installed in the 40' remote semi-trailer. For one, they were much lighter that the GE image orthicon B&W cameras we had previously. My senior year I got a license so that I could drive the ""remote truck."" Backing that 40' semi down into the tunnel under the HFAC was really a challenge, but I did it on numerous occasions. My other memory was the production of my senior project with Jim Ficklin. We produced an hour-long program about Dr. Lael Woodbury's "W2-Form: An Experiment in Dramatic Form" in the spring of 1970. We documented much of the development and rehearsal of the production, that was staged in a theatre in the round in the basement of HFAC across the tunnel from the TV studio. I believe it was the first student produced program ever to air on KBYU-TV.
- David M.

My freshman year I was approached by a girl in my ward. There were too many girls and not enough guys for University Chorale. Professor told her she needed two guys to register so she could register. I said "Why not?" and ended up in University Chorale in the HFAC. I still have the cassette tape of our performance. My only class I ever took there. Wonderful memories of singing in the theater of our concert and practicing every day. Saw Peter Brienholt there freshman year too. The HFAC was always sort of this mysterious bulding with maze like hallways and practice rooms, etc..
- Jay S.

I worked for a dollar an hour building sets for Man of La Mancha and The Order Is Love (along with many others) with O. Lee Walker in the early '70's.
- Wayne S.

I took band my freshman year and we presented a concert in the lobby during Christmas. I still remember the Christmas music back in 1967. The HFAC will always hold fond memories for me. Thanks for the memories and he opportunity to attend a great institution.
-Darel N.

My first experiences with the HFAC started as a young child as I participated in the National Federation of Music Clubs festivals held each year in many of the rooms of the HFAC. I performed in these festivals on the piano and harp. This started my love for music and when I was finally a student at BYU and was accepted into the music program as a piano major. I felt I had won the lottery. The practice rooms became my second home. Often I would sit in the hallways of the 2nd floor to do my homework with all the sounds of instruments being practiced floating around me. I took naps on the benches on the fifth floor where it was usually dark and quiet. I performed in the de Jong Concert Hall and in the Madsen Recital Hall. I remember sitting in the Madsen Recital Hall listening to a lecture about the music of Jimi Hendrix and listening to a recording of him singing the National Anthem. I loved the variety of music I was exposed to. It shaped who I am and made my time there rich and fulfilling. The building will live forever in my memories and in my heart.
- Julie E.

As a former member of the BYU Women's chorus, the HFAC will always be a special part of my BYU experience -- the Madsen Recital Hall where our daily rehearsals were held, the de Jong Concert Hall where I both participated in a watched many performances, and even the HFAC lobby where I met my now-husband after the 2017 Celebration of Christmas concert. I didn't major in an degree that was housed in the HFAC -- and because of that, it it served as a place of refuge for me. I could step in the doors, forget about the pressing assignments and stress from my normal classes, and just sing for an hour or two under Jean Applonie's expertise. When I had some downtime, I often went to the lobby outside of the Madsen Recital Hall to listen in on the BYU Singers' or Concert Choir's rehearsals. I had the amazing opportunity of attending The King's Singers performance. No matter what I was doing in there, the HFAC brought me peace.
- Cami Douglass

I loved the multiple creative disciplines all housed in one location! As a broadcast major and student employee at KBYU-TV I was often in the HFAC basement at the KBYU-TV and FM studios. My soon to be wife was also into the visual arts and spent lots of time at HFAC painting or making pottery. Sometimes, often in the evening, I would just wander around the building soaking up the creative energy. I'd watch students making ceramics, painting, or sculpting. I'd hang out near the music practice rooms and just take in the music from all the different instruments and would often avail myself of some practice time on one of the pianos or organs. Sometimes, I'd observe the costume and scene shops or look in on a play rehearsal. As a budding photographer, I spent time in the dark rooms and the galleries. My girlfriend and I would attend nearly any music or drama performance that was available in the HFAC. Just being in the building immersed in so much creative activity all around me would lift my spirits and stir my own creative energy. Putting so many creative disciplines into one building was truly genius. I have never experienced anything like it anywhere before or since. Many an idea for a television production was formed from seeds planted by my exposure to the creativity energy of HFAC. Together with a fellow student, I even created an award winning documentary at KBYU-TV of an innovative drama production at BYU (W-2 FORM). I hope that the new building will embody a similar range of activities so that current and future BYU students can experience the creative energy that I did in the HFAC.
- Jim F.

Before they moved the Animation studios to the HFAC, there was a section of practice rooms in the F Wing reserved for string players. It was definitely our home away from home where we practiced, did homework, and socialized. One year, one student really upped the home away from home feeling by decorating one of the practice rooms with a floor lamp and artwork. It sure was a cozy space to be in, free from flickering fluorescents and stark white cinder block walls. It was sad when our golden age of practice rooms came to an end.
- Heather S.

Where to even begin? Spent many hours in the HFAC involved in choral and theater productions, and just enjoying the quiet and inspirational space. But probably the best memory was when the actor Jimmy Stewart donated a collection of his movie memorabilia to BYU, and came to campus to host a screening of "It's a Wonderful Life." Thanks to the handsome artist friend who arranged the memorabilia display, I was able to attend.
- Debra D.

I loved learning in this building. I was one of the early students that called this building home. Thirty years later, I got to give back in a tiny way some of what I gained at BYU. I was invited to address the students as a visiting corporate executive. HFAC will be missed, but always cherished for what I learned there.
- Michele R.

As with many classic BYU romances, I fell in love with a boy in my freshman ward. He was very musically talented, and even though he wasn't a music major he took piano lessons at the HFAC each week. Of course I wanted to spend as much time as possible with this boy, so I decided to take an intermediate piano class there as well. At the time we were both living in the old Heritage Halls buildings across the street from the HFAC, and we would often walk over there together to use the pianos in the practice rooms. During one of these practice sessions, this boy told me he had prepared a special piece for me and invited me into his practice room. He played a beautiful song for me which brought me to tears and which I recorded on my phone. Four years later, that recording played as the background music for our first dance at our wedding reception. So, when I think of the HFAC, I think of that warm, fuzzy, falling-in-love feeling that came to me in the depths of those winding hallways of practice rooms, of all places.
- Laura A.

My favorite memory of the HFAC happened during one of my illustration classes. My classmates and I were on the top floor, crowded in a studio room to paint and listen to another fantastic lecture from our professor. Halfway through, our professor left us for a quick bagel run. We all continued to paint while he was away—when suddenly the fire alarm started blaring. After only minimal panicking, we all filed out into the courtyard along with the rest of the students in the building. Just as it began to rain, our professor ran up the stairs with both arms full of bagels and looking very confused. We spent the next 20 minutes happily eating bagels in the rain as the fire alarm rang in the background. An eventful class full of good food, great learning, and the best friends!
- Sarah B.

In 1974 I wrote a Gregorian Chant style song for a music class I was taking. I recruited other members of the class to perform it with me. Having nowhere else to practice, we went into the stairwell. We felt the sound was exceptional as the notes reverberated up and down the hollows of the stairwell. To my surprise, when the time came to perform the piece, the instructor invited the entire class to move to the stairwell for the performance. He said he had heard our practice, and that found it as enjoyable as we had.
- Clifford R.

Just before Christmas in 1976, I entered HFAC to participate in singing the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah. The inner court of the building was ringed floor after floor with all of us singing. It was amazing, overwhelming and powerfully spiritual.
- Lawrence W.

Of course, we all remember the main gallery in the center of the HFAC on the ground floor and perhaps remember some amazing displays there. But, my wife and I hadn't realized until she gave me small (inoffensive-sized) battery powered, remote controlled car for a birthday in the early 1980s, that the gallery was just the place to run it: smooth floor, interesting obstacles. Controlled from the balconies on the next floor up, it was relatively fun to steer it around the partitions in the gallery. It was a very simple car. It could go straight forward and only turn by backing up, which forced a turn of the rear of the car to the right. Of course, we only did this between semesters (or maybe on a Saturday morning a time or two).
- John C.

Before I left on my mission, my two close harp friends and I decided to have one last hurrah- and what better place to do this than the building where we had spent so many practice hours- the HFAC. We made plans for a super secret sleepover in the largest harp practice room. The day of, we snuck out gear downstairs and even brought a small tv where we could play a movie. We tried to keep quiet and hidden because we knew they kicked out the students and closed the building around 11pm. We turned the lights off and stayed silent as they cleared the building. We spent the night watching movies, eating snacks, talking, and eventually sleeping. We had done it, until 6am. There was a knock on the door and Campus Police had busted us! They took us over to the ABA building and questioned us before eventually letting us go with a stern warning. I called our harp professor to ‘fess up before she got a call from the Dean. Since she was always for anything to promote bonding, she gave us a wink wink and then ordered us to reorganize the string bags as punishment. It was a memorable night and an even more memorable morning. At our end of the semester harp ensemble concert the three of us posed for a photo behind one of the harps, pretending the strings were the bars of a jail. It was perfect way to say goodbye to my friends and the HFAC for eighteen months.
- Cathryn D.

Having spent thousands of focused hours there, the practice rooms on the second level of the HFAC will always hold a special place in my heart. One stressful night at the end of a semester, I tried to practice but was distracted by all of the unfinished responsibilities and assignments whirling around my brain. I took a break, turned out the lights, and knelt to offer a quick prayer asking for help to know how to tackle my to-do list. That practice room became a sacred place to me as I received a clear impression regarding how I could schedule the following few days in order to accomplish everything on my plate. I learned there that the Lord knew and loved me and was willing to guide me through my comparatively minor concerns. That experience has acted as a touchstone to my faith in God.
- Hannah C

Many memories. The first was doing half of Robert Lowe’s Senior music recital in the Madsen Recital Hall shortly after I returned from my mission. The second is an aggregate of memories practicing the piano in the piano practice rooms in the basement, taking piano lessons from Dr. Pollei, playing on the beautiful 9 foot Steinway concert grand in one of the large upstairs classrooms. The third is seeing our daughter Janessa perform during a BYU summer camp in one of the small theaters downstairs and our other daughter Nikki perform a lead role in Aida in the de Jong concert hall. Finally, seeing the inaugural performance of Robert Cundick’s The Redeemer in the de Jong was probably the culminating experience of not only the time I spent in the Harris Fine Arts center, but while attending BYU but the culminating experience of my time at BYU.
- Doug R

I stood in the de Jong Concert Hall for the first time attending the freshmen orientation meeting in the fall of 1984. I was not a member of the church then and I was confused when everyone stood up to sing "How Firm a Foundation" and someone prayed. The restored gospel is my firm foundation and whenever I sing or hear this hymn I fondly recall that day in the de Jong Concert Hall in the fall of 1984.
- Mei Jiuan G.

One day I was attending a class in the basement of the HFAC when the power suddenly went out. There was not a glimmer of light to be seen. No one had a flashlight. I suddenly remembered that I had a lighter in my pocket because I used one for my job. I pulled it out and by the light of its tiny flame led the entire class out and to the nearest light source.
- Keith C.

I remember playing Sardines in the “bowels” of the HFAC with some friends during my undergraduate years. It reminded me of Hogwarts. One evening I went down a hallway I had never been before and noticed the artwork on the walls changed from formal paintings to more cartoonish drawings (like in Harry Potter when the artwork starts depicting food as they got closer to the kitchens). I realized I must be where the highly-reputed Animation students worked! At some point I took a turn and ended up in the “wings” during a live performance of (I think it was) “Peter Pan.” It was an absolute maze down there—perfect for exploring. And so many small practice rooms made for great hiding spots! It was a fantastic place to play hide and seek.
- Amanda L.

I came to BYU in the fall of 1976. I was starting my prerequisites for the nursing program, but I wanted to take piano lessons for a year. My sister was a music major and helped me arrange for a piano teacher, Marlene Bachelder, and a practice room. I have very sweet memories of my time spent practicing the piano in the HFAC practice rooms. I also have wonderful memories of attending classes in the HFAC when I returned to BYU to attend the workshop on Church Music each August from 1989 through the late 1990's. I took classes on Primary music, choral music and music conducting. I started learning the organ in the HFAC and have now been playing for my ward for over 30 years.
- Ann C.

I love the fine arts but did not study them at BYU. However, after discovering the treasures of the HFAC -- art displays throughout, pianos I could play if I was lucky, theater halls with events to attend -- I often wandered through the HFAC on my way to or from class, or picked a quiet hallway to study in. Through the art of my fellow students, I felt my spirit lifted and was inspired by a connection to a world so much bigger than my own. I am grateful for the beauty and solace found there and excited for an even more beautifully designed replacement.
- Laurel C.

Two grand pianos sat majestically in the de Jong Concert Hall greenroom as several members of BYU Singers gathered one by one before an evening concert. As I entered that well-loved space, I was greeted by the familiar sound of a Chopin Nocturne played by Nick Bishop—a fellow member of BYU Singers whom I had seen in rehearsal, but with whom I hadn’t really spoken. I looked around for a chair when a sudden, mischievous idea came to mind. With a grin, I crept quietly to the bench of the second grand piano, and as he finished a phrase, I joined him in playing the next! His eyes flew toward mine, filled with shocked amusement, and we glanced back and forth with laughter in our eyes as we continued playing together to the end. That "dueling duet" in the Greenroom of the de Jong began a strong friendship which eventually led to our marriage. This is one of my countless, treasured HFAC memories. The end of the building itself has come, but I will always cherish the learning, enduring, growing and becoming I experienced there in my seven years of music study.
- Christina B.

As a Public Relations student in the late 90s, most of our classes were in the HFAC (later on Comms moved to the Brimhall Building). I have two memories that came to mind. One of them is just being in the hallway studying and then hearing music/vocal students just belt out songs at the top of their lungs out of nowhere in the hallway, doing their homework I guess in public. That was always kind of funny. The other is I used to be the student editor of the Comms Alumni publication called Commworld and my office was deep in the basement of the HFAC off some random hallway. Some days I couldn’t even find my own office if I came from the wrong direction. I couldn’t find it today if I tried!!
- Jon F.

I will never forget my first performance in the magnificent de Jong Concert Hall, with Synthesis. (I first heard of the legendary Synthesis from a fellow missionary while 6,000 miles from BYU, and I vowed to try to become a member of it when I returned. I was blessed to later be accepted to both BYU and Synthesis.) I had only been home from my mission for six weeks when we had our first Synthesis concert, on September 30, 1976. There I was, on the de Jong stage, surrounded by some of the best musicians at BYU; the curtain was closed, and a hush came over the standing-room-only audience as the house lights went down. The brass and wind players began softly singing their instrument parts of the opening two-bar vamp behind the curtain, almost at a whisper. (It was our acclaimed band director Newell Dayley’s idea.) I started playing a soft solo on my guitar. The piano, bass and drums gently came in. Then, the horn players switched to playing their vamp parts on their instruments, gradually increasing the volume, the curtain opened, the stage lights came up, and the audience of 1,200 cheered, as the full band launched forcefully into the main melody of the song (“Fancy Free” by Donald Byrd). I will always cherish that memory and revere that concert hall in the Harris Fine Arts Building where I had that amazing experience.
- Mark H.

The HFAC is a beloved, familiar place to me. I grew up near BYU campus and we had season tickets to the concerts and theatre events there. I'm so grateful for the clean content and inspiring and talented productions I got to see as a child and then later participate in as a violin performance major. I had my favorite study bench and practice room as well as the couch in that particular bathroom where I could take a much-needed nap during the slower afternoon hours. The first time I walked on stage to perform with the Philharmonic, I was in tears. Finally, instead of an audience member, I was participating in the music making! I was moved to tears many times by opera, theatree, art and musical experiences in the HFAC. I had many life-changing classes and violin lessons there and made lasting relationships. I'm thankful for a special building that really shaped so much of who I am today. I'll miss you HFAC!
- Rachael S.

As a double major in Music and Communications, most of my BYU years were spent in the HFAC. Some of my favorite moments were when I was talking to, say, a group of fellow music majors, when a fellow communications major would walk past and say hello, or vice-versa. My classmates were all surprised and impressed that I seemed to know everyone in the HFAC, and that I knew my way around all the corners of the building.
- Matt A.

I met my husband John (BA in acting 80) at the HFAC. We both did quite a few productions there. We had our family picture taken there at 2018, with our seven children and grandchildren. We knew all the rooms of the whole building, even the hidden ones. I love that building, and understand that it's time to let it go for a new building that will create new memories for many people.
- Tuly H

I loved seeing the portraits of my great uncle and aunt T. Earl and Kathryn Pardoe each time I entered the HFAC. Ironically, to my knowledge there are no descendants who majored in drama at BYU. I did, however, enjoy participating in opera choruses. My brother joined me in the chorus for a performance of "La Bohem." He decided to play a trick on one of the leads which was a good friend. Backstage, he replaced the cream from a prop cookie with toothpaste. During the scene while we, the chorus, were milling about, we had a hard time keeping a straight face when my bother's friend, the lead, took a bite out of the cookie and spit it out!! Good times!
- Shawna D.

I discovered a love for the guitar I had never had before. I lugged my guitar five blocks from campus on freezing evenings in the snow to attend a basic guitar class in the HFAC twice a week. What was then an easy A turned out to be a passion that brings me peace. I'll always be grateful.
- Spencer D.

When I started at BYU as a freshman in 1973, our orientation meeting was led by the new dean, Lael Woodbury. The songs we sang were played on the piano by the former dean, Lorin F. Wheelwright. We were told by Dean Woodbury to get a paper bag, fill it with 13 sandwiches, just in case we got lost for a few days, and explore the HFAC. I did my best to explore every part of it during the almost 40 years I was affiliated with BYU. I think I knew every shortcut in the place.
- Daryl G.

I proposed to my wife Elise in the HFAC! Me and my a cappella group, BYU Parallel Motion, sang "Grow as We Go" by Ben Platt and I invited friends and family to sing along!
- Benji D.

The HFAC's cushioned benches were made for napping. While going to school, I got my daily power nap there. I have attended concerts, musical productions, theatrical productions, recitals, practiced and practiced and practiced. I will miss its "atrium" charm and awesome acoustics.
- Christine P.

I worked in the Theatre & Film Department for two years while attending BYU and have a million memories in the HFAC: Dr. Metten giving me VHS copies of classic movies to take home and watch, theatrical voices ringing through the open atrium, "tap dancing" in the large elevator as me and my coworker Helen Haws traveled down to the props department to pick up deliveries for the main office, taking a quick nap between classes on a third-floor HFAC bench and seeing every BYU Theatre performance during those two years—with a date who then owed me ice cream since I'd treated them to the show (did I mention free tickets came with my job?). The HFAC played a leading role in my time at BYU. It will be missed—but it's nice to know there are many future performances ahead.
- Sherri W.

I loved working in the costume shop on the bottom basement floor. It was quiet and relatively unpopulated down there, which was a nice change from most other places I had to be on campus. I liked getting to the shop first thing in the morning and pulling out all of the costumes for the current shows going on and get started on alterations. The ladies who worked there and did the actual clothing construction had wonderful stories and liked to talk about their BBC shows that they were keeping up with. The themed show opening potlucks were awesome. I kept mostly to myself and didn't really get to know anyone particularly well, but there was a great atmosphere in the costume shop I'll always remember.
- Brenna P.

One afternoon, I was feeling lonely on campus between classes. I missed my favorite boy, who was serving a mission in Spain, and I felt a bit robotic going through my day. I was sitting on a bench on one of the top floors of the HFAC, cold, tired and uninspired. Suddenly, I heard the strains of a familiar melody: "Be Still, My Soul." But when the words of the singers started registering, I realized they were different words. Looking down toward the bottom floor, I saw the University Singers gathered in the center bottom. They sang, "I love the Lord, in Him my soul delights..." The words were from 2 Nephi 4—feeling wretched but turning to and trusting in the Lord. I was instantly mesmerized and uplifted as I felt the love of the Lord. The joy and peace that filled me because of their mini-rehearsal was an answer to a girl's prayer on a winter day.
- Marcy R.

Of course, I went to sleep in my apartment, but the HFAC was home, and the people there were family. It was a magical place where you could be anyone and be transported anywhere. I wouldn’t trade those memories for anything. Although theater has not been relevant in my entire career, I don’t regret it as a major for one second. While it is regrettable that future generations won’t be blessed by the grace and majesty of that place, I pray that its replacement facility will be a safe space for them as was the HFAC.
- John G.

As a business manager I took several art classes and humanity classes during my four years at BYU in the 1980s. I loved strolling the HFAC building to view the art on display on a regular basis. Sometimes my own was on display in the class cases upstairs. The open center of the building was beautiful. Strolling the HFAC brought much-needed stress relief after many hours of homework at the library. The art on display was always inspirational. My wife and I also loved going to concerts, music, dance and theatre performances at the HFAC. So many great memories. We will miss this building for sure.
- Mark S.

I saw some great musical performances there, but I mostly took the best naps in the HFAC. The top floor was dark and had the perfect amount of background noise for a snooze between classes.
- Erin M.

I have several memories of the HFAC spanning nearly 40 years. As a student, I would sometimes find a spare practice room to play the piano and think of home. I remember attending the Fine Arts Ball with my new husband because I won tickets for competing in the writing contest (I recieved an honorable mention). That was a beautiful and entertaining event with the orchestra taking turns with the band for live dance music. In the performing rooms, different types of artists presenting cultural and funny entertainment throughout the evening. Instead of a dance card, you filled out a performance card to try to fit in all of the entertainment. I still remember some of the acts with delight. Later after moving away for many years, I became an employee in the TMA department and worked with gifted faculty, staff, and students for seven years from 2003-2010. Occasionally I gave tours to prospective students--through the prop room, makeup room, and back stages. I loved the hallway down below big enough for a semi to drive through. I often took the long walk to work through the building to see all of the artwork on display or listen to the musicians perfecting their craft. It was a beautiful and special building. -
- Kim P

Freshman year, first time spending church in a building that is not your traditional church building from all my growing up years. I lived in Heritage, Young Hall. We were absolutely thrilled when our church assignment location was received...the Madsen Recital Hall in the HFAC. Not only was it pretty much the closest building to us, it was also one of the most elegant options for a sacrament meeting venue. I absolutely loved that first experience with the HFAC. Although subsequent years with church in my chemistry and stats classrooms were unique and memorable, I will always be grateful for my first church home in the HFAC.
- Tawna T

Not only was it the building where I originally met some of my favorite roommates, but it's also the building where I took the freight elevator down to the basement to grab a snack from the vending machines and learned the hard way that the vending machines were NOT, in fact, in the actual basement of the building. Never did find the stairs to get back up to floor 2 that day, so I hung my head in shame and took the elevator back up.
- Natalie P.

To present day I can't enter HFAC without being transported back to a summer music conference held during the early to mid 70s. My mom (the attendee) was a voice and piano performer and instructor, though she obtained her BFA elsewhere. Mom is no longer with us. Somehow the sights, sounds and smells of the HFAC have stuck with me nearly 50 years later. Visiting the place always brought me back to when my mom was young and I was just a little kid. This summer conference also was the first of many events that solidified my enduring love for BYU.
- Dean B.

I had church and choir in the HFAC but one of my favorite memories is when there was a James C. Christensen exhibit. Several of the pictures had fish in them and the guy I liked had the last name of Fisher, so I invited him to go see it sometime. I don't think he'd ever been in the building before and he wasn't super interested in art but he came anyway. He ended up loving the exhibit so much and became a huge Christensen fan ever after. We ended up getting married and have enjoyed having puzzles and prints in our home.
- Yoland F.

I grew up next door to my grandparents, A. Harold and Naomi F. Goodman. Grandad was the chair of the School of Music and was influential in building the HFAC. He was a violinist and conducted the university's symphony. When I was three years old, I got a little tiny violin for Christmas and Grandad started teaching me how to play. My first concert was at the de Jong Concert Hall at the age of 4. When my three-year-old sister saw Grandad come out on the stage in his tux and tails, she yelled out, "There's Grandad! Why does he have tails?" We went to many concerts and performances while growing up. I especially loved the Nutcracker every year. While I didn't choose to major in music, I had a great love for the HFAC. To this day I still remember exactly the smell of the building--maybe a mix of piano polish and the anticipation of a performance. I love the HFAC.
- Jenny R.

I had several elective classes in the HFAC including an Intro to Guitar class one Summer term. I have a vivid memory of a special girl who 'accidentally' stumbled into me at the base of the HFAC stairs (the ones closest to the library entrance). We had some hints that there was mutual interest but this was the first "here's your sign!" moment that she was actually interested in getting to know me better. We've been married 18 years now and have 5 kids.
- Lewis G.

Many great memories from beautiful music to inspired lectures to moving art exhibits. Most impactful, however, was an evening during a business seminar some years after graduating. Our “keynote” speaker was Mitt Romney before he began years of public service. He spoke about being bold in doing good and standing for right. I still have my notes. We then were told we had surprise speaker coming after a stretch break. Our surprise was elder Neil L. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles who, not being aware of the previous message, presented a deeply impactful sermon on the critical trait of meekness. What could have been very juxtaposed messages provided a life changing understanding of the ability, if practiced, to accomplish both.
- Douglas G.

I decided against majoring in music but still wanted to participate in the music program. After sitting 1st chair in the cello section of the Symohony Orchestra as a Freshman, I was blessed to play in the Philharmonic Orchestra during my Sophmore year (2002-2003). Sometime during that year the philharmonic recorded a few pieces for BYUtv. For several years (maybe a decade!) I regularly had friends and acquaintances recognize me on the street after viewing the performance. "Hey! Aren't you that cellist?" Indeed, I am.
- Melanie L.

My roommate was in the Opera company and got me a chorus part in a summer session show. I had never spent time in the below-ground floors and frequently got lost in the labyrinthian passageways of the subterranean HFAC world. Once, while walking out of practice with two friends, we came to an intersection and each said our goodbyes, each going our separate ways. Two minutes later we all met up again, leaving by the same door. Over the summer, I learned how to find my way around and formed some wonderful memories with the company. Farewell, dear HFAC, may your maze-like passageways be buried and forever confuse future archeologists as they once confused me.
- Daniel J.

Throughout the years I spent at BYU, I found myself in the basement of the HFAC frequently looking for any open practice room. If I was stressed, I went there to pound it on piano keys. If I was in love, I played and sang love songs for hours. It’s hard to think about that building being gone, I used to picture bringing my babies back to BYU to play on those same pianos.
- Mackenzie B.

I am grateful to have worked with Brett Thomas and Mike Ohman in the School of Music. I enjoyed working in the HFAC but more importantly I love and cherish the people that I associated with there. I hope the new building has a better layout - it was always funny to get asked where C-580 is while in the School of Music offices in C-550. It was always hard to explain and find.
- Michael W.

A favorite memory id playing Sardines with an FHE group really late one night. I think someone on a cleaning crew let us in!
- Deeann S.

The HFAC and I go way back. As a communications major, it was my home away from home during my four years at BYU and it has welcomed me back many times in the decades since I graduated. I have climbed the well-worn stairs and ridden the elevators thousands of times on my way to work, classes, church, concerts, theater productions, firesides, piano lessons, practice hours, auditions, office hours, dates, formal dances, study groups, special events, music camps, and in my quest to find a quiet place to rest. I even fell asleep in the office behind the de Jong Concert Hall box office one night while cramming for a final. My fondest memories, though, are firmly entwined with my time working with the Division of Arts Production's Paul Duerden, who managed the box office and oversaw publicity for the many music and theater performances that took place there each year. As a boss, he looked out for his student employees, giving us opportunities to rub shoulders with world-renowned musicians and church leaders. The opportunities he gave me to grow as a writer and editor were invaluable and I have cherished him as a mentor and friend through the years. Paul passed away in April 2022. Even though he moved on from BYU in 2007, I can't imagine the HFAC without him. I will miss them both!
- Lana C.

The HFAC has had an impact on my family lasting three generations. For three decades my grandparents taught, directed, starred in, co-founded, soloed, served, edited, composed, worked and touched the lives of thousands of student musicians in the HFAC. Both my parents performed on the stages of the HFAC in piano and opera and it was in one of the music halls where my dad proposed. As a little girl on Sunday evenings I would play hide-and-seek with my brothers in the numerous practice rooms (and sometimes squished between the stored and padded timpani in the orchestral practice rooms). As a student, I performed in the Philharmonic Orchestra both onstage and in the pit of the de Jong. And finally, my dad and I rehearsed our 'daddy-daughter' dance for my wedding in the de Jong green room. These memories made under the roof of the HFAC will be treasured and I hope my own children and grandchildren will make similar memories in the new music building.
- Eliza D.

I wrote this song in commemoration of this beloved building.
- CJ M.

The HFAC holds a very special place in my heart. So many wonderful memories! Beyond the countless hours spent there practicing as a music major, it was also where my wife and I shared our first kiss as freshmen students. We would sit and talk for hours on the heat vent located just outside the west side of the HFAC building. Three years later, after returning home from my mission, I proposed to her at the very same spot that we shared our first kiss. Every time we visit the campus with our four boys, we walk past our favorite spot and tell them “our story" and where it all began. I am sad to see my favorite BYU building go but will always have many wonderful memories to take with me!
- Ryan W.

Spent many hours in the Harris Fine Arts Center even before I began my college work there. First off, I played the part of Jiminy Cricket in a production put on by the tv studio. I want to say it was called "Billy Buster" but I could be wrong. I think I was in Junior High at the time so it would have been in the late 60s. While in High School, my drama teacher asked me to come be in a production of "Fiddler on the Roof" in the early 70s. He was playing the part of Tevye and they needed my friend and I to play the young boys that Yenta brings to marry his two youngest daughters. I attended numerous plays and concerts in the different stages there. As a member of the Cougar Marching Band during my college days, I spent many hours practicing as a group and individually in the different spaces. The building was always a place to go and find a quite spot to ponder and reflect.
- Mark H.

After graduating from a tiny high school, I LOVED being at BYU. My Freshman year I was walking through the HFAC and heard these mens’ voices. They sounded so harmonious and blended that it blew me away. I had no idea that male singers could sound like that. While looking at them, I walked to the exit—and walked straight into one of the glass doors. I don’t know if they stopped singing because I got out of there! My future BYU grad husband swears he was in that group and saw me walk into the glass.
- Kristie H. G.

I never took any classes in HFAC but loved the building: the art work, the openness and the staircases. I remember many plays and concerts and, I believe, some classes at Education Week. Thanks for the memories.
- Rea S.

My husband and I went on our first date to the BYU Orchestra at the Harris Fine Arts Center many years ago. We had friends set us up to go on a double date with them. The orchestra was beautiful and romantic. Twenty-seven years later and we still enjoy going to the orchestra together. We have had four of our six children attend BYU and have encouraged them to enjoy the wonderful music and arts programs offered at BYU. One of our daughters will be graduating with a degree in Fine Arts from BYU in April. The HFAC has been her home away from home and we will miss the building greatly.
- Elizabeth H.

The HFAC is where my love of broadcast journalism was born. I had so many journalism and TV production classes there (oh, the videos I could share), made countless friends in those classes (some whom I still keep in touch with nearly 20 years later) and listened to many music majors singing scales and practicing for their vocal classes. The sounds of the HFAC make up just as many memories as the sights do. This is a special place and I wish I could walk its long, winding halls one last time.
- Andrea R.

I took flute lessons at the HFAC and one particular lesson made an impact on me for the rest of my life. My flute teacher asked that we practice two hours a day, which I did. Yet I didn't feel that I was as good as the other flute students. One day I was in tears because I didn't feel very proficient and my flute teacher looked at me and said, "But you are my best student!" That phrase has come to mind many times over my life. When I don't feel good enough or that my life's "performances" aren't very great, I remember that I can be the Lord's best student.
- Diane R.

I will always remember standing under the lamp under the southeast entrance next to the stairs after film lectures on Tuesday, Wednesday, and/or Thursday nights. As I leaned against the outdoor stair railing I would marvel in gratitude at the treasures and experiences I was having. I love that old building, the lectures, the faculty and that time of my life.
- Colton A.

I went to church in the HFAC for three years. We found more nooks and crannies than we could count! It was a very fun building to meet in and to explore.
- Ann P.

The greatest gift that happened to me in that building was meeting lifelong friend that changed the entire trajectory of my life! 15 years later and a few states in between us, we still talk every single day!!
- Amanda C.

I met and fell in love with my wife in the HFAC. Our ward had Sunday church services in the Pardoe and then in the Nelke for years. I would often catch a glance at her walking in a few minutes late to Sacrament insulated by her sister, cousin and roommates. I wondered for months about how to approach her and then eventually built up the courage to ask her if she would like to go get some See’s Candies after an FHE. We started dating and would sit at church together. A couple of months in, during the opening hymn in the Nelke, she opened the sacrament program and saw her name as one of the speakers. She panicked and forgot she was suppose to prepare a talk. Without hesitation, I walked up to the stage and whispered in our Bishop’s ear that I would speak instead of her. I had always had this weird idea in my mind to have a talk/lesson ready in case someone couldn’t make it or if I was asked to speak for some unlikely reason. She said my talk about the temple was fantastic and from that time forward our relationship really became something we knew was different than past ones. I had her back that day, she has had my back many times since then. I’ll miss the warm ambiance of the Pardoe and the beautiful pipe organ of the Nelke but I’ll always remember the HFAC as the place where I fell in love.
- Michael S.

My Grandpa Stott worked in the HFAC doing classical music for KBYU radio when my dad was young. My grandpa visited Provo while I was a student at BYU and took us on a tour of the building and told stories of his kids coming to find him and getting a Creamsicle backstage in a freezer they used to have there. My dad still can’t eat a creamsicle without remembering the HFAC and his dad. There’s a spiral staircase in the backstage area that he led us to and told us of how his kids loved to play there. He would take his kids to see concerts there often. My sister and I also took a University Chorale class together and got to perform in the de Jong Concert Hall! It is one of my favorite buildings on campus and I loved coming to hear student recitals, watch plays and find a place to sit and study. I got to watch "Fiddler on the Roof" there recently, one of my Grandpa Stott’s favorites. He passed away two years ago and the HFAC still carries many of his memories for us. I’ll miss the HFAC!
- LaLoni Heath

I spent a good part of my BYU experience in the basement of the HFAC. The KBYU studios were my home away from home - both for classes and for employment. Many a meal was obtained from the vending machine outside the studio doors! Most of my Comms classes were in the labyrinth of the HFAC and many a study hour was spent on a bench overlooking stairways that rival Hogwarts. It was an amazing building that held almost all of my treasured college memories and I’m so sad to see it go!
- Patti H.

My HFAC memories truly overflow. I was in the first class of HFAC students, entering BYU in Fall 1964. Living in Emma Lucy Gates Bowen Hall, just across the street to the east and staying there several years because of its perfect proximity to all my classrooms and rehearsal spaces, I walked down "the tunnel" countless times to take the elevator next to classroom B-201 (the slowest elevator on campus!) up to the department office, my various other classrooms or into the theaters and the main gallery. My fellow students and I quickly discovered that the huge structural beams crossing over our heads created wonderful nooks and crannies for studying, running lines, eating lunch and catching badly needed cat-naps. However, administration soon found out that our clambering around "up there" constituted a very real risk of personal injury and, all too soon, our little retreats were declared off limits. Sigh. My memories of many, many productions are still vivid and evocative - Barrie Stavis's "Coat of Many Colors" and "Lamp at Midnight;" Max Golightly's powerful production of "The Little Foxes;" a superb "Carmen," starring Ariel Bybee, before her career as a renowned opera professional; the hemispheric premiere of Ralph Vaughn Williams' "The Pilgrim's Progress" - and countless other teaching, learning, expanding experiences, all within the halls of my beloved Harris Fine Arts Center. And my teachers - giants in art and spirit: Max, already mentioned, Jean Jenkins, Marion Bentley, Ivan Crosland, LaelWoodbury...I am in your debt. Thank you for adding so indelibly to my life!
- Frances S.

Members of our ward loved to play Sardines in the HFAC. That's the most intense hide-and-seeking I've ever participated in!
- Sean W.

During my time at BYU, I viewed many plays, concerts, and events at the HFAC. However, my best memory was walking on stage in the spring of 1970 to introduce a concert sponsored by our stake mutual. It was a humbling experience to walk on the stage where so many I admired and respected had performed.
- Rocky R.

I fondly remember roaming the halls with a few of my little boys, in the 90’s, with hand in tow, on my way to and from class. And enjoying all of the various exhibits scattered throughout the building as we went!
- Susie S.

The HFAC was brand new when I started school at BYU in 1965. I was totally enamored with the place. I was in several plays, three choruses and even took an art class (disaster). I often would haunt the practice rooms in the basement, sometimes to rehearse. Often, because I was lost and didn't care that I was lost, I listened to the organ, the opera singers rehearse, and the other drama students (I was one at the time). I clearly remember Ariel Bybee hit the high notes with such clarity and expression it made my heart leap. Professors like Charles Metten, and Lael Woodbury, LaVar Bateman, and conductors/professors like Kurt Weingarten, and Ralph Woodward, to name just a very few. It doesn't seem possible to me that this magnificent building is old and out of date enough to tear down. Time is relentless. Farewell, my old friend.
- Bradley A.

I made so many great memories in the Harris FA Center. I played guitar in Synthesis when we hosted Michael Brecker around 1990. It was so amazing to be on stage with such a musical genius. And I pretty much lived in the recording studio writing and recording music with so many great friends like J Bateman, Tony Mortimer (RIP), Dave Mohlman, Jeff Fairbanks and Joel Wiseman. The experiences I had in that studio, along with great mentoring from teachers like Ron Simpson and Jon Holloman propelled my career in Los Angeles as a music producer. So many incredible memories. So sad to see that great building go.
- Trey V.

I have such fond memories of the Harris Fine Arts Center. I was a freshman drama major in the fall of 1965. The Harris Fine Arts Center was brand new. I was in several performances including Enemy of the People, Aida, a Mask Club play called Brother Wolf, and the first play in the theater-in-the-round called Only There Were Two directed by Dr. Charles Metten. I also had a German class and a theatre dance class there. But most wonderful of all were the friends I made taking part in those activities and the very talented professors who worked with us.
- Paul S.

One time I was down in the breezeway cargo loading basement area sitting on the floor eating some teriyaki chicken and broccoli that I had warmed up in that old microwave that was down there. My girlfriend, who I am now married to, was always practicing down there. Anyway, this full sized black sedan suddenly came down the ramp, and I thought it was some kind of government car. It was pretty tight for a full sized car down there. It literally almost ran over me, but then it came to a stop right next to me. The back door opened and President Monson got out and smiled and apologized for almost hitting me with the door. Of course I was like, “no problem!” because I was just excited to be in the presence of the one and only Thomas S. Monson. Then he walked up the stairs to some performance that was going on. I have always wondered why his driver decided to pull up right on top of me, but it gave me a fresh story to tell my friends.
- Mark L.

I studied violin with Dr Percy Kalt and learned so much wonderful literature. It helped me go on to get my Masters in Music at Juilliard. I hope the new building is just as good as the old one.
- Virginia L.

I took Art History. Loved walking around the HFAC and reviewing art there. Many memories of plays and other performances. Sad it is gone!
- Janay J.

I was a Theatre Arts Major and have SO many fond memories of practicing and performing in the HFAC. I would plan my trip to campus each morning so that when the national anthem was played, I would be at the northeast doors of the HFAC, and I timed my walk through the HFAC to exit the southwest doors as soon as the national anthem was finished. It was the only way I could stay warm through those cold winter walks across campus!
- Tony P.

I spent many hours at the HFAC for Art History and art classes. I also worked at the slide library and then the Visual Arts office. I loved relaxing there, browsing current art that was displayed and hearing the occasional instruments or singing wafting up from the lower floors. The HFAC was like my second home while at BYU!
- Julie K. R.

During my freshman year at BYU, my roommates and I would take dates to the HFAC and play hide and seek. One time my date and I ended up hiding above a play that was currently in progress. I don't know how we got up there, but it was pretty cool to watch (and not be found). I loved the HFAC.
- E. B. Nelson

I was taking private voice lessons at BYU and I went to the HFAC for my first session. I had been in the HFAC many times, but had never been to the part where the voice lessons would be. I searched for an hour and, 30 minutes late, frantically emailed my professor that I could not find it. I came to find out that to get to the room, I had to leave the HFAC and then go through an obscure side door to get to the room. There is no architecture quite like the HFAC.
- McKinzi S.

The setting: A faculty office hallway in the HFAC, Freshman Orientation week, September 1968. Because I had declared a major in Mass Communications, I had a scheduled appointment with my faculty advisor, M. Dallas Burnett. I rounded the corner to see one young man standing halfway down the hall and I thought, "There you are." I was 17, shy, and had no clue what to think of that. He grinned as he watched me walk toward him. He too was waiting for Brother Burnett. We talked. He asked for my contact info and I gave it. He promptly lost it, but because we were both in journalism, we reconnected through the Daily Universe later that year. We've now been married for 52.
- Susan A.

The corn dog exhibit of 2019 made the HFAC smell like corn dogs for weeks. The best part was when a friend sent me this message: “I’m just sitting here doing homework and I look up just in time to see somebody walk by and pick up a corndog, take a bite and then walk around to the front of the exhibit and read “PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH THE ART.”
- Amanda M.

I was in the upper level of the de Jong Concert Hall for an event and I knew my parents were going to be there as well. My mom has this uncanny ability of being able to hear someone go chut chut - a South American sound made to get someone's attention from anywhere. It's not a very loud sound, and the hall was packed. I saw her come in down below, so I made the sound, which she heard. She immediately looked up from the lower level right at me and waved. I remember many plays, music concerts, forums and other events held there.
- Kathie M.

I have a lot of fond memories in the HFAC because I, like every other fine arts major, practically lived there. I have one memory that particularly stands out above the rest. My husband and I met in Acting 123 which met in room B201 in the HFAC. We got to know each other because we were paired together in an acting exercise and we started dating shortly after. I actually remember the moment I first saw him because he walked in late to class on the first day of the semester. My husband likes to say that I was just blown away by his good looks, but really it was just because it was such a small class! We visited Utah this past summer and we were able to go and say goodbye to the classroom where our life together began!
- Marissa L.

One of my favorite memories of the HFAC was when there was a retro gaming exhibition in the main lobby. After class, I went with some friends and had a blast playing some video gaming favorites from years gone by - the exhibit even featured an original SEGA and an Atari, if I recall correctly. I remember having the chance to play Pong on a console which I had never done before. I enjoyed learning about the history of gaming and making new friends with old games.
- Alexandra S.

My first experience in the HFAC was as a freshman. I had the unique opportunity to be in the play, The Garden as one of the singing angels. It wasn’t something I was seeking out, but I took the opportunity and it was a great experience and a fun memory. I will always remember that experience and having fun playing games with friends throughout the building.
- Shirley B.

In Fall 1969 a new girl moved into the apartment where our FHE group met. We got to know each other fairly well and started dating in January. Our first date was a walk on campus, focused on the HFAC galleries. Our third date was dinner at the popular Oak Crest Inn. Then we got some of her music and found a practice room in the HFAC, where I played and she, standing directly behind me, sang her favorites—"Somewhere Over the Rainbow," "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes," and more. As I could not see her, all my attention was enthralled by her fine, sweet soprano. By the time we got to "Red Sails in the Sunset" and "we marry tomorrow, and he goes sailing no more," I was hers and she was mine. Fifty years later, we are still making music together.
- Randall L.

"Meet you at the slab," is what my wife-to-be and I would say, referring to the wood bench around the staircase in the HFAC where we first met.
- Brook R.

My mother moved to Utah with my sister and me in 1967. She worked at BYU Travel and then spent three years as one of three secretaries for Ernest L. Wilkinson. During the summers of 1972 and 1973, I participated in Theater Workshop at the HFAC. I did not stay on campus but spent all day there during the month of the workshop. I spent many hours in the belly of the building, including the tunnel, practice rooms and prop areas, as well as backstage for both the de Jong Concert Hall and Madsen Recital Hall. I met and worked with kids from all over the state and even a few from out of state. It was a wonderful time in my life.
- Ruth M.

Goodbye dear BYU HFAC! Thank you for being the home you were. Thank you for providing a place to learn, practice, create, perform and connect. Thank you for your indoor atrium, loud black benches, open staircases and rotating art displays. Thank you for your pink tiled bathrooms. Thank you for your good bike racks. Thank you for being so conveniently located to the library and Wilkinson Center. Thank you for being the place where my husband and I (literally) met, courted, broke up and eventually got engaged (by the black benches with a ring on top of a creamery ice-cream cone). The HFAC will always, always have a special place in our hearts.
- Lindsey L.

The Harris Fine Arts Center came to be just before my husband and I were graduating BYU and leaving to live in Washington state, where we lived for 50 years. I remember regretting that the center hadn’t been finished years earlier. Over years, I attended exhibits there with our children as they attended and graduated BYU. My fondest memory is attending an exhibit with our youngest son, a film major, where he pointed out a painting that matched a short story he had written in high school (with an A+ grade). It was now the basis for his student film as a film major. In the short story, a blind woman has a male companion describe a painting to her; the painting he showed me at HFA center matched the one he had imagined in the story. I’ve had a print of the painting on my wall now for years. It shows a young woman in a white long dress, surrounded by aspen trees in a forest, her hat lying on the ground. I’ll miss the Harris Fine Arts Center; I have been blessed to see several exhibits there over years.
- Dixie H.P.

As a senior student applying for dental school, I needed a break from science classes. My friend suggested a string class for fun because violin was an interest of mine. I signed up for it and was excited for my respite from biology. My first day came and we sat in a half circle in one of the large music rooms in the HFAC. This was my only class ever in this building. As my teacher took role, it became very obvious that I was the outsider. He knew all the other class members by name and as he arrived to me on the role he paused and said “human biology major…tell us how you ended up in this class." Needless to say, it ended up being a great year and I stayed both semesters learning violin and viola basics. Heading toward the HFAC for my music class was a highlight for me during my time at BYU.
- Scott M.

I started BYU in fall of 1978 and our stake met in the Harris Fine Arts Center. We had Sacrament meeting in the Madsen Recital Hall. I was in this ward for about 3 years. It was always interesting having Sunday school and relief society classes in some of the art classrooms with paintings around the rooms. I have so many good memories of the years of growing my testimony more in this building. This was the time that I chose to serve a mission. After returning from my mission, I finished my final year of school and graduated in the de Jong Concert Hall.
- Rose R.

I enjoyed watching the many programs in the de Jong Concert Hall. During one of the Janie Thompson talent programs one of the singers came to far out on the stage and fell into the music pit.
- Dale R.

I loved seeing the art displayed in the main atrium of the HFAC as I was walking between classes during my undergraduate. I especially liked the installations. The works ranged from beautiful to weird, but often provoked thought. As a grad student I was able to bring my kids through on occasion to experience a little of what I did as an undergraduate.
- Brian D>

I proposed to my wife, Julie, in the north foyer of the HFAC on a late Sunday morning in May, 1972. To my surprise and joy, she said yes.
- Lane W.

My husband proposed to me in the HFAC. He composed a song on the piano and had a friend, who was a night custodian, open a large classroom on the top floor for him to use to play the song just for me. That was 23 years ago. Now my oldest daughter spends most of her day in the HFAC as a choral education major.
- Amy H. O.

I spent four years of my life living here. Most of the time in this practice room! The HFAC will sorely be missed.
- Steven H.

I remember going to the HFAC daily for Women’s Chorus and Concert Choir rehearsals. It was my safe haven from all that was going on in my life at the time. I looked forward to it every single day and loved being in that building. So many memories and so many friendships made there! I will miss you, HFAC!
- Rachel W.

In the late 70’s, in the ballroom upstairs, there was a concert by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. The band took the stage and started into “Dance Little Jean” when a young man in a white shirt and tie walked on, took one of the microphones, bowed his head and started to pray. I have never seen such astonishment as on the faces of The Dirt Band that night. They didn’t even know how to start again after that surprise.
-Michael A.

My junior year I lived with my brother, Kevin, in the Sparks II Apartments on 9th East Street. Our student ward met in the HFAC for church every Sunday. We had Sacrament meeting in the Pardoe Theater and our bishop was Stanley Green, a radiologist who lived in Salem. Bishop Green had over a dozen children and I was called to the Primary as a Sunbeam 4 teacher. I spent every Sunday with one of Bishop Green's younger children, Peter. I will admit I was not the most diligent Primary teacher and teaching a 4-year-old is not easy. Most Sundays it was just Peter and I, hiking up and down the endless HFAC staircases, walking through the art-lined corridors admiring the God-given talents on display. Bishop Green was the reason I pursued a career in medicine. One of his children, James, has special needs and I also have a son who cannot live independently. And it just so happened that over 20 years after I graduated from BYU my son, Brendan, and Bishop Green's granddaughter, Natalie, met during their freshman year in their BYU student ward. Yes, it is so very, very BYU that they dated, went on missions and are now married. We will miss the HFAC. That building has indeed blessed generations - at least two Izu generations, anyway.
- Jerry I.

As a Freshman at BYU in 1972-1973, I spent a lot of time in the HFAC. All my church meetings were there. I played the pianos in my free time and had a few classes there as well. When working in the ASB in Human Resources from 2003 until I retired from BYU in 2017, I went to various meetings and of course the devotionals in the summer. I went to many plays and concerts there as well. Lots of great memories in the HFAC for sure. I will miss it!
- Karen P.

My wife and I were student custodians for 2 years working in the middle of the night. Every day I polished the main gallery terrazzo floor. What started as a good friendship developed into a 48 year marriage with 9 children and 22 grandchildren. With our fellow student workers we made cleaning the HFAC a fun adventure every night.
- Dan M.

I didn’t attend BYU, but I grew up in Provo. I took flute lessons, drum lessons and jazz piano lessons from BYU students in the basement classrooms of the HFAC. I attended many concerts and other events there. At 14, while sitting on the steps of the HFAC waiting for my mom to pick me up, a college kid struck up a conversation with me and I was so flattered that I lied about my age and made up a major—French! When he asked for my number, I was so mortified, that I made up a name and number. Sorry cute guy from 1990!
- Camden L.

The HFAC is the building that helped me to realize what a phenomenal artist my boyfriend (now husband of 23+ years!) is. I saw his portfolio which included a charcoal sketch of a hallway in the HFAC. They were all very good, but I didn’t realize how good. One day I happened to be in the HFAC walking down that very hallway and realized his drawing looked exactly like it!
- Kimber W.

I remember studying theatre under the brilliant Dr. Charles Metten and acting in God's Favorite, Scapin the Schemer, and One Cool Wind. I also studied playwriting under Dr. Max Golightly. And it was in the HFAC that I saw a posting which read "Driver Needed". I called the number and was hired over the phone to drive for Redford's Sundance Film Institute and pick up actors, writers, and directors at the SLC Airport in his then new Chevy Blazer. Great memories!
- Steve W.

I spent hundreds of hours in that building, mostly to rehearse when I was a member of Vocal Point (2005-2008). I have so many good memories of making sweet music with some of the best men I know. Not only that, I loved the performances and shows that were hosted there. I probably went to a concert or show every month I was there at school. I'd often joke that the de Jong calendar of events was my dating calendar because I'd simply buy tickets to all the events that I wanted to see and from that plan out all of my dating for the semester ahead of me.
- Jeremy H.

I graduated from Hillcrest High School in Midvale, Utah in May, 1963. That Summer I worked as a draftsman for the Walt Arlt engineering firm. Part of my work was to draw the detail drawings for the way in which the stair and floor railings were to be embedded into the stairs to provide support for the railings. The open stairwells and floor railings of the interior of the building were one of the beautiful features of HFAC. I was able to visit the Pereira Architecture firm in Los Angeles to discuss with the architects how to maximize the strength of the railings. After the building was completed whenever I entered the building I would look carefully at the railings and smile at the contribution I had made to the finished work. It has been a good memory to know that I had a small part in the building of such a wonderful building at BYU.
- Kent M.

Oh the memories! From playing in piano competitions here when I was growing up to working at Classical 89, singing in choirs, playing in folk ensembles, attending church and being relief society president while a student at BYU. Oh, and walking for my graduation! Thank you HFAC for the years of memories and the joy of music.
- Britney H.

Many, many great memories of many great, great people! Dr. Ralph Laycock, Newell Dailey, Dr. James Mason, just to name a few. To all of them, thank you!
- Phil D.

There were so many wonderful experiences to be had in the HFAC. Working nights gave me access to some of the most awesome behind the scenes experiences in all the arts: the art rooms, the practice rooms, the stages, the studios (TV and radio), the woodshops and the costume, cosmetic and prop rooms. There were so many places to clean but it was the people and the evidences of living an art-filled life that made so much of it memorable.
- MB Smith

My first of many experiences at the HFAC was as a 12-year-old summer theatre workshop camper (led by Dr. Charles Whitman) for four weeks during the summer of 1983 and then every summer for the next five years. We would spend hours exploring the many hiding places when on break from our classes (it was hot outside) and listening to the college students rehearse. It instilled a love of the arts in me at a young age. I still love to walk the halls when I visit my children as they attend BYU.
- Sara B.

I attended the BYU School of Music for six years. For most of those years I spent more time in the HFAC than at my apartment or anywhere else. It felt like home. My sophomore year I was in a class for piano majors called "Functional Piano Skills." Dr. Holden assigned us all to write an arrangement of a hymn with some kind of musical quote in it. We all procrastinated terribly. The night before the arrangement was due we stayed in the ALMA lab all night working furiously to arrange and learn how to use finale. We had snacks (which we definitely only ate outside the ALMA lab) and had a grand old (very stressful) time. I went home at 6 am for an hour nap before my 8am sight singing class.
- Hyrum A.

I have early memories walking through the HFAC with my family when I was very young. When I attended BYU, I performed with the BYU Symphony Orchestra and have fond memories of the HFAC. Performing in the pit orchestra for "The Music Man" was so much fun! I loved taking breaks in the tunnel and getting snacks from the vending machines. May the HFAC rest in peace.
- Larissa D.

Growing up, my dad was an electrician at BYU. About once a month he was on call, coming in at all hours to reset the fire alarms when missionaries burnt popcorn in the MTC or tomonitor the systems during major events. My dad would sometimes sneak in one-on-one time with his kids by bringing us when he had a quick task. One night, when I was about ten years old, he took me with him to the HFAC. After adjusting the fire alarm system to account for the smoke machine being used in one of the plays, he gave me a tour. My dad knew every inch of every building, so I got the full experience. He showed me the huge hall with back doors to various stages. He showed me the tiny room where the campus radio show was produced. In one hallway, deep in the building, the door to a small dressing room stood open. In it a group of people, in full costume, were making the final touches to their tiger face paint. I was starstruck. My dad explained to the students why we were there and this whole room of college students, in all their theatrical finery, surrounded me, asking me questions and fussing like I was the star of the show. I've thought of the HFAC as a purely magical place ever since.
- Heather S.

The HFAC was one of my favorite buildings on campus even though I was not an arts or music major. It was conveniently located halfway between my home at the FLSR and most of my classes at the SWKT. I rented a locker there to drop off and switch books coming to and from campus. I ate my packed lunch in the halls of the HFAC most days of the week. I loved the artwork and enjoyed the quietness of the building. During the few classes I did take in the HFAC, I discovered that the lighting in the theater classrooms made my engagement ring sparkle magnificently.
- Laura R.

As a Communications major I had a lot of great memories of the HFAC but my favorite memory occurred during my freshman year. I was on a date with a young man who was trying hard to impress me. During the course of the date, he asked if I wanted to see an art exhibit at the HFAC. Since I loved art, I agreed to the suggestion and we slowly made our way across campus. Starting at one end, we wound our way through the art. Eventually we turned a corner and I stopped dead in my tracks. In between two paintings--as naturally as if it had been part of the exhibit--hung a portrait he had drawn of me. Since I wasn't aware of any connections he had with the HFAC, the gesture was all the more impressive. Although I didn't end up falling in love with him, I did fall in love with the drawing and still have it to this day.
- Heather N.

I played the banjo for the International Folk Dance Ensemble, spending many hours in the HFAC. I can still remember the smell of the building - a musty, wonderful smell! Farewell friend.
- Travis H.

The HFAC was my home for my junior and senior years as it used to house the School of Communications in the 1970’s. My advanced courses were taught in rooms off its many downstairs corridors. But the building was also the go-to place for all things cultural and artistic. Music concerts, dramatic stage productions, art exhibits, symposia and even date night dances. I could find my way anywhere in this building! So many enriching and growing experiences were had here! I'm grateful for them all.
- Sara Haws G.

I spent a lot of time in the HFAC. Most of my classes were there. One of the things I really enjoyed to do on a hot summer day was to go into the art gallery on the main floor and enjoy the beautiful art and some quiet coolness. Fare thee well, HFAC!
- Jonathan R.

During my freshman year at BYU in 1997, I went to a dance at the HFAC. There was a piano in the ballroom just sitting there. During a pause in the music, I sat down at the piano and played Bohemian Rhapsody. Hundreds of fellow BYU students starting to sing along on the main floor and in the upper floors. It was a surreal experience to share this moment.
- Joe E.

My favorite memories are from the Opera Workshops and Drama classes.
- Doris Lee B. A.

My husband and I share the funny memory of how we never met at BYU, despite working backstage in the same mainstage show, "The Foreinger" (2006)! I was backstage making eggs and doing props and he was running the lights and never the twain shall meet...until 2012!
- Katie W.

Some of my favorite memories of teh HFAC include playing awesome games of Sardines in the HFAC for FHE, listening to phenomenal musicians practicing their masterpieces in those wonderful glass "fish bowl" recital rooms and attending a Chamber Orchestra concert in the de Jong Concert Hall. Wow, I have to say that the acoustics of the de Jong are the most correct out of any concert hall I've ever attended! They're even better than our world acclaimed Benaroya Hall here in Seattle! I loved the funky, modern, impressionistic art galleries hosted on the main floor. I loved the architecture that allowed us to see all the floors from the interior and the huge, flowing courtyard "side" entries. I'm so bummed out to see so many of BYU's legacy buildings go away!
- Larry S.

Since moving from home, I have spent more time in the HFAC than anywhere else. To think that these walls that have seen the best and the worst of me, that have borne the weight of my angry fists, smelled my sweat, echoed my proudest performances and provided the backdrop for my deepest friendships, these walls whose heights and depths, twists and turns, stairs and cargo elevators, tunnels and galleries I have penetrated and mapped better than the back of my hand, these walls, so mercilessly unmovable in their idiosyncratic inconvenience, will soon finally tumble and lose the permanence I take for granted every day! I don't find the HFAC beautiful; in fact I find most of it quite ugly. But it's home.
- Nathan C.

This photo is of my mom, Ilean Sampson Sullivan, as an undergraduate in the HFAC in 1968.
- Angie M.

Nobody logged more sacrament meetings in the HFAC than yours truly. From Fall 2005 to January 2020 I spent my Sundays deep in the bowels of the magnificent HFAC.
- Justin H.

For FHE 40 years ago we would play “sardines” in the HFAC where one person would hide and then the rest of the group would try to find the person who was hiding. If you found them, you stayed with them waiting for others to find you both. Most of the time, due to the nearly innumerable places a person could hide, we would never find them to begin with and would have to call the game end based on a time limit. Great fun.
- Renae B.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s I worked for KBYU TV (Instructional Television Services department). I was the studio production manager, videotape editor, video engineer and Eidophor operator. The Eidophor was the huge video projector that was used all over campus from the Joseph Smith auditorium to the field house to the HFAC ballrooms where it was used for overflow crowds for the home basketball games. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong landed and walked on the Moon. I was privileged to be the operator for the special nationally televised screening in the de Jong Concert Hall. It was originally scheduled to occur the evening before (July 19th), but due to some delays at NASA it didn’t happen until early the next morning.
- Richard L.

I worked in the CFAC advisement center with some amazing advisers: Butterfield, Braithwaite, Meng, and Frederico. We had the funniest little office at D-444 HFAC that had poles running right through the middle. It looked like a closet. It was so funny to watch everyone’s surprised expressions when they walked in and nearly collided with a low beam. Luckily no students were harmed in the making of advisement center appointments. That was by far my favorite college job.
- Heather S.

I never took a single class in the HFAC but this building is special to me because that's where my husband proposed to me. We were high school sweethearts, apart from each other for 2.5 years while we both served missions. Shortly after he returned home from his mission, he came to visit me at BYU. I thought we were meeting up with some friends to go to lunch but as I entered the large atrium of the HFAC, a huge banner dropped from a few floors up that read "Sed mia para siempre!" As I ran up the steps, he ran down. We met on the landing in between. He dropped to his knees and asked to marry me. I always hoped we would be able to take our kids there and share our story. Thank you HFAC for the beautiful memory!
- Maurielle W.

Want to know one of the most interesting and enjoyable dates? Purposely getting lost in HFAC! I also remember practicing singing, helping the blind who had singing lessons, participating in Oratorio Choir, and taking voice lessons in the HFAC. The director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir came to direct the Oratorio Choir and was so effective in touching our hearts as he led by the Spirit that nearly everyone was in tears. I also remember starting as First Soprano in Oratorio Choir. Next semester, they needed second sopranos, so I moved sections. Each semester I went down a voice step until 5th semester I sang first tenor. What an experience!
- Rebecca W.

I proposed to my wife on the north east patio overlooking the quad. We celebrated our 48th anniversary this year.
- Michael B.

I was a custodian in the HFAC in 1999. One of the benefits of working there was free or discounted tickets to shows and events. I was always amazed at how deep and winding all the lower levels of the building were. It was fun to just explore and get lost in there. I always looked forward to the art shows in the evening that included fancy hors d'oeuvres. I would get done with my evening shift just in time to get some great food and enjoy the art.
- Alex D.

As a freshman and recently returned missionary, my first two dates with Debbie B. were to the de Jong Concert Hall for an A Cappella concert, and to a small basement theater-in-the-round for a play called "Mission Call," after which we lingered and had a very touching heart-to-heart talk that we both remember as a moment of deep spiritual connection.
- Gary B.

I practiced five days a week for five years downstairs in the HFAC. I loved every descend down those stairs to the harp practice room. During those years there were two harps and one practice room. That is where I learned from Louise Pratt and practiced until my fingertips were covered with calluses.
- Kerry Lynn H.

I will forever treasure the hours spent in Brother James Christensen’s Foundations Studio! The Elizabethan models, fine point markers and newsprint pads are indelibly etched in my memory! It’s a rare opportunity to be mentored by such artistic genius! Thank you for being part of my BYU experience.
- Allison T.

My BYU student ward met in the Madsen Recital Hall for sacrament meeting. I'll never forget hearing the sound of that magnificent pipe organ!
- Trudy F.

I was devastated to learn about the HFAC's retirement. I spent five years as an undergraduate at BYU. Going to college was one of the most difficult emotional challenges of my young life. Living with roommates and being away from the home and family that I loved and missed deeply was always very challenging for me. But from the start of my first semester in the fall of 2008, to my last days on campus in the spring of 2015, going to shows and performances in the Harris Fine Arts Center was probably the most significant cause of joy in my personal life throughout my entire stay at BYU. Words simply cannot express how precious and peaceful my memories are of that special building. The plays, the concerts, the shows, the special guest performers, the student recitals, the choirs, the bands, the ever-changing array of art exhibits, all of these things were always presented in a warm, welcoming, and calming environment at the HFAC no matter the year, no matter the season, no matter the ups and downs in my own personal, social or academic life. I cannot possibly count how many of my long, hard days at BYU would end with the blessing of attending an event at the HFAC. The Christmas choir concerts remain some of my favorite memories. I remember a performance of the Little Women musical that left me moved to tears by the Spirit. Synthesis and Jazz Showcase performances helped me discover a love for a genre of music I didn't even know I had. The Vocal Point performances of 2008 and 2009 were some of my happiest freshman memories. I even remember going to one or two Octubafests in my time at BYU. All of the performances, all of the groups, all of the exhibits--and yes indeed, all of the choir concerts that I myself got to perform in at the Madsen and de Jong concert halls--all of these memories will remain throughout my life as some of the best I have of my time at Brigham Young University. The HFAC was definitely like an old, reliable friend to me, to say the least. I will miss this wonderful building.
- Christopher P.

I loved the HFAC! It had so many cool little rooms hidden here and there--the pipe organ practice rooms, the Margetts Theater, the galleries, the ceramics studio and the Pardoe and de Jong Halls. There was always something new to discover. I heard that the original design of the HFAC was quite a bit larger than it was built. The Board of Regents said it was too big and expensive so the architecture firm scaled it down by a fifth or something substantial. I was told that this is why the lower floors were a maze and why there were dead-end hallways and doors that opened to a brick wall. When I came to BYU and took photography classes finding the darkroom in the lowest level took so long, and it was weeks before I was comfortable finding my way there, but I still never was comfortable with other areas in the lower levels. I still remember wandering around and finding a dead-end where a couple of drama majors were rehearsing. Their acting always sounded so angry! The jokes about people getting lost in the lower levels seemed not so funny anymore.
- Daina P.

The HFAC has been part of our family's life for 45 years! It was my stake center during my entire bachelor's studies at BYU, so I was there every Sunday and eventually had Sacrament meeting or stake conference in every major theater there. As a senior, I would bring my sack lunch to eat on one of the HFAC atrium benches on the 4th floor after my morning classes and before going to my afternoon job at the MTC each weekday. There were art exhibits to see and there was always music somewhere--the organ in the Madsen recital hall, the classical guitar of a grad student practicing on the 5th floor or a vocal performance student practicing for the next voice lesson. When my husband and I started dating, he would try to "run into" me while I ate my lunch on the bench. He proposed on graduation day and I received my diploma on the stage of the de Jong Concert Hall. Employment took us all over the country, but we found ourselves in Utah for a time and loved taking our family to HFAC performances, including theatrical, choral and guest artist performances, Celebration of Christmas and Synthesis concerts. Our kids all ended up attending BYU at some point, one being a choral music education major, and our traditions continued as we came to see their choir concerts, from Men's and Women's Chorus to BYU Singers. For me, the annual Celebration of Christmas concert is still the highlight event of the season. The closing of the HFAC is like closing a big chapter in our family's history. Thanks for the memories, HFAC!
- Becky P.

My wife and I met in a singles ward that met in the basement of the HFAC for church. After 2 dates I told her that I just wanted to be friends. Obviously that didn’t go over well. Several months later, I had made my mind up that I wanted to be more than friends and it was in between Relief Society and Sunday school when I (practically) groveled in the basement of the HFAC, just outside the theater to try and convince her to let me back in her life. I think it might have been the magic of the HFAC that helped persuade her to take me back. Either way, the HFAC will always be an integral part of my ‘how I met my wife’ story.
- Spencer C.

Many fond memories were created at the Harris Fine Arts Center. I took my children there numerous times to see the student work. Sometimes they visited their Aunt Nancy who was working in a studio there. I always marveled at how the hard work going on in the studios became beautiful art. I gained a new appreciation for the term 'work of art' by seeing many transformations there.
- Myra M.

As an assistant stage manager in the Pardoe, I found myself watching the play and absent mindedly taping a panel on the wall. I felt a small jolt of static electricity and immediately the entire stage went dark. We all scrambled to figure out what happened, checking the circuit breaker, the power connections and the computer that controlled the lights. After an eternity of fumbling in the darkness we discovered the static caused the computer to advanced the lights to the next scene which just happened to be a blackout. A simple click of the mouse and the lights were back on after 3 minutes of actors improvising on stage.
- Mark F.

The HFAC was my home away from home. I was fortunate to perform in not only the de Jong and the recital hall but also in a couple of the smaller theaters as an extra musician for musicals. I have so many special memories being in Music History with Dr. Doug Bush and performing under the batons of Dr. Clyn Barrus, Dr. David Dalton, Bryce Rytting and Dr. David Blackinton.
- Philip K.

I worked custodial at the HFAC every Saturday and Sunday from 4am to 2pm for three years, from 2005 to 2008. I enjoyed taking care of the building, getting wards set up for church, preparing for special events, checking out people’s art on display around the building, not to mention it was great getting my 20 hours in just two days. In the winters we would clear snow starting at the main entrance and work our way around and by the time we got all the way around it was time to do it again. I worked with some great people and was always grateful to work at the HFAC!
- James M.

I purposed to my wife in the HFAC in 2017 using a 100 person flash mob and the help of BYU's cast of "Mary Poppins".
- Andrew J.

My husband and I met in the HFAC and now we’ve been together for almost 10 years. I remember going back to that building when we were expecting our first child. Now we’ve got two children and I hope we’re able to bring them back before it’s gone!
- Melanie B.

From the Fall of 1985 until the Spring of 1992 (with a mission in between to Puerto Rico), I practically lived at the HFAC. I sang in an audition choir every year while attending BYU, first Women’s Chorus and then Concert Choir. When I wasn’t rehearsing in the Madsen Recital Hall or performing in the de Jong Concert Hall, I was taking private voice lessons from Rebecca Wilberg downstairs in the practice rooms. One of my other great memories of the HFAC was working at KBYU-FM as a student radio announcer and then as a full time announcer. My husband of 30 years even picked me up for our first date after a shift at the station!
- Heather P.

I have great memories of singing in Women's Chorus, attending the BYU Church Music workshops (that rivaled Education Week classes) and taking other classes in that building. I love HFAC.
- Nola M.

I was eating lunch one day in the Cougareat. I had set my stuff down and was sorting through my lunch. All of a sudden I hear a very deep, resonant voice say, “Do you mind if I join you?” I looked up to the somewhat hairless visage of then University president Dalin H Oaks. I invited him to join me, he did, and we proceeded to have a conversation. He was interested in what I felt were the challenges of being a student at BYU. I explained that the registration system was so archaic that it made it almost impossible to get any good classes. He assured me that the technology was about to change and that I would be much more satisfied with the new registration system. Turns out he was correct. I thought it was fairly amazing that the president of the university would sit down with a student and ask for his feedback . It was a great lesson and leadership and one that that little freshman would never forget.
- Kevin R.

One early December day in 1980, I trekked across a cold, snowy campus while working to finish my semester. A bit stressed by my class load and the miserable weather, I entered the HFAC to a scene that completely calmed my troubles away. The music of the Christmas season could be heard. On all floors around the atrium, trumpets were sounding in rounds, "Carol of the Bells"! Never had Christmas sounded so sweet and my concerns were swept away into a marvellous wonderland of music. To this day, I can hear those magnificent trumpets echoing the joy of Christmas so many years ago, in a setting that could only be provided by the Harris Fine Arts Center.
- Clay A.

I attended numerous Fine Arts events at the HFAC and performed there once in an orchestra concert. I also spent time practicing the organ one semester while I was taking lessons; I also took voice lessons and violin lessons. Music education was my original declared major so I spent a lot of time in that building! Great facility - I look forward to seeing what it's replaced with!
- Rachael A.

I worked in the College of Fine Arts and Communications advisement center for three years. Every day when I went into work, we would find students laying on the benches that lined the walkways on each floor sound asleep. This was before cell phones were widely used, so many times students would simply place a note on the bench that said "Class at 2. Wake me by 1:45 please!" Whenever I could, I would try to wake up these students if the timing was right and never once thought that this was strange that students put perfect trust in those walking by to help them make it to class on time! I also remember one day when I looked up to see Elder Oaks towering over my desk. He had mistakenly come into our office when he was trying to find the Dean's Office. The room had been remodeled to fit our needs and had previously been a storage closet. There was still a large pipe hanging down from the ceiling in our reception area and he hit his head on it when he came in to ask for directions. I was too stunned to be face to face with an apostle that I didn't even think to offer him one of the ice packs that we kept on hand since this was a frequent occurrence in that building!
- Allison H.

Many years of delightful memories fill my mind when I think of the Harris Fine Arts Center. The combination of music, theatre and arts together was perfect and the thought of that no longer existing at BYU brings a real sense of loss and sadness. We used to attend a beautiful concert and then stroll through the art gallery as a perfect ending for the evening. My husband of 43 years and I attended a Gold and Green Ball there when we were courting and it was magical! When I was at BYU as an undergraduate I remember sitting on the second row in the Pardoe Theatre entranced with Doug Stewart’s, “A Day a Night and a Day.” Years later we attended many concerts in the de Jong Concert Hall by different choral and symphonic groups. The Men’s Chorus became a favorite as our sixth child sang tenor and provided percussion in the chorus. Even after he passed away (and the Men’s Chorus came and sang at his funeral), we found ourselves drawn to their concerts. The loss of the Harris Fine Arts Center really feels like losing a dear, dear friend.
- Jana F. B.

I loved the HFAC. I had many classes there, from History to Zoology, and many devotionals. I went to many concerts including the Cougar Band. I am sorry to see it go. I started in 1967 and had one or two classes there every year. Goodbye old friend. I love BYU.
- Jim O.

I had been a talented but somewhat lazy piano student throughout my school years. When I came to BYU, I knew that my mom wouldn't be around to nag me about practicing, and I wouldn't even have to keep studying music if I didn't want to. I chose not to major in music, but soon realized it was a very important part of who I was. I was able to convince Paul Pollei to take me as a student, and found that the only way I could meet his expectations was to practice 2 hours a day. So I signed up for a practice room in the HFAC from 7-9:00 am. Those were some cold winter walks from Helaman Halls for this California girl! I discovered my inner desire to really excel at piano and two years later studied organ so I could be of more service in the Church, having my own little pipe organ to study on. I would often invite boys I liked to meet me there in that semi-private environment, which allowed me to see if they were interested in what I was doing. Later in life, I came to truly appreciate what a privilege it was to have this time and place to focus uninterrupted on something I loved doing.
- Barbara C.

I joined the University Orchestra in Fall 2014. At the time, the Instagram account "@BYUsleeps" was very popular and always good for a laugh. I played trombone, so I sat in the back and had a great view of all the students. One time, a poor violinist was struggling to stay awake. Eventually, he fell asleep, right in the middle of rehearsal! The orchestra was literally making music all around him and yet he slept on. The most amazing part? Somehow he was still gripping his violin, and the chin rest propped his head up slightly. He maintained that hunched nap for several minutes, long enough for many of us to chuckle quietly in between playing "Jupiter" from "The Planets." .
- Cody J.

My father, Darrel Stubbs, was BYU music faculty 1962-1992 and moved into the “new” HFAC when I was in high school. As a teen visiting his father’s office, I was impressed with the five-stories surrounding the open inner rectangle with ever evolving art exhibits. Through later decades, attending his (oboe) recitals, several theater performances and other events endeared me more deeply to the wonderful building with artsy feel (it seemed to me). I was sad to hear of the plans to replace it, as sad as when my alma mater Provo High was replaced, and my junior high torn down—all undeniable testaments of aging. The upside is that some people, and BYU itself, last longer than buildings, regardless of some edifice recycling.
- Brian S.

I experienced the ultimate sign of a musical performance moving an audience: the audience sitting in stunned silence after the performance ended, not applauding because the dramatic ending was so moving. This happened when I watched "Abraham and Isaac," a light opera, in the HFAC's theater-in-the-round. The intimate nature of that theater combined with the incredible music, singing and moving story reached their dramatic ending with Abraham holding above his head a knife he was about to bring down into his beloved promised son's body. Right then, the angel stopped him and the lights went out, which also ended the performance. The audience sat in reverent awe at the moving nature of this drama depicting what our Father in Heaven must have experienced — only He chose to let the sacrifice proceed for our good. Applauding would have ruined the moment. Spontaneously, we all sat there silently for at least 5 or 10 minutes before anyone moved and quietly left that sacred spot. I will always remember that moment in the theater-in-the-round.
- Rick B.

The HFAC is such a gorgeous building, inside and out. The views from the balconies outside and inside were breathtaking. I spent many days finding new places to hide, study, think and even sleep. So many emotions were felt there throughout my degree. I remember my first jury as a freshman in the music department. It was possibly the most nervous I had ever been up until that point in my life. The nerves were partially because it was my first jury and also because I had probably spent too much time enjoying my freshman year and not enough time practicing my repertoire. Also, any music major will understand that the stress of finals week for us is not necessarily about the final exams — it's about the juries. I remember finishing my first jury and running up the stairs on the west side of the building from the practice rooms to the patio overlooking Brigham Square. With such relief from my juries being over and the season of Christmas finally able to be enjoyed, I spread my arms and shouted, "I DID IT!" Only then did my older, more experienced friend from the studio say to me, "Shhhhh! It's reading day!" Attached is a photo of me during the first snow during my time at BYU on that same patio landing at the HFAC.
- Alexandra B. H.

I remember watching the first man to ever set foot on the moon on the large screen in one of the theaters in the HFAC in July of 1969. It was an amazing experience to watch Neil Armstrong step onto the surface of the moon and speak those famous words. I will never forget it!
- Janeth R. D.

My husband and I got engaged on the de Jong stage during a dress rehearsal for The Count of Monte Cristo. I had been asked to give my opinion on a few things about the show and was completely surprised when it turned into a proposal! The backdrop was a giant moon, a spotlight turned on and a piano was wheeled out. My boyfriend invited me on stage, sang and played a song he wrote for me, and asked me to marry him. The whole cast was watching in the green room during their lunch break and I heard their screams when I said yes. Such a special moment. We have now been married for over 7 years!
- Kyla T. B.

Before I ever attended BYU, I loved going to the de Jong Concert Hall during Education Week to hear and learn from Michael Ballam and others. I enjoyed attending my choir and diction classes in the HFAC, always loved the “free” art gallery (loved the Massasoit statue!) and performed in the de Jong. But my favorite memory is easy! Charles, a newly returned missionary from Japan, and I went on our first “alone“ date in one of the piano practicing rooms. I brought along my flute, we played together and it felt like something we should do forever! A year and a half later, we would play a piano duet at our wedding reception for our guests. We still perform together often. Thank you HFAC for such wonderful memories!
- Kathy E.

As a Communications major, it took a bit of an adjustment period to get used to walking into an HFAC restroom and finding a drama major rehearsing a scene in the mirror or turning a corner in a hallway and almost colliding with an art major and their ginormous portfolio. I'm sure they had to be patient with us too.
- Wendy O.

I spent more time in the HFAC than my apartment; countless hours learning theory and composition and orchestration. I sang bass in Concert Choir with Max Wlberg, and then Singers with Ronald Staheli. And with more thanks than I can express to Jon Holloman and Jim Anglesey, I also had the amazing experience of working as a sound engineer (T.A.) for four years in Studio Y. So many amazing friendships formed and memories. The building may be leaving but my memories are forever!
- Alexander J.

I used to find my way to the office pianos on one of the lower levels of the HFAC to take my mind off of my studies when I got stressed out. I remember playing for three hours a few times before making myself go home.
- Neil J.

This year, the HFAC at BYU — where I spent countless hours working, studying and learning for my bachelors degree — is being torn down. A lot of people hate the building with its winding stairs, twisting hallways and unconventional layout. I loved it. On one floor I could hear beautiful music and on another I watched illustrators with their heads down, sketching wildly. I saw beautiful landscape photographs, inspiring art installations and in the basement I overheard students rehearsing plays and musicals. The HFAC was a melting pot of student talent that stood alone on campus. The architecture of the building itself reflected the creativity of the students and faculty it housed. The HFAC was part of my degree history and story. I imagine the building is being replaced because the talented students' needs have outgrown the building capability. While the building will disappear, my memory of it won’t. I loved that building and it will always be on my mind when I think about my story at BYU.
- Ryan H.

My wife and I first met on the stairs by the slab. She was an MDT major and I was an Illustration major. The HFAC was a home in many ways. She was walking down the stairs, I was walking up. I said, "You're that girl from the show I just saw on Friday." She was one of the leads in a friend's student show in the Black Box. I'll never forget … she flipped her hair, flashed her beautiful smile, and said in a true diva sort of way, "Yes, and I'm in another one this weekend too, you should come see it." Love that girl … the rest is history. We'll miss you HFAC!
- Justin R.

I remember playing sardines in the building as a freshman for an FHE activity. The labyrinth of hallways made for a great time. I’ve loved seeing musical and dance performances as well as the beautiful art work. The building has always been creatively inspiring to me. It will be missed.
- Charlotte W.

I always loved the HFAC! When I started at BYU in 1966, I took a great art class there, had Church in the Madsen every Sunday, learned a little guitar from my friend in one of the music rooms in the basement and always loved the art displayed on the walls. Since then, I have seen too many concerts and plays in the HFAC to count, have taken countless Education Week classes there and even my grandchildren have performed on its stages. I will be so sad to see it go. It still looks beautiful to me!
- Karen Lynn B.

Back in 1994, my husband Dow W. was a stage manager for the de Jong Concert Hall while he was attending school. We were dating at this time, and I often would meet him at the end of the day when all the performances were over. One night as he was closing the hall up, we walked across the stage in front of the curtains in the dark. Right on cue when we got the middle of the stage the curtains opened a few feet, a spotlight came on and fog started flowing out from behind the curtain. Dow guided me through the fog behind the curtain. The beautiful Nutcracker winter scene set was still on the stage, the fake snow started coming down and our song started to play over the speakers. Dow had set up a small table that the light was shining on with 2 Arby’s Wine Goblets and some Martinelli’s. He got down on his knee and asked me to marry him. Obviously, this was the best day of our lives in the HFAC!
- Lucinda W.

Music and Soulmate: Fresh back from my mission, the HFAC was new to me in 1965. By accident I went to the wrong audition room and was persuaded by Kurt Weinzinger to join Opera Workshop which was performing that year in "Carmen." Outside in the tiny hall between Brandt Curtis' office and the Opera Workshop rehearsal area, I met Susan McBride, a voice major. We hit it off and five months later were engaged. We've been singing together for 57 years! The HFAC wasn't my "major" home, although I did consider minoring in Drama. But if "home is where the heart is" then this definitely is our home.
- Read G.

My boyfriend and I loved to go swing dancing at BYU. I remember going to a dance party in the HFAC. We were swing dancing on the balcony of the second floor. We did a lift known as the waterfall, and I think I remember some of the administration telling us to stop with the lifts because they were a little dangerous up there. We had a great time and all the swing dancing eventually turned into a proposal. We’ve now been married 21 years.
- Kammi P.

So many memories come to mind when thinking of the HFAC. I think of concerts, rehearsals, classes, tuning the organs, restoring pianos in the basement workshop and finally figuring out how to go through the building without getting lost. My most important memory, though, happened on an otherwise unremarkable September day when I was a receptionist at the School of Music's main office. I had started working there a few days before, and on this day one of the girls who worked there, Ginny G., said that we needed some music and turned on the radio, which was tuned to KBYU-FM. After a few minutes a piece of Star Wars music called "Duel of the Fates" came on. Ginny turned up the music and pretended to conduct it, while talking about what a great composer John Williams was. As a long-time Williams and Star Wars fan myself, I looked at her and thought, "Wow. A girl who likes Star Wars. She's worth getting to know!" A few days later I asked her out. We went to a concert at the de Jong Concert Hall, followed by ice cream at the Creamery on 9th. We were married the following June. A close second in importance is the memory I have of my final performance in the HFAC, when the BYU Men's Chorus sang at the annual "Celebration of Christmas" concert. I was about to graduate and was feeling very uncertain about my future away from school. While standing on the stage, singing of our Savior's birth, I looked to where Ginny was sitting in the audience. When I saw her I felt a sudden burst of inspiration as the Spirit reminded me that these things — my wife, our Savior and His priesthood that bound us together — were the most important things. No matter what might come, these were the things that mattered most.
- Eric B.

I remember many hours spent in the basement practice rooms, playing piano and singing! I remember sitting in daily choir practices on the Madsen and performing in the de Jong. I remember walking past the students' beautiful art exhibits displayed along the walls of the hallways. There was always an energy and a liveliness in the HFAC! It felt like home and I will be sad to see it go.
- Heather Y.

Literally my favorite story to tell about good clean fun at BYU happened in the HFAC. One summer term our ward of about 100 students planned a game of sardines in, you guessed it, the HFAC, with all the practice rooms, backstage and orchestra areas. We probably didn’t make any friends with security but we had so much fun, no mood altering substances needed. Something like this could only at BYU and only at the HFAC.
- Mike B.

My husband and I worked early morning custodial together at the HFAC before we were married. Early morning hours in those dark art classrooms, surrounded by many pieces of art with faces, can be a little bit scary. My husband knew of one classroom that scared me more than most. I had to walk through the dark room into an attached hallway to reach the light switch. As those painting stared at me one morning and I ran to the hallway to the light switch, my husband jumped out and scared me. That was the day he learned that fight and flight is real and I lean towards fight. I ended up knocking him on his butt. We still ended up getting married and he hasn't tried to scare me since.
- ToVah O.

The Power of the Wasatch! Marching band concerts in the de Jong Concert Hall filled my soul. The power, the noise, the crowd, the Fight Song! Go Cougars!
- ToVah O.

Trying out for Men's Chorus, Syncopation, swing dances, getting two tickets to numerous shows at the beginning of the Fall season (one for me and one for a date), art exhibits, singing in the de Jong Concert Hall with the Men's Chorus, Stake Conferences, performing with the Folk Dance Ensemble in World of Dance, imagining my mom and dad walking through those same halls when they were students too — HFAC, I'll miss you.
- Jonathan R.

When I lived in Deseret Towers during my sophomore year, a group of friends and I had a picnic in a set elevator in the HFAC (a guy in the group was a drama major, and was aware of this particular elevator and came up with the idea). We put a blanket on the floor and sat there eating while the elevator went up and down. Some people rode the elevator with us, but fortunately there were no sets that needed the space that night!
- Jennifer U.

On March 19, 1986, I met a really cool girl on a blind date. The date went well. On the 23rd we went out again. Because I explored (without permission) every inch of the HFAC, I took her down to show her the green room of the de Jong Concert Hall. As a test of her coolness, I sat down and played a very arcane and unknown piece of music at the time. She immediately said, “Hey! That’s 'Pity the Child' from the musical 'Chess.'” I was blown away that she knew that! We got married. 34 years and six kids later, my daughter held her MFA recital at the HFAC and let me attend a class she taught in that green room. Yeah, I cried.
- Matt W.

One of my first memories is with my dad in the basement of the Harris Fine Arts Center, back in the day when KBYU was in its infancy. Dad would take me to work with him to the radio station. We'd tour the exhibits and then we'd go down to the basement and buy a Creamsicle from a vending machine. I was enchanted by the magical machine sitting by itself down a long, curved cement hallway in the bowels of the building! I'll always cherish those memories.
- Cindy W.

My bluegrass band, Smokin Wood, which accompanied the BYU Folkdancers in 1976, occasionally went into the HFCA that year and in the middle of the main floor struck up spontaneous little concerts for any passersbyers to enjoy. A good time was had by all, and no one was concerned nor asked us to leave.
- Dave H.

My husband and I attended many recitals and concerts in the HFAC, since he was a music major (BM Composition, MM Composition degrees). It was a place of learning and joy for us. It was where I told my husband after he got done teaching a class that he was going to be a father for the first time. The HFAC is such an integral part of our journey as a family and I am grateful every day for that.
- Heidi W.

My husband and I shared our first kiss in this building.
- Stacey S.

When I began at BYU I started as a pre-photography major. The HFAC was where I spent a lot of my free time during my freshman year and it reminds me of my passion for photography. It reminds me of the good memories I created my freshman year and of starting a whole new chapter of my life by being able to study something I really love. I feel at home when I'm in the HFAC, as weird and difficult to navigate as it is. I remember going to all of the musical performances and printing out my photos in the print lab and staying in there to study late at night. It breaks my heart to know the HFAC won't always be there, but I'm grateful I have the memories that I do in it.
- Kimberly T.

The date was June 19, 1973. I had parked my truck in the center parking lot of the HFAC during the day and my date and I had decided to go for a drive in her parents' car. When we returned late at night to the HFAC parking lot we stopped the car and out of nowhere I said, "You know you are supposed to be my wife, don't you?" Without hesitation she said "Yes!" We went on our first date on May 29. A whirlwind romance that came to a wonderful fruition in the HFAC parking lot. Some 49 years later, 6 children and 17 grandchildren, we are still a happy loving couple. Thanks HFAC for providing the backdrop for my marriage proposal...or was it a marriage statement?
- Stephen B.

I spent my life in the HFAC. I remember so many art classes and art shows, plays and choir performances. One of my favorite memories, though, was an exhausting day of print making. I had run the litho prints for hours, pulling the wheels and running the ink until I was exhausted. I left the printing room to try to find a place to sit down, but there wasn't a single chair or bench anywhere and I finally sat at the top of the stairs. It was a Saturday, so the halls were fairly empty, but occasionally a person or two would walk up the stairs, and then just stare at me. It was so weird! I kept thinking why are all these people staring at me? Eventually, after my legs recovered, I went into the bathroom and saw that I had a double fingered streak of black ink that ran from my forehead to my chin. I had wiped my sweating face with inky fingers. I burst out laughing. I'm sure the students coming up the stairs thought I was some art installation and had done it to attract attention.
- Madelynne B.

I used to sit on the off-limits ledge facing the quad at night to people watch; no one ever seemed to notice.
- Steve S.

As a member of the 6 AM cleaning crew, I had a master key to access almost every room in the HFAC. We’d pull shenanigans like scaring our teammates by jumping out of dark corners. A time or two I could be found pretending I was an opera singer, belting out an off tune ballad to the whole de Jong Concert Hall with no one in the audience. The basement was magical: the makeup room filled with masks in the making; the costume closet overflowing with darling dresses; the sewing room where kind seamstresses pinned and created wearable masterpieces; the piano creatives, who tune and refurbish all the pianos; the green rooms where casts prep, practice and play (where you can also watch your fellow custodians to see if they are still doing their work). I loved the changing art exhibits and the endless cleaning of glass, due to that glass encased staircase and balconies. The HFAC holds so many wonderful memories for many people. I’m glad I got to serve that building. All things are created spiritually before they are created physically and the HFAC had a gorgeous, generous soul.
- Olivia D.

I loved that I could walk into the main lobby on any day and find beautiful, thought provoking art projects on display that were created by fellow students. The interior of the building is stunning.
- Adam D.

I spent 5 years living in the HFAC. Practicing, eating, sleeping and performing. I learned all the best nap spots (from both friends and professors) and had so many wonderful performances alongside all of the lifelong friends and mentors I gained in my time there. The HFAC was such a special place for me, providing the space to have these experiences and memories I will always remember.
- Michelle F.

I am certainly not an artist, so the HFAC was by no means my home during my time at BYU. But I am a huge art lover, so it’s safe to say the HFAC was my escape. Theater productions, concerts at noon, student art exhibits. All of it. I went to see as many as I could. Some of my favorite times at BYU were in the audience in the HFAC, watching my peers do what they love to do. There was nothing quite like the spirit of creation in that building. The HFAC, as a home for all things wonderful and creative, will be missed.
- Rachel C.

In January of 1983, my roommate, Peggie, was an usher at the HFAC. She said to me one evening, "Hey, why don't you come over to the HFAC tonight and I'll get you into the concert." So I did. During intermission, she told me there was a guy she wanted me to meet who was at the concert and that she would introduce us. Strategically, while the guy's date went to go freshen up, Peggie introduced us. Fast forward... we have been married for 36 years now. Thanks Peggie & HFAC!
- Connie C.

I was a business major and needed a locker so I got one in the HFAC. The HFAC was a breath of fresh air for me. All day long I would be in the world of business management: number crunching and strategic gobbilygook. Then I would make my way to HFAC where the atmosphere was pleasant and oftentimes filled with music. Being in the building helped me calm down and feel...peaceful. I also recall taking my kids there for concerts. One concert in particular (please know, this was over 30 years ago) is memorable because it was a jazz quartet. It was there sitting up front where I gained an appreciation for the Bass (not the guitar) that remains with me today.
- Bruce F.

I lived for three years at Broadbent Hall just across the street from the HFAC, so I walked by this great building every day. My favorite memories of the HFAC are the many events I had the opportunity to go to with friends. The plays, concerts, devotionals, stake conferences and dances are among my favorite memories. My best friend performed in the Prado, I sang with our ward choir performance in the de Jong, and some of the best people I know went with me to the Big Band Dance. Since that time, I have enjoyed more events at this building with new friends. I am sad to see it go, but excited to make new memories in the future. The arts at BYU will always be wonderful.
- RJ H.

The HFAC was my second home while attending BYU’s BFA illustration program. The building was full of life and creativity. Just walking into the building, you could hear students practicing their instruments, singing, dancing, carrying paintings, and students sitting and sketching. It brought me so much joy in those moments and filled my soul. I have also made lifelong friends in this building in the arts community and have seen us all grow in our skills and talents that help make the world a better and more beautiful place. I will always remember spending countless hours drawing and painting in the studio, collaborating with professors and my cohort. I learned how to give and take feedback, how to cheer on others in their success, and create a safe space for all to be themselves and to be loved for who they are. I will always cherish my time at the HFAC.
- Katie B.

The HFAC is an important place in our family. As a sophomore student, I took a 4 a.m. custodial job at the HFAC, hoping that it would be short term until I could find something else because I am not a morning person. However, a month later a co-worker asked me out (to a performance at the HFAC) and a month later he and I were engaged. The first time we mentioned marriage we were talking during our shift at the bottom of the south stairs in the building. Everytime we have been in that building since we have pointed out to our kids, "That was the place!" As a custodial staff we would take breaks in the practice rooms playing pianos and on stage with the Steinway piano. We also played on the opera sets that were sometimes on stage. Our most tender memories are following the losses of our first baby girl, who was born early, as well as our second girl born the following year. The full time "adult" custodial staff became second parents to us as they supported us in our grief. When I was on bedrest for a time, unknown to us until we received our paycheck, they filled in for me at work and continued to punch my timecard knowing that we needed the income as poor students. One of the staff sewed a burial dress for our baby and when we graduated she gifted us a beautiful blessing dress telling us she knew we would have our family someday. We did go on to have eight children. My 4 a.m. custodial job that I hoped would be short term lasted for two years until our graduation. We love the HFAC and have joked we when the time comes to tear it down, we should sneak in and take that piece of floor where it all began for our family.
- Theresa E.

I was a new Catholic freshmen in 1977 when I stepped into the great hall for the first time and saw a display of the Book of Mormon paintings. They were beautiful and intrigued me. My roommate invited me to attend sacrament meeting in the building. We met in a concert hall. I bore my testimony for the first time there and attended my first Relief Society meeting. Decades later, whenever I step into the HFAC, I’m transported back to those days of new beginnings that fill me with peace.
- Kathleen J.

One of my past roles at BYU gave me the opportunity to visit the HFAC often. In my visits I occasionally gained new insights into the building. Here are just a few: 1. The HFAC is one of the few buildings where to go up, sometimes you have to go down. 2. It is one of the structures on campus big and strange enough that you can literally get lost. I remember early in my visits wandering around one of the lower levels one evening wondering where I was and how to find an exit. Luckily, I followed some students who had not lost their sense of direction to a stairwell and escaped. 3. I have been told that in the deep bowels of the HFAC, there is a canal that runs through/under the building. Phantom of the HFAC, anyone?
- Marden C.

My first memories of the HFAC go back to the early 1970's when I was a kid taking an art class with my best friend. Somehow we got hold of some clay on the day we did pottery and went to the top floor staircase of the building and dropped balls of clay all the way to the basement. Then we raced down the stairs to see how flat they would get after landing. Later I would go to piano lessons in the HFAC, starting at age 9 through high school, and afterwards attending BYU for my degree in piano performance. Most of my formative piano performance experiences were in the Madsen or de Jong for about 15 years of my life before I continued my studies at Yale and Michigan. I am now 27 years into my career as a piano professor, currently at BYU-Idaho. The HFAC is where my musical life began and flourished and I will miss it.
- Stephen T.

My first memory of the HFAC was in the Fall of 1970. I was a freshman living in Heritage Halls, and our Ward met there. It was my meeting place for two years. My first Bishop was Robert J. Matthews, and Brother Leishman, the freshman basketball coach, was a counselor. It was a great ward!
- Debra P.

I landed my first BYU job on the top floor of this building as a freshman in 1982. I typed documents on mag-cards that were inserted into readers a number of years before real computers were placed in all the offices. Also, my husband's grandfather is B.F. Larsen, for whom the art gallery on the main floor is named.
- Ann L.

The HFAC was were I was first introduced to Balinese music. I was a part of one of the first Kecak groups were my teacher voice was exercised as the ping in our concert. I then had a wonderful time playing several instruments in the Gamelan. I was disappointed when my degree classes overlapped with practice and I had to stop.
- Jamie S.

Oh the HFAC — like a second home for me! I feel like I should share memories of running the KBYU news in the tunnel, trying to pull that large heavy door open and closed, KBYU telethons, chit chatting with Master Control upstairs, and standing on a ladder to adjust 3-point lighting in the studio. Hey, I also had church in the HFAC! Just couldn't get away from it. But some of my favorite moments were chilling on those cushioned benches that lined the railings of the different floors... eating my lunch while reading Police Beat in the Daily Universe, catching up on homework and sleeping. Definitely a good spot for sleeping with that chill ambient lighting. I also loved the various art exhibits on the main floor, and walking up those short BYU steps on the staircases at each end. Great architecture! HFAC, you will be missed. But I'm excited to see the future.
- Dana W.

I have many fond memories of the HFAC, from taking classes there to going on dates. I met my lovely wife at the HFAC. Our ward met in that building. After church the first Sunday, we waited in line in the SW patio to get our picture taken for the scammer's guide. As we waited in line this cute girl wearing a tight, light green dress with white trim came walking down the line asking if anyone would like a donut. I couldn't resist. The rest is history. We also went on many dates at the HFAC, attending plays, musicals, etc. A great source for cheap date. I'll miss this building.
- Darick L.

My grandfather Floyd E. Breinholt taught painting and was Dean of the Art Department. I had many classes in the building, and worked in the bowels recording voiceovers for KBYUTV. I loved all the art hanging in the galleries, and felt a unique spirit there... that will be missed.
- Mark M.

My major was housed in this building so I took many classes in the HFAC. I spent a lot of time studying in the open foyer. My favorite thing to do would be to take a break from studying and receive inspiration from the artwork on display.
- Darick L.

I pretty well lived at the HFAC from 1978 to 1981. I anchored radio newscasts at KBYU-FM and spent the rest of most days working on TV production at KBYU-TV on shows like Newsroom and Weeknight. Sadly, I didn't pay much attention to my other classes, and took a work sabbatical in 2008 to come for a Spring Term and actually finish some GE classes to get my degree many years later! But what I learned at the HFAC in terms of teamwork and pure broadcasting skills are things I still use as a Radio News Manager in Edmonton today. I have loved my almost 44 years in broadcasting (and still going!).
- Eileen B.

I attended many plays and musical presentations there in hopes of finding my future wife! Even participated in some Mormon Arts Balls in the 1970s! Great Memories!
- unknown

The HFAC will always hold dear memories for me. I watched my daughter perform in numerous BYU dance recitals, but my favorite memory is when my mother brought all her daughters and granddaughters to the de Jong theater in the HFAC to see Utah Valley Regional Ballet put on the "Nutcracker." My daughter was only 6 and was given a nutcracker at the performance. This has became a yearly tradition for the last 20 (Emma Porter, Nursing, 2016) in seeing the "Nutcracker" all over Utah, but the very first performance at the HFAC will always be the most memorable one as I watched her eyes light up seeing the Sugar Plum Fairies dancing and the snowflake ride through the air for Clara.
- Julie P.

Winter semester 1980, I hired on as part of the early morning custodial crew in the Harris Fine Arts Center. The first couple of weeks I worked at a variety of tasks but finally came to clean the area affectionately known as the Mud Wing. It was here classes were taught on making clay artwork and in particular pottery. The wing lived up to its name and was a chore to clean each morning with all the dried pottery "mud" that seemed to get into everything. At the time, I lived in Callis Hall of the now long-gone Deseret Towers and always struggled to get enough sleep. It just wasn't an optimal place to expect to get to bed early and get enough sleep. As a result, I felt terminally tired. One morning as I worked in the Mud Wing, I was sweeping out a room and was so tired I leaned against a wall and promptly fell asleep. I wasn't out more than a minute or two when my work mate came into the room waking me. I'm not sure if she noticed me snoozing. I hoped not. But I was embarrassed. After that, it wasn't long before I realized my boarding arrangements were never going to be conducive to getting the sleep I needed while having an early morning job. So I had to quit. I've related this story to my wife, kids and other over the years and always gotten a good chuckle out of it. In the years since, I've visited the BYU campus many times and walking by the HFAC hasn't failed to remind me of my little nap. Sorry to see the this grand old building go.
- David K.

The girl I fell for in 1982 was a Piano major and would practice for hours each day in the practice rooms in the bowels of the HFAC. I would go and sit on the floor of the practice room and listen to her, just so I could be close to her. Most or our first semester dates were to musical programs in the HFAC to meet requirements of her program. The picture is from our first date (Bridal Veil falls, at the top). We married in 1984.
- Lonnie S.

This building has been one of significance for myself and also my family. I found myself creatively here, spending hours honing my craft just like my mother found hers as an instrumentalist before me, and my aunt as a ballet dancer. I have come to this building for music, theatre, and art for as long as I can remember, and I felt honored to be one of the last groups of students to showcase their senior projects in this building before its closing. The beauty of the arts will continue on, even if this building doesn’t. I will always cherish the personal and family memories I made here.
- Rebecca O.

How can I pick just one memory from the HFAC? The building where I was most inspired, worked my hardest, made dear friends, laughed until my sides split, and cried many tears. I was lucky enough to be able to direct a Mask Club play. I think about the hours that we (my cast, production team, and I) spent pouring our hearts and souls into that production. We became so close — it was one of those phenomena that happens every once in a while with a cast. I would always find our “Godspell crew” sitting together at the slab. I remember us all gathered together in prayer in the Nelke while we worked through trying to tell the story of Jesus through many set-backs. I remember the Nelke completely full—every seat taken—filled with so many friends and family and love and support to see our play. I remember when I was teaching as adjunct faculty as a young mom. My first baby, Tommy, would sit in our little shared office with a babysitter during my two hour class when he was just 3 months old. I remember hanging baby blankets from the file cabinets attempting to make the office darker so that he could take a nap on the floor in the corner.
- Carson C.

The HFAC is the place where all my little girl dreams came true. My prince charming took me here on our first date where we "determined the relationship" and decided all of our dates from then on would be focused on preparing for our marriage. The Spirit was very strong as it testified to both of our tender hearts that our happily ever after was with each other in the Lord's hands. We were married in the Manti Temple 6 months later. We have been married 6 years, with four children, and are still in the Lord's hands through the highs and lows life has brought us.
- Emily S.

I remember taking a music appreciation class from Clayne Robinson. As part of the curriculum, I had to stand in the Young Concert Hall and sing solo, out loud, to no one in the audience, a hymn. I chose "I Know That My Redeemer Lives." It was to overcome stage fright, fear, embarrassment, lack of confidence... all of those. It was listening to "Boléro" by Maurice Ravel that I gained an appreciation for all classical music.
- Paul O.

Having attended in the HFAC some rehearsals and also the pre-performance dress rehearsals of Merrill Bradshaw's "Restoration Oratorio," I anticipated experiencing a very moving and spiritual evening during the first public performance. And it indeed was. But what I remember most poignantly and reverently from that evening was the applause of appreciation when the singing ended. I was sitting about ten rows behind Elder Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. While I joined the audience in clapping my hands, I saw him simply and reverently bow his head. That seemingly was the sign of an apostle's prayer to God seeking blessings on all performances that ever occurred and all persons who ever performed in that building. It was for me a lesson in the love we have for God and Christ and the appreciation we have for those whose who share the talents God has given them.
- Stephen E.

A lot of random memories at the HFAC, especially attending various performances (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; The Beggar's Opera), taking classes (inrto to theater, art history, calligraphy with Professor Nay). I think some of my favorite memories were rehearsals with the medieval music ensemble, usually in an upper lobby of the de Jong concert hall. We never got much notoriety, but the camaraderie as we played on recorder and krummhorn was lovely.
- Simon S.

I loved playing in the HFAC in summer student orchestras during the 60's. Then in the 70's it was a place where I early-morning custodianed a semester or two, mainly in what was known as the Mud Wing, where ceramic pots were thrown in the day, followed by the early morning hours when our crew armed with shovels, mops and buckets labored to find and reveal once more the actual floor surface. When our shift was over and the building clean, it felt like a palace to me.
- Val S.

I played my cello many times in the Harris Fine Arts building for orchestra concerts, in a pit orchestra for "1776," and for several operas. I even played Strauss waltzes on the main floor when BYU had the yearly ballroom dance event.
- Katherine R.

My sophomore year I had to do my first major broadcast project so I produced and hosted a "late-night" talk show, similar to a Johnny Carson format. My two guests were some local singer, who performed, and the late Lavell Edwards agreed to come on the class production and he was so great. He was much more talkative than at any other time I interviewed him years later and just very gracious. I had some great memories there, anchoring the news on KBYU TV and KBYU radio. Now my 5th child to attend BYU, a daughter who's a sophomore, just recently performed in the de Jong Concert hall with Syncopation. The building will be missed.
- Rick H.

My dad was a professor in the art department for most of my life, so I have lots of memories of the HFAC. As children, we'd play sardines in the building. Down in the basement, there were doors that moved with the currents of the air. In the dark of night, when no one was around, we thought these doors were breathing so we'd avoid them at all costs. As really little kids, we also felt like the plants in the planter box near the southwest side of the third floor resembled a jungle. When no one was looking we'd climb into the box and go on "safaris." Later, when I was a student at BYU, I learned to appreciate the acoustics of the courtyard area. Whenever I needed to find my dad, all I'd have to do is stand at the rail on the 4th or 5th floor and listen; inevitably I'd hear his whistling and I'd be able to locate him.
- Zachary O.

One winter evening, I met a cute guy at my professor’s piano recital in the Madsen recital hall. My binder of sheet music caught his eye and we bonded over a mutual love of Debussy. Now, that cute guy is my husband and we just attended our last piano recital together in the Madsen. We are graduating this semester and saying goodbye to the HFAC, but the building that brought us together will live on in us wherever we go.
- Sophia H.

On the first Sunday of fall semester of my sophomore year (Fall 2000), I walked into the band hall in the basement of the HFAC for church in my new ward. There were no teachers for Sunday School, so the ward had a Munch and Mingle second hour instead. My husband likes to say that we met in front of the muffins. We’ve now been married for 21 years and have 3 sons. As we were in Provo this summer, dropping our twins off at the MTC to begin their missions, we returned to the HFAC to show them where we met, the practice rooms we used to play the piano and sing in together (and where I decided to marry him), and all the other places we had fond memories in that building: graduation, Mens Chorus concerts, singing together in the Madsen in our ward choir directed by Jim Kasen, dancing at the Fine Arts Ball, and many other dear memories.
- Jennifer M.

My very first time on campus as a student in Fall of 2008, I walked into the HFAC during Marching Band Camp (the facilities at the stadium had not been built yet) and I remember being so excited and getting lost on the second floor trying to find the instrument office. In 2015, my roommate was a music major and encouraged me to take the Gamelan class with her. I needed an extra class to meet a scholarship. I ended up meeting my husband in that class and have many fond memories of little dates in the HFAC.
- Nora C.

My favorite memory is meeting my husband, who was working as a custodian, in room C-580 while I was rehearsing with the Women’s Chorus. I knew as soon as he walked in that I would marry him — custodian vest and all. He proposed in the same room a year later. The HFAC set the scene for so many wonderful musical memories for both of us, but that one has my heart.
- Jessica M.

If I had a nickel for every time a mirror in the HFAC practice rooms tried to harm me, I'd have two nickels! Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. One time I was in one of the practice rooms. I put my cello down and went to go to the drinking fountain. I closed the door to the practice room, and all of a sudden heard a huge crash. Looking back through the window, I saw the mirror had fallen off the door, fallen onto my cello, and broken into hundreds of shards. My cello's back was scratched, but luckily only cosmetic damage was done. I'll always remember the HFAC when I look at the back of my cello! Another time, I was practicing with a pianist and she went out to get water. She closed the door, and the mirror fell off in front of me! Thankfully, cello was fine. Although I now think the HFAC is out to get me.
- Miriam H.

My husband proposed to me in my HFAC practice room (C226). I'm sad that we won't be able to visit it when we come back home.
- Carol L.

For five years (respectively) the HFAC was my second home as I lived my dream of combining marriage, home and family with pursuing a degree that involved singing, performing and teaching. From private voice lessons with Brandt Curtis and Robert Downs, singing in the operas, acting and singing within the college's music theater venue (including "The King and I" under Dr. Charles Metten's direction, playing Maria in a student-directed dinner theater production of "West Side Story" and singing and ballroom dancing in the 1985 production of "Cinderella"), hosting Education Week Courses in the HFAC and attending, with my good man and our posterity, more concerts and recitals than I can number, my memories of this beloved building has been everything good. My heart will hold, with gratitude, these memories in love forever more.
- Louise P.

Performing in the "Celebration of Christmas" concert as a part of Men's Chorus this December (2022) is a memory I will cherish for the rest of my life. It was incredibly powerful to perform in the de Jong Concert Hall for the last time, and reflect on all of the musicians, artists, and performers who have stood on that stage before me. It felt like the culmination of decades of talent, sharing light, and spreading messages that can only be so powerfully captured in the medium of music. Having the honor of being one of the last groups to perform in a building that has been on campus since my aunts and uncles attended BYU was thrilling for me. As we finished with "The First Noel," I was struck by the power of the line, "Then let us all with one accord sing praises to our Heavenly Lord, whose light doth shine and life hath taught, and with His blood mankind hath bought." The message of the gospel of Jesus Christ became so real to me in that moment. I felt empowered by the thousands of students before me entering the HFAC to deepen their talents, artistic light, and musical abilities, and how that endeavor at BYU is always rooted in a song of gratitude for the Savior and His sacrifice for us. This moment allowed me to truly see the HFAC as a "temple of learning" as I felt God's love for me and every other musician who has used their talents to connect with Christ. I'm grateful the HFAC afforded me the space and environment to have such a simple yet memorable experience, one which will remain with me long after the building is gone.
- Kaden N.

The HFAC was one of the few places on campus I felt comfortable to poop. I think that says a lot.
- Anonymous

Performing in the “Celebration of Christmas” concert as a member of the BYU Men’s Chorus was an incredibly powerful experience for me as my last performance in the HFAC. As I stood on stage and performed with hundreds of other talented BYU students, I thought of the thousands of students who had come before us — performed on that same stage in the de Jong concert hall — and how their pursuit of becoming better musicians and artists was rooted in the most meaningful message a musician can center his or her life on: the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As we wrapped up the performance with “The First Noel”, the words of the final verse were piercing to me: “Then let us all with one accord sing praises to our Heavenly Lord, whose light doth shine and life hath taught, and with His blood mankind hath bought.” Singing that created this moment for me where I felt unified with the musicians who have come before me, as well as the angelic choirs who celebrated the coming of Christ the night He was born in Bethlehem. I had this brief but touching realization that I was participating in a legacy of celebration and joy, and suddenly the de Jong concert hall was a sacred space for me. I have always loved the idea of buildings on campus being “temples of learning,” but had never fully experienced that concept until that performance. Having that brief but meaningful moment is a memory from the HFAC that I hope continues on with me long after the building is gone. I will forever be grateful that the HFAC afforded me the space and environment to have that flash of connection with both my Savior and all of the students before me for which He was born.
- Kaden Nelson

In 2015, I was working at BYU Conferences and Workshops full time. A friend and student who was in the Women's Chorus invited me to come listen to her group sing a rehearsal in the HFAC. The acoustics were beautiful, and I recorded that practice. I've kept it on my phone all this time.
- Teresa R.

As a new freshman, my whole FHE group bought roller skates and created our own Olympic event twice weekly on the corner patios of the HFAC. We were so elegant!
- Scott W.

My memories of the HFAC span three generations! I took organ lessons there from JJ Keeler in 1966 and a year later, in addition to piano practice, lessons, and recital, I accompanied a Ralph Woodward vocal student during his lessons and stirring performances. Decades later, we were thrilled to attend Men's Chorus concerts as they were directed by Mack Wilberg with our son singing baritone. Our second son almost lived in the HFAC while he earned a BFA. As he took down his Final Show, his marriage proposal to his girlfriend was revealed behind one of his paintings. And finally, last week, we proudly watched (via streaming) the concert in the de Jong. Two of our grandsons, standing next to each other, sang in the Men's Chorus. A fourth generation of our family isn’t represented in this account because my father spent his time in the old Women’s Gym, playing basketball. Of course, the HFAC didn’t exist in the 30’s.
- Mary R.

I rehearsed in the HFAC many hours as a member of the show band which accompanied Janie Thompson's 1967 tour "Say It With Music." In Seattle, I became gravely ill and prior to the performance passed out. Semi-conscious, I heard a voice: "Is there a doctor in the house?" After a priesthood blessing, medications, and an arm wrestle with the doctor, I returned to the band playing as well as ever.
- Guy W.

I was in the Madsen Recital Hall, where Women’s Chorus held their rehearsals, when I decided to go on a mission. I had been agonizing over the decision, but as we rehearsed “I Feel My Savior’s Love,” I received a personal witness that the next step that I was so afraid to take was the right one. Then we sang the line “I’ll share my Savior’s love, by serving others freely, in serving I am blessed, in giving I receive.” A few months later I opened my mission papers, then Covid struck. I received my call and waited a few more months until I turned 19. Through all that uncertainty and waiting, I would always come back to the music I learned in the Madsen for comfort and inspiration. Now that I am back at BYU, my ward meets in the Madsen for Sacrament meeting, and it continues to be a place of revelation and direction for me, even though I no longer sing in a BYU choir.
- Olivia O.

The HFAC holds a special spot in my life as a great spot for first dates. My first date as a BYU student in 1980 was to Beethoven's 9th. A few months later, my first date with the woman I would marry was to a performance of "The Importance of Being Earnest."
- Todd K.

I took my first few serious organ lessons from Parley Belnap in the HFAC during my senior year in the early 80's. I was not a music major and didn't darken the doors of the HFAC again until decades later when I attended BYU organ workshops, including the one just last year. I came to appreciate the many wonders and quirks of the HFAC. I will miss it, but also look forward to its replacements.
- Stan K.

I have fond memories of taking several music and art classes in pursuit of my teaching degree. I also enjoyed the art exhibits, recitals and musical theater productions. Later, I saw the King Tut exhibit and the production of “Back to Eden.” What a beautiful building, which housed so many rich experiences!
- Lydia E.

Memories... where to begin? As a child, I watched my uncles' and aunts' recitals, attended concerts on field trips, and even had a drawing on display in one of the corridors for what I assume was an elementary school outreach program. Later, I remember junior high and high school band competitions in the de Jong concert hall and afterward roaming campus for ice cream. As a freshman, I wandered through the HFAC's empty labyrinthine halls on a Sunday just to experience its liminal atmosphere [see footnote 1]. In my rebellious sophomore year, my friends and I sneaked into the display area a fake statue made of melted PVC pipes and with a creative title placard: "A Snorkeling Giraffe." I was impressed and disappointed that it was removed the next day; the HFAC staff could distinguish good art from "aspiring" art. In honor of its lifetime of service to me, I immortalized the HFAC in my brain by making it the "-ong" location in my Mandarin Blueprint Method mind palace (a mnemonic system that lets me memorize Chinese characters very quickly). May the ticket office, de Jong Concert Hall, outdated bathrooms, and maze-like bowels (basement corridors) never fade from my mind. Otherwise, I may not be able to remember the second character in the Chinese word for "success" (成功). Footnote 1: "Liminal space" is a type of pop art, which you can emotionally experience by watching the YouTube video of Toto's Africa played in an empty mall.
- Nick J.

My husband and I met on the de Jong concert hall stage, where we were singing in the world premiere of Robert Cundick's "The Redeemer." We fell in love over several semesters during Oratorio Choir rehearsals in the Madsen Recital Hall. We got engaged backstage in the Pardoe Theatre during a performance of "Hansel and Gretel." SO many hours of singing, acting, practicing, learning! It still feels like home.
- Annette S.

The HFAC was the site of my most embarrassing moment. In January of 2011, I got asked out on a date by a guy I'd had a crush on for quite a while. When the day arrived, I was feeling a little queasy, and not just from nerves. I'd probably picked up some bug over the holidays. I thought I could still make it and really didn't want to risk offending this guy or giving him the impression I was trying to get out of our date. The plan was to go out for sushi and then jam in the HFAC practice rooms. Well, you know how hot and sweaty a practice room can get, especially with two people in it. I finally told my date I wasn't feeling well and he should probably take me home. Well, as we're walking down the hall from the practice room, I puke all over the floor, luckily not on my date, and only slightly on my roommates shoes (of course I'd borrowed clothes and shoes from roommates to look my best). This was NOT what I had wanted for a first impression. A janitor was nearby and took over clean up and I think some random nearby student got me a paper towel. Anyhow, as we're walking out, he put his arm around me and said something to the effect of, "I hope you know this doesn't change how I feel about you." I told him I was feeling better now and we could continue our date if he was still ok with that. We wandered around campus for a while after that before going home. Six months later we were married.
- Sandy S.

My memories of the HFAC begin when I was in high school. BYU hosted a jazz festival for all of the local schools to come and perform for each other. It was such a thrill to be able to interact with the college students, hear Synthesis perform and to be able to play in the big concert hall. When I chose music as my major, the HFAC became my home for most of the day. It would start with music theory classes in the morning, and end with practicing in the evening in the second floor catacombs (practice rooms). When my wife and I started to date I knew that it would be a successful relationship because she would bring her homework over to the HFAC at nine p.m. and sit in the corner of my practice room on the floor while I practiced my string bass for two hours. No one else was ever willing to do that. So for me, the HFAC went from being an exciting building for music to one of the places that helped me to find and get to know my spouse.
- Robert J.

I spent many hours in the de Jong Concert Hall, Pardoe Drama Theater, and other venues mixing audio for events as a student employee of BYU Sound Services. It became the basis for my career in audio working for the Osmonds and many studios in L.A., Hollywood, and Burbank. Attached is a picture of me mixing sound for a program in the de Jong Concert Hall with my one-year-old son next to me. He is now 47 with four children. The old audio console used to be located on the front edge of the concert hall balcony.
- Blaine S.

After a very challenging freshman year, I was seriously contemplated quitting the violin performance program. I had worked harder than ever in my life that year and didn’t see the progress I was hoping to. I wondered if it was just too late for me to be the violinist I aspired to be. Something kept me going and brought me back to the SOM that fall. I decided to audition for the Honors Quartet the first week of school. The auditions were held in E250. I prepared well and had zero expectations so I just tried to do my best and play with feeling. I remember being astonished and happy that I was progressing through audition rounds. Finally I was selected as the second violinist for the quartet. This was one of many moments at the HFAC where I caught a glimpse of my potential if I were to just keep working hard at becoming a better musician. I can’t imagine my life, having gone on to complete my masters degree as well, had I dropped out of the SOM my sophomore year. So many soul searching/finding memories in the HFAC!
- Rachel C.

Working for stage ops created hundreds of memories for me in the HFAC! Scanner "laser tag" while patrons were busy watching the shows, secret rooms, Christmas decorating, going down two steps to go upstairs, storage areas, underground dirt paths, patrons being confused about the ticket office (as we all were, at times), mandatory observation seating for Renee Elise Goldsberry's performance — it was an unforgettable time of my life. I have a few stage ops pictures, but unfortunately not any that could capture all the amazing people or the feelings of working there. Besides that, I do have this amazing photo of one of the traveling art presentations that came through: a bathtub with balloons all around it! You never knew what you were going to get in the main lobby with respect to art, making this one if the most exciting and intriguing buildings on campus!
- Kaal G.

Kristi and I went on our first date in February 1980 in the Pardoe Theatre of the Harris Fine Arts Center to watch the production of "Hamlet." I knew then that she was the one.
- Richard & Kristine G.

Some of my happier memories of BYU happened at the HFAC when I was rehearsing in one of the theaters as a member of the BYU Men’s Chorus. It cemented my love of male choral music. I also had the privelage of performing in the student production of the opera Boris Gudonuv, both on stage as a starving peasant mob, also singing from the top side balcony. I also fondly remember dancing the waltz at one of the many formal dances sponsored by the BYUSB, gliding across the floor of the central gallery. Except for the modern architecture, it was easy to imagine a night in old Vienna dancing to the beautiful music of Johann Strauss. Likewise, singing counterponal from the balconies surrounding the main gallery, imagining you were in an old medieval cathedral singing the music of JS. Bach. A final memory, showing off the HFAC to my wife and 3 kids as they were trying to decide if they should attend BYU. They didn’t, but it wasn’t because of the HFAC. They were suitably impressed by its vastness. Now in my older years, dealing with the effects of chronic disease and illness, I am excited to see a new building that is fully ADA accessible.
- Patrick P.

I used to clean the HFAC at 3:30 every morning. I remember cleaning the very expensive vases in the upper floors and thinking that if I broke one, my life would be over. I also cleaned the pianos and harps downstairs and every now and then would just see how they sounded just for fun. Mostly, I remember the spirit that was in the building because we also met for Sacrament meeting in the HFAC and I have so many great memories of that. Just a great place to hang out.
- Katy S.

My sister was taking a humanities course and needed to attend a performance that semester, and we had a friend from high school was on BYU's Folk Dance team. Trying to kill two birds with one stone, we tried to get tickets for the spring showcase featuring all of BYU's performing arts teams, but were too late — they were all sold out! As we were about to leave the HFAC, we made a new friend who offered to show us the hidden tunnels in the building. (Pro tip: Maybe don't go into tunnels with strangers... but tunnels are also super cool.) We ended up climbing through a wall and entering the unfinished, dirt-filled cavern that existed directly below the stage in the de Jong Concert Hall, and heard the International Folk Dancers clogging right above our heads. As we prepared to leave the cavern, we listened to the hallway to make sure we could make our escape discretely. On the other side of the wall, I heard my friend's voice as he and a fellow dancer were completing homework between performances. I seized the moment and popped out of the wall, telling him how wonderful the clogging performance had sounded. He was shocked, surprised and terrified all at the same time, and I was delighted with how the evening had turned out after all.
- Elizabeth H.

I have lots of memories of the HFAC, as it felt like I lived there. I do remember feeling a little lost as a freshman, but I soon came to love all the hallways, stairways, elevators, corridors, rooms, concert halls, architectural structures, pianos and mentors who helped me find myself, figuratively. My greatest memory was taking piano lessons from Dr. Hancock for the majority of my stay at BYU, and eventually performing in the Madsen Recital Hall for family and friends. While it was hard, it was definitely worth it, and I wouldn’t trade anything for the experience I had in the HFAC.
- Joel C.

Growing up in Provo I went to countless concerts, plays and events in the HFAC. Other than my home, it was the primary place I came to love and cherish the beauty and power of great art. When I attended Provo High School, I performed in the de Jong with my peers and it was incredible! I can't think of Christmas without thinking of hearing the BYU choirs and orchestra Christmas concert in the de Jong. While studying media arts I watched so many incredible films down in the belly of the HFAC and read some amazing literature on its grounds. I went on so many dates to see devotionals, dance concerts and musicals there! A recent highlight was seeing Ira Glass of This American Life share storytelling insights from the balcony in the de Jong. Good bye old friend.
- Greg W.

I remember as a Freshman being encouraged to go to the World of Dance concert during that first fall semester. Outside of classes, I was mostly interested in football games and the social scene. But I went. Suffice it to say that it was the experience of a lifetime, and for the rest of my years at BYU I made it a point to always check the calendar of events and attend as many concerts and recitals as I could. I am proud to say that I took my future wife on our first date to the HFAC - the concert was "A night of concertos." I have the HFAC to thank for two very meaningful beginnings in my life: a cultural "awakening," and my family.
- Eric H.

I have fond memories of viewing artwork displays and attending Music 101 classes, music concerts and plays/musicals in the HFAC building. My favorite memory from the HFAC was attending a funny French opera with my wife while we were still dating. I don't speak French at all but the over-the-top dramatic nature of the French opera, along with the helpful translations, allowed me to smile and giggle with my now-wife while we watched the opera.
- Jacob W.

I have so many memories of this building. I was a music minor, so I practiced piano in the basement piano rooms. One day a roommate came and pounded on the door. She scared me so bad that I couldn't practice for another 5 minutes or so. One of my roommates was a piano major and had perfect pitch. We'd walk the halls and she would help me practice singing intervals for a class assignment. I attended my first formal dance in this building - it was so wonderful. I still have the picture of me and my date. I worked in this building one summer with custodial, the 4-7am shift. I cleaned the piano repair room and used some old piano hammers that were being thrown out to make hot plates. I was in the Ancient Instrument ensemble for a year and got to play the harpsicord, along with other instruments. The harpsicord is the most beautiful instrument and is so fun to play (I wish I had one of my own). Overall, I just remember wonderful classes, concerts and plays in this building. I was there when the Gina Bachauer competitions started and remember supporting my roommate Marilyn C. when she competed. It is so sad to see this building go. At least on my last visit to BYU I got to walk the halls once more and reminisce about those wonderful years I was here as a student.
- Candy S.

In about 1981, my roommate and I were asked to a girl's choice date. When our dates arrived, we were blindfolded and then taken around in a car for several minutes to get us completely disoriented about where we were going. Once we arrived at our destination our blindfolds were kept on as we walked, not knowing where we were going. We were taken into a building and then through the it. Once we arrived at our final destination, our blindfolds were removed and we were in front of a large freight elevator. When the door opened, the elevator had a large blanket on the floor with table settings for about 10 or 12 people (I cannot remember how many of us there were). We went in and sat down on the floor. Our right hands were then tied to the person at our right and our left hands were tied to the person at our left. We had a nice awkward dinner of spaghetti. Occasionally the doors of the elevator would close and we would go up or down. When the doors opened, the look on the faces of those who had called the elevator were priceless. Most just let the elevator doors close, but once in a while someone would join our dinner party to their destination. As you probably now know, the building was the HFAC and we had a very memorable dinner that night in the building's freight elevator.
- Brent M.

As a freshman art major in the fall of 1973, I spent a large amount of time in studio. I can't remember if studio was two days or three days a week, but it was four hours in the afternoon from 1-5. One of the first assignments we had was to do a hand sketch of the open stairs in the building's large open atrium. It was a daunting task and I still think about it. I wish I could come back and have the time to sketch the stairs again after almost 50 years of learning to actually see what I am looking at.
- Dean N.

As a member of CDT while I was at BYU I had the pleasure of performing in the HFAC many times. My favorite memories are from World of Dance where groups from each of the touring performing companies came together to put on an incredible show. What a unique experience to be a part of. So many talented dancers, each from different genres and cultures, but able to come together to celebrate movement; it was absolutely amazing to be a part of. The de Jong concert hall is a beautiful space and those memories being backstage will be with me forever.
- Kristin B.

Too many memories to name! The beautiful Fine Arts Ball with the Orchestra playing Strauss and waltzing on the polished white floor. Sitting around the stairwell with friends. The smell of the green room and byu singers. Summer nights on a beautiful patio. Being able to see friends on all levels! Our last BYU singers alumni concert in the de Jong concert hall. Soaking it all in. It truly is a beautiful building. I hate to see it go.
- Elizabeth E.

I started BYU as a Freshman in 1964. HFAC was open for the first year. I remember there were problems with the HVAC for the building. Hot when it should be cool and cold when it should be warm. I spent most of my 4+ years attending classes or participating in various musical organizations and performing in HFAC. Very fond memories. And now it will end.
- Don R.

In addition to the amazing shows at the HFAC, I ended up touring the whole building during an exciting hide and go seek game with my Family Home Evening group. Our “dad” hid and we looked for him for an hour, all the levels, stairwells, practice rooms, and theaters. I almost got stuck in a stairwell. The whole time he was in the plants on the main floor. We had a great time laughing about it. Note to self, limit to ONE floor next time.
- Heidi P.

During my freshman year, the HFAC was our stake center (best possible seats in a stake conference, hands down!) and our ward meetings were in the basement. Until we got the hang of it, it was so confusing to find our way down to have Sunday School in the rehearsal rooms with the hallways full of instrument cases, music stands, and such things. As a testament to how similar college freshmen are to deacons, we used to love hiding in the cases of the string basses and pop out to startle our dormmates while waiting for the next block to start. Oh yeah, and I saw plenty of amazing performances all across the board during my time there. We'll miss you, you crazy HFAC!
- Chris G.

The de Jong Concert Hall brings back so many memories but one I particularly remember is when Karl Malden came and spoke about his role in "A Streetcar Named Desire," in which he had won an Oscar for best supporting actor. He spoke about his interactions with Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, and director Elia Kazan. Karl was warm, sincere, entertaining, and so willing to answer everyone's questions. It was an amazing night from the man who also starred in the "Streets of San Francisco!"
- Phil D.

I worked as a student accountant for the School of Music in 2013-2014. I loved getting to know the Music professors, students and administrators, especially because music and the arts was such a change of pace for me since I spent the large majority of my time in the hustle and bustle of the business school. I'll always remember standing on the balcony just outside the music office to take in the periodic mini-concerts performed on the ground level in the middle of the day. The beautiful music was such a treat and broke the monotony of paying bills and processing journal entries. I didn't spend nearly as much time in the HFAC as so many others. However, it still holds a special place in my heart for the breath of fresh air its artistic environment brought to my last year at BYU.
- Dallin L.

I worked in the Music Office (C-550) for four and half years and loved every minute of it. I remember listening to CDs produced by Tantara Records and turning the volume up as loud as we dared during our favorite songs, staying in the office extra late to work on music history research papers (there were usually a few of us each time), and going to the storage room on the first floor (which felt like a dungeon) and hearing the piano tuners working away. I loved the HFAC at Christmas. The decorations were amazing and the music was even better. It was so fun to hear random groups just start to play/sing in the gallery. It all felt so magical. We even found ways to make practicing in the dark second floor practice rooms more entertaining. It seemed like everyone would take breaks at the same time and we'd all step out into the hall to enjoy chatting with each other before going back into our practice rooms.
- Emily S.

I have a sound clip of the Women's Chorus performing a rehearsal in the HFAC in February of 2015. It is beautiful. I am willing to email it if I could get an email to send it to. I've just kept it in my 'voice memos' this whole time.
- Teresa R.

I left the music program after a verbally abusive conversation with my instrument professor where he claimed I would be poor for the rest of my life if I didn’t do music. On the contrary, my life is quite rich since leaving the school of music.
- Megan E.

In the late '90s and early 2000s, the HFAC seemed to be the favorite place for Education Week attendees. The main level was packed shoulder to shoulder much of the time and the halls were also very crowded. As employees, the only way for my group to get around the building in a timely manner was to hide our radios and make fake EduWeek badges that claimed we were "non-attendees." They looked real enough that most attendees thought we were just as lost as everyone else thus leaving us to move on with business.
- Anonymous

My favorite thing to do on campus was to go down to the basement of the HFAC and find an empty practice room with a Steinway grand piano. I played for hours! Sometimes friends would come listen. It brightened my days!
- Brad G.

The HFAC was one year old when I began my BA in 1965. My fondest memories include months of rehearsals for our 1968 “Bye Bye Birdie,” three month tour of Europe with Dr. Harold I. Hansen, and also BYU’s first year-long touring Repertoire Company's “A Day a Night and a Day,” “Romeo and Juliet,” and “The Ugly Princess.” 1968-69. Two funny memories are when Utah Valley Opera performed “The Song of Norway” in the de Jong Concert Hall. At the end of Act II, “Edvard Greig” performs his Piano Concerto but when the curtain opened the piano was missing! Someone had moved it upstairs on the freight elevator. The show was paused while it was retrieved. But my favorite memory of that show was dancing with Dee Winterton “Tito” and Norma Knight. Dee jumps spread eagle over a cafe table holding a tray of beverages but one night the stage crew placed the table too far down stage and when Dee leaped he disappeared into the orchestra pit! Of course the show must go on, so Norma and I kept dancing and finally Dee’s head popped up above the footlights. He climbed back on stage just in time for our finishing pose (our foot holding him belly down, our hand in the air) as we shook in hysterical “silent” laughter. Thanks, HFAC, for many wonderful memories of learning and laughter and lifelong friendships.
- Carol B.

I performed in over 20 major productions in this great building in its many theaters and received a professional training that has served me well in all my professional acting experiences. In what other building could I have found such varied theatrical venues all with their own seasons of classic and original plays and musicals. Its very walls hold memories of great performances and artistic endeavors. How well I remember doing my first Shakespeare and the original "Stone Tables." No matter what happens to this structure, its spirit will thrive in the artists who grew and gained experience within it. It will never disappear no matter what replaces it!
- Rodger M.

My favorite place to study between classes was near the south entrance, just past the stairs. At the base of the stairs was a large indoor garden, with lovely big plants and seating around the outside of it. I could sit there by the plants, with a bit of sun coming through the window, and it made my struggle to memorize French verb conjugations a bit easier to bear.
- Marjanna H.

Working (writer) on the film that was awarded the MPS grant. Akedah (the binding) used in Seminary program Now found on YouTube.
- Alice M.

Sitting in the stairwells, on the stages, in empty theatres and dreaming, not wanting to be found. Yes, getting lost in possibilities.
- Katherine S.

It was not unusual to practice sight singing assignments with fellow students in the common area at the HFAC. One time after a study session, a near-by observer mentioned that our singing reminded him of the movie "The Sound of Music." I walked away puzzled, thinking the pieces we were practicing sounded nothing like the music from the movie, and then I realized he was likening to the solfege we were singing to the song Do-Re-Mi from the movie.
- Jerica P.

This may be a fairly typical or cliché BYU memory, but I met my husband in the fall of my freshman year in Communications 101 in this building. We didn’t start dating until four years later -- enter the atypical BYU love story -- but I’ll never forget our first meeting when he asked for some notes by the copier in the hallway, and I declined. Yes, I sound stingy, but Cougars don’t cut corners! You’ve got to be in class to get the notes! I’m sad to hear this building is being replaced! I have so many memories of being in that building during college. Thanks for the memories, HFAC!
- Jennifer S.

I have so many wonderful memories of the Fine Arts Center, beginning with going there for piano lessons with a BYU graduate student when I was a teenager, to my piano recitals in the Madsen Recital Hall, to attending many music and drama productions throughout the years. My biggest memory, though, is arranging with friends to meet at the statue of Massasoit, which for many years graced the North end of the third floor, right in front of the entrance to the Pardoe Theater. It was the perfect rendezvous spot. I’ll miss that grand building!
- Diane D.

When I was two years old, my father served as a bishop of a BYU ward. My earliest memories of church were on BYU campus as our family trotted along to meetings. For years afterward, the rhythmic click of high heels on sidewalk was associated in my mind with clear blue skies, Sunday Best, and holding my mother's hand on our way to sacrament meeting. While my father conducted afternoon interviews, Mom and I -- soon to be accompanied by my infant sister -- trekked all over campus, played hide and seek, and watched the ducks in the botanical garden. Among the many buildings we visited was the HFAC, of course, with its polished metal handrails, austere black paneling, and slick floor. Ironically, I don't remember any of the art that was on display. Years later, I returned to the campus as an art student, and many of my classes were held at the HFAC. I ate lunch there, looked at the display cases full of musical instruments, and sauntered through the basement hallway where the practice rooms were. I learned the art of printmaking, and sat spellbound as my favorite lecturer discoursed on Renaissance and Baroque architecture. I listened to symphonies and operas in the de Jong and I proudly pointed when one of my professor's art was on display. I'm grateful for every moment I was able to spend on the BYU campus, and hope that as the new building rises, it will continue to accommodate thousands of students striving to learn and work in the arts. And who knows, perhaps there will also be the occasional toddler there, holding his or her mother's hand as students hurriedly walk by, learning how to see and experience the world around.
- A Y.

I was an engineering major and was on campus a lot. One of my favorite places to go, to experience a different vibe from the math and science genius of the Clyde Building, was the HFAC. I felt a sense of peace, creativity and life there. It was renewing and inspiring. Another opportunity that took me to the HFAC was the women's chorus I was part of. I spent many hours practicing with other beautiful voices and performed in the de Jong Concert Hall and Madsen Recital Hall. It was one of my favorite buildings to be on campus.
- Amy M.

My on-campus ward (BYU 46th) met in the Nelke Experimental Theater. As a freshman in 1969, I was told the story that the architect had come to visit the completed building. He became lost and was never seen again. I remember wandering around the area of the Nelke Theater to go to church classes, mutual activities and interviews. I also remember our ward singing for stake conference in the de Jong Concert Hall. Our ward had a tradition of involving everyone. No one expected almost the entire ward would actually be in the choir and staff had to set up extra chairs on the stage.
- Alan L.

It's so hard to narrow down years into one memory. I was in my first opera in the de Jong (The Magic Flute), which gave me the performing bug. Some of my backstage moments in various shows and choir concerts are even more memorable than the concerts themselves. I remember one in particular: there was a piece we were singing that had a difficult transition from one section to the next. We had to come in a cappella in a new key -- one that we couldn't find even up through the final dress rehearsal 2 hours before the concert. Several of us spent the next two hours singing the ending note of the first section and the first note of the second section over, and over, and over. We nailed it at the concert! I remember meeting friends and study groups at the slab. I remember the marble/bowling ball roller coaster art exhibit that was set up in the main lobby in the early 2000s. My experiences in the music department shaped the direction of my life. I will miss the building but will hold on to the memories!
- Steve D.

3 things stick out for me. First, I attended a classical guitar concert for the first time in the HFAC. Manuel Barrueco came in Spring of 2002, and I loved every minute of that concert. It solidified my taste for classical guitar. Second, I, uh, may or may not have taken naps in some of the piano practice rooms during Spring and/or Summer terms when they weren't highly used. Third, I taught the group guitar class one day in 2003 or so. That started a love of teaching. Farewell, HFAC.
- Ethan G.

I arrived at BYU in 1972 and my first chore was to find the HFAC, the orchestra room, and where I could store my cello. Even though I was not a music major, it seemed that I spent a majority of my time in this building practicing cello, doing cello lessons, and playing in the Philharmonic Orchestra. Later, I took organ lessons and was in the basement every day practicing on one of the practice pipe organs. My BYU ward met in the Madsen Recital Hall and I was able to play the beautiful pipe organ for our Sacrament meetings! Earlier this year I attended several concerts in the HFAC, including the final Philharmonic Orchestra concert of the season. Sitting in the audience 50 years later instead of on the stage was a new experience and very emotional. I realized the building was almost brand new when I arrived in 1972. My best memories of BYU are of my time spent in this building.
- Jan B.

I have so very many memories of the HFAC. That building was my intellectual and artistic home for a long time, and a place where I discovered who I was as a young woman in the 1980's. It was the setting for some of the most beautiful memories of my life. I played the French horn. As a freshman my horn professor, Dr. Gaylen Hatton, gave me second chair in the BYU Philharmonic. What a privilege that was! I remember meeting with Dr. Hatton for horn lessons once a week in his office. I still remember some of the techniques he taught me when I am practicing, even now. He put so much faith in me and was so patient with me. He saw more in me than I saw in myself. I remember in some private lessons, we worked on music, and in some lessons we worked on life lessons. What a wonderful man. In 1988, we hosted the International Horn Symposium, which was a huge deal! I got to meet world class musicians and even perform for them, which was a huge boost to a young woman's self esteem. I played in the BYU Phil under the baton of Dr. Clynn Barrus from 1985-1990. I remember playing Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kiji in the hallway of the main floor during lunch hour -- what a thrill that was. We performed Mahler's First and Mahlers Second Symphonies my sophomore and junior years consecutively. The music of Gustav Mahler was a transforming force in my life. I took a class about his works from Dr. Steve Johnson in 1988. I remember taking Music History from Dr. Doug Bush and laughing with my friends over some of his beloved one-liners like, "Don't get your panties in a knot!" or "Don't get your bowels in an uproar!" How we all loved and respected him. I remember practicing with our woodwind quintet in the fishbowl every Wednesday afternoon. I remember performing "Sunday in the Park with George" my senior year... and what a big deal it was that the vocal department brought in specialists from New York to train vocalists to "belt." I remember getting special permission to allow my then-boyfriend to sit next to me in the pit during one of those SITPWG performances because it was the night of the Sadie Hawkins dance. We had a candlelight dinner in the pit before the show. We are now married and have three sons and two grandsons. The HFAC made a huge impression on my life. I will miss it very, very dearly. The years I spent fully immersed in music in that building were nothing short of magical for me.
- Juli D.

My first visit to the HFAC was the night I got engaged to my husband. He was attending BYU and I was at Ricks College. I was invited to the Mormon Arts Ball (1974) and right before the dance my husband took me to the Provo Temple, gave me a ring and a promise of a lifetime of love, and then we went to the ball. We arrived to a red carpet entrance at the steps, with huge banners hanging from the ceiling. I truly felt like Cinderella, especially with a sparkling ring on my finger. We were married that summer, then came together for three more years at BYU together. The Mormon Arts Ball has been such a part of our memories that we attended year after year. I'm not sure if they still hold it, but we have gained a greater appreciation for the arts from being there. We have now been married 48 years and are serving a mission in the Illinois Chicago Mission. We have had our children and now grandchildren attending university there. What a treasure for us all. Thank you!
- Vickie A.

I spent a great deal of my life between 1976 and 1982 in the HFAC for multiple music classes and concerts, but I also worked there. I was on the set building crew which built sets for the theatre and for the concert hall when operas where being presented. As a crew we were great friends. I drove the truck in and out of the Tunnel and raised the bridge several times. I found out that there are hidden spaces under the theatre. Climbing to the grid over the stages was a great adventure. Running the backstage ropes meant that I got to see the productions for free and from a different vantage point. I loved my time at BYU and my job working in the HFAC.
- Michael O.

Performed with BYU Living Legends in the de Jong Hall from 2001-2005. This was our homeground. From the green room in the back to striking the set and loading the trucks after the shows. Great memories of this place.
- Aisake V.

The first date with my girlfriend (now wife) was at the HFAC at a senior recital. I was taking a voice class in the HFAC during my freshman year. We were required to go to a vocal performance. We finished the evening by getting an Oreo shake at the Cannon Center. Fast forward 3 years. I had finished my mission and we were dating again (yes, she waited for me). I replicated our first date by going to another senior performance and getting an Oreo shake. We then went up to the Provo Temple for a walk around the grounds. At one point during our walk, I got down on one knee and proposed to her. She said yes. 28 years later, here we are, watching our beloved HFAC being retired for the new Arts building. So many great memories of the recitals, plays, and performances at the HFAC. Goodbye old friend!
- Dain H.

I had the privilege to be part of the original group of students who, alongside BYU faculty, started the BYU Ad Lab. Our "office" was essentially a small closet on the bottom floor of the HFAC, outfitted with a single desk with a phone and a filing cabinet. It was there that we started work on projects for our first client, the BYU Bookstore. Our office was adjacent to some of the music practice rooms and I'm sure being serenaded by the student musicians boosted our creativity. It's been amazing to see the growth of both the Ad Lab, now located in the Brimhall building and recognized nationally, as well as the lives and careers of friends who crammed with me into that office space or along the walls of the hallway outside it. So much good has sprung from that small and beloved corner of the HFAC.
- Thomas N.

I ran the Prop Shop for a year in 1975-76. It was a splendid experience, especially when creativity was the only solution. I needed an orchid corsage during a season when there were none to be found. I finally found a picture and made one out of crepe paper and florist’s tape. As rehearsal was about to begin, I was sitting on the apron of the Pardoe stage with my creation in my hand when Ivan Crosland, the director, walked in. He looked at me and asked, “Wherever did you find the orchid?” It was a proud, proud moment.
- Susan C.

A music major for my Freshman and Sophmore years required my spending many hours in the individual practice rooms and performances in the de Jong concert hall. The HFAC holds the warmest and pressure-filled memories of my undergraduate experience. As a youth growing up in Provo, I remember playing in the construction site of the Fine Arts Center. The building parallels my life experience.
- Ronald S.

My favorite memory was opening my mission call during the last men’s chorus concert of the year and then singing I love the Lord after it!!
- Harrison C.

The large concert hall at the HFAC has staircases on each side that wind up to the balcony seating. On the south side of the building, on sunny winter afternoons, I would climb the winding stairs to one of the top carpeted landings outside the balcony entrance, sit and study or occasionally meet a friend for a quiet chat. It was so lovely to sit in the sun where I could study uninterrupted (or take a short nap). This little landing spot was my secret hiding place where I could find peace.
- Jane B.

Working for Cougar Cable meant I was in the building nearly every day. My wife and I loved to visit the student art displays 35 years ago and marvel at their beauty and skill. Memories of HFAC will remain in our hearts forever!
- Mike A.

I know the Harris Fine Arts Center well. I started my experience at BYU on an art talent scholarship and spent many a day in the HFAC in art classes working on my own projects. It's amazing how quickly time passes. I look forward to seeing the new Arts Building.
- Steven E.

I had the privilege of cleaning bathrooms at the HFAC from three to seven a.m. It was a privilege because I got to wander the halls of the HFAC when no one else but our small cleaning crew was there. I got to see the paintings in the foyer and be mesmerized by them, with the consciousness that I had a job to do, but it was a beautiful building to clean and to wander from bathroom to bathroom. The arts were incredible and still are. I felt I had a personal tour every day. I love the arts and I am sure that my time in the HFAC cleaning toilets added to my appreciation of the arts.
- Christine C.

I watched a solar eclipse from the back terrace during the winter semester of my freshman year with my beginning piano class. We all came up from the catacombs into the sunlight only to watch it disappear.
- Cori R.

One day, I unexpectedly met my grandfather from CA in the stairwell. I still don't know what he was doing at BYU.
- Warren L.

Winter semester, 1980, I sang with the University Chorale. Right before Christmas break, we took part in a concert in the HFAC. Various university musical groups filled each level on that beautiful building. Each group performed individually. The music filled the hall. And then, the groups joined together in singing, “For unto us a child is born.” It was awesome. I think the floors were shaking with the intensity of hundreds of voices and musicians joined together singing about the birth of our Savior. It was an experience I will never forget.
- Cindy W.

At the top of the interior stairs at HFAC were two magnificent 7’ tall bronze Chinese pagoda-like elaborate castings. What I found so remarkable were where the sculptor had taken soft wax and pressed it onto the still-wax piece before casting, leaving a 4,000 year-old thumbprint as his signature. As a full-time bronze sculptor, this speakes to me. I have done the same to many of my own sculptures.
- Bobbie C.

I was the lighting director for the original production of "Saturday's Warriors." I was also the assistant stage manager for the Pardoe Drama Theater. I had an assistantship at the Margetts Arena Theater. I directed an original play called "Rough Draft" that later was selected as the best original play for the year called "Smooth Sailing." One humorous story was that I had a Russian name when I was working with the opera "Boris Godinuv." I was the crew chief. I was also a founding member of an Air Force ROTC singing group that practiced weekly in the HFAC and performed in the de Jong Concert Hall.
- Gary S.

I was determined to attract the attention of and then marry BYU basketball star Devin Durrant. Lacking social skills, I decided a grand gesture would probably seal the deal (Meeting him might have helped but I didn’t have a clue how to pull that off). I came out of the HFAC one night after a late class. There was at least 6 inches of beautiful snow on the ground. 19-year-old me decided this was the perfect canvas for the gesture that would catch the attention of my crush. I stepped onto a big patch of grass by the building, spent an inordinate amount of time stomping out DZ+DD in giant letters, then went home to await a proposal. It never came, but I continued spending time in that wonderful building seeing, hearing and feeling the beauty that was created within its walls.
- Danielle W.

My favorite memory of the HFAC isn't very glamorous. I loved those black leather benches placed all around the atrium. Because I got up early for work at the MORC and stayed up late with my fiancé, I often needed a nap. I'd go find an empty couch on the fourth floor and snatch a few zzzz's between classes! Heaven.
- Jenny M.

Like probably so many, I met my wife at the HFAC! Twice... I was in the pit (bassoon) and she was on stage (Valencienne), and since we had no mutual friends I didn't "actually" meet her that entire year. I noticed she was gone the next year but didn't know she had gone on a mission. She came back partway through the spring semester a year and a half later during my final semester before grad school, so when I saw her at that copy machine on the second floor outside the practice room wing, I had enough confidence finally to go up and introduce myself. ("Weren't you in the opera a few years ago?...") Every time we came back to campus after that we would sojourn to that special copy machine!
- PJ W.

In my last Saturday before Thanksgiving break 2022, I went with one of my roommates to watch two other roommates play in the orchestra. It was excellent. It was my first time going to the HFAC, and also my last.
- Cooper J.

The opera, Aida, was the opening extravaganza for the de Jong Concert Hall in February 1965. The HFAC was still in the "moving-in" mode and so were the technical aspects of the concert hall stage. Roger L. Harris (MA '69) was the new hire stage manager, and even though he was an experienced tech theater guy, the buttons, ropes, pulleys, curtains and lights were still being installed and adjusted. Opening night for the opera was thrilling in the new facility; the concert hall audience was full of students and community fine arts patrons. There was an electric excitement as the orchestra, singers in the cast and soloists finished the last "O terra addio" and the curtain fell. Then lovely Ariel Bybee (BA 65?), who later would star at the Metropolitan Opera, stepped forward to take her share of the applause for her portrayal of Aida. She was arrayed in a beautiful robe over her costume and someone appeared to hand her a large bouquet of flowers. The applause continued and backstage, Roger pushed the button on the control board to bring down the grand tier curtain. To his horror he realized too late that the wires had been changed and the heavy gray fire curtain was descending in about the right spot to clobber Ariel. The curtain would not reverse until it completely descended. The audience could see what was happening; Ariel had no idea. She continued to smile and give deep bows with her arms full, but quickly took the cues from those in the audience. By then, the curtain was nearly upon her, necessitating her bow to turn to a "duck and crawl" under the fire curtain in the nick of time. What a finale! Roger was mortified by the accident and sorry to have not understood the change of wiring, but Oh! What a re-enactment at the cast party of this crazy moment. It lived on with enhancements and exaggerations for quite a few semesters.
- Roger H.

I was struck as if by lightning. The image burned into my retina that remains unchanged today some 30 years later. There she was, walking across the stage toward the grand piano. An angel sent to Earth. I knew she'd be my wife. I didn't know her then, but I know her well now.
- Michael J.

It was my first Mormon Arts Ball and the place was beautiful. The men were in tuxedos and the women in long gowns. The BYU orchestra was at one end and the Jazz ensemble on the other end. When we danced to a polka, my partner swung me around so hard that I sailed onto my bottom and in my beautiful long dress I slid across the entire width of the dance floor in grand view of the whole orchestra.
- Jamie Q.

As a music composition major in Fall 1975, and a participant in the Piano Technology Associates program from 1980 to 1982, I had unforgettable experiences with people who taught, worked and studied in the HFAC. I am not one to remember names, but I will never forget when my music theory professor, the gentle conductor of the String Orchestra who always wore Earth shoes to class, played an ear training exercise in one key, but told us it was in another, so it would be more challenging to the one student with perfect pitch. That is just one of many.
- Stephen S.

My memory is not necessarily about the building itself. I do remember, however, that they took all the dirt from the excavation and made a large mound on Freedom Blvd, about 1400 North. That was covered with reinforcing mesh, sprayed with concrete. It was an experimental structure of one of BYU's Civil Engineering faculty. The dirt was then dug out and it became a turtle shaped building, used as a skating rink, then later the Ream's Grocery Store. When it was closed perhaps 20 years ago they started to dismantle it and the whole thing just collapsed!
- Loren M.

Too many memories come flooding into my consciousness at the mere mention of the HFAC. I came and went at BYU several times over many years, but the HFAC was always the center of my college experience. I started as an art major, was in the marching band and ended as a theater major -- classes, performances, auditions, rehearsals, galleries and RELATIONSHIPS are woven through that building. It may get torn down physically but lives in my mind and heart, very real. I can see it, hear it, taste it and smell it distinctly forever. I played Elixer the cat in Max Golightly's Pinnochio in 1978, and not even dear friends recognized me on stage in my costume and makeup, being a very believable cat with no lines except MEOW. I'd walk around campus with other cast members who were constantly being recognized by audience members, but I never was. It was actually kind of cool... one of many memories I will never forget.
- Debra W.

After I got back from my mission and started BYU, I got a job working early morning custodial in the HFAC. At the start of Fall semester 2011, a cute gal joined the crew. However, nobody liked to talk to anybody at four in the morning, so it was November before I said a word to her. As I was getting my floor mopping machine ready, so was she. She must have been distracted by my extremely good looks because she overfilled the machine and water spewed everywhere. This resulted in me helping her to clean up the mess and we got to talking, then got married. Pretty sure like four other couples on that crew got married too. The HFAC was a great place to meet your future spouse.
- Tyson Y.

I remember playing piano at night and composing music in the piano lab.
- Scott S.

I spent every day in this building for about 5 years. I have so many fond memories of rehearsing in the Madsen Recital Hall and performing in the de Jong concert hall. Even after the building is gone, those memories will last a lifetime. Thank you for the memories.
- Isaac C.

Amendment to memory already submitted. As I've read through some of the articles written about the HFAC, I realized through pictures that I made an error in remembering which concert hall my freshman ward met for sacrament meeting. I listed the de Jong Concert Hall. That is an error. We met my freshman year (beginning August 1996) in the Madsen Recital Hall for our sacrament meeting. It was still a magical venue for church services.
- Tawna T.

I remember being the first person in the practice rooms at 6:00 a.m. almost every day for eight years. I remember playing a full piano concerto with orchestra on the de Jong concert hall stage. I remember the "unique" smell of the practice rooms. I remember playing Mahler and Shostakovich with the BYU Philharmonic on viola. I remember imagining a halo over the entire HFAC during jury days because every student was praying for success. I remember running up and down the stairs to get nerves out before performances. I remember throwing a sandwich against a basement wall because I was so sick of eating cheese and ham sandwiches. Above all, I remember becoming the person I am today because of the treasured people I found, trusted, and learned from in the HFAC (including my husband!). Thank you, beloved friend!
- Christie S.

I lived in the HFAC for the three years I was at BYU. The music, the theatre and the personal growth were amazing times for me. But the biggest impact the HFAC had on my life is that this is where I met my wife. We met in a music education class learning different instruments; she helped me learn the flute. We spent many hours together in the HFAC. It will always hold a special place in my heart.
- Brigham M.

As a theatre art graduate, I have so many memories of students skittering through the corridors of the HFAC between rehearsals and projects. In the bowels of the HFAC, around the corner from the Pardoe green room to the Margett’s theatre was a set of black double doors with a code. That little storage-room-turned-classroom was where my fellow costume design students and I would work on crafting projects late into the night. VERY late into the night! After security began cracking down on students staying in the building after 12 a.m., we undertook "Mission Impossible" style antics in that little room to avoid being kicked out. As the distinct sound of a security guard walked down the hall, it was a mad rush to turn off all machines, music, and lights. Then we’d hunker down like a bizarre re-enactment of "A Quiet Place" and wait until the coast was clear. As terrible as it sounds, I will always be nostalgic for how at home I felt on those late nights in the HFAC’s twisting halls. Beware, you may still find a lost student or two wandering about, looking for a classroom that can never be found…
- Hannah L.

I first met my wife, Stacee, in the Spring of 1986 when I was working at the BYU bowling alley and she was scooping ice cream at the then adjoining ice cream parlor. Our relationship progressed quickly and I decided to propose to her that Summer, and then I figured out how to proposed to her. I approached the Dean of the Communications Department from where Stacee was getting ready to graduate (August 1986) and asked for his assistance. He agreed to let me insert a note asking Stacee to marry me in her diploma cover that she would receive when she walked across the stage at the ceremony venue in the HFAC. After Stacee received her diploma cover, her family and I were motioning from the audience encourging her to open the cover as she sat with her fellow graduates. Finally, she did, and indicated to me from a distance her "yes" response! I'll always remember the HFAC as the location of where I became engaged to my beautiful enternal companion.
- Jim A.

Men’s Chorus rehearsals bring hope to my day.
- Dallin A.

I have so many fond memories of making music in room E-251. It was a place of testing and a lot of joy, but also sanctity. As an incoming freshman with a scholarship to play in the drum line, I was immediately blown away by the level of talent on the snare line. They humbled me right away as I came into E-251 to meet them for the first time. I was intimidated but I was able to keep up. Randall Beach was the drumline instructor then and is still someone that I really look up to. I spent countless hours in that room over the years. I played drums in Synthesis under the great Ray Smith, who filled that room with such passion and infectious joy -- what an incredible bandleader. I also played in jazz combos and the dixieland band. A favorite memory is one night our jazz combo was working on a piece and we decided to turn the lights off to concentrate better on the music. We played there in the dark, letting the music consume the space completely, getting lost in it, taking solos and letting the song transcend those walls. It felt like a meditation, and almost a prayer. I'll always love E-251.
- Bart O.

I was the student secretary in the Dept. of Visual Arts from Fall '99 to Spring '01. As a microbiology major, the HFAC was a whole different world and, honestly, its weird smell was preferred to the formaldehyde aura of the Widstoe where I spent most of my time. The job was varied -- handing out speedos and bikinis to the art models, running errands, and lots of photocopying. But the real perk was that I got to know all of the art professors (several of whom I still correspond with today) and later studied abroad in London with Bruce Smith. I knew the HFAC pretty well, from the hidden vending machine on the 1st floor that had pink-frosted sugar cookies to the practice rooms to the art stockroom. It was a great building. Cheers, HFAC!
- Janet M.

I was in the BYU Men's Chorus my sophomore year, the same year I was dating the girl that would eventually be my wife. The Men's Chorus rehearsed every day in the Madsen Recital Hall. As I left rehearsal on the Northeast side of the HFAC each day, my (then) girlfriend would always, without fail, be standing at the bottom of the steps so we could go study in the library together. It's my fondest memory of the HFAC.
- Justin O.

My first week as a music major, we were taken on a tour of the HFAC (it didn't help me not get lost over the years, but they tried!). I remember walking onto the de Jong stage and thinking to myself, "I'm going to sing a solo on this stage while I'm here." This was not a very realistic thought since even at my small high school I had not been a soloist, but I felt it in my bones. Later that week I auditioned for the vocal jazz ensemble and in our VERY first Jazz Showcase, I was given a solo in "The Very Thought of You" and it was as exciting as can be. In the coming years, I only had one other solo in the de Jong (one line in the musical Jane Eyre -- shout out to Barta Heiner the amazing director), but as I performed in countless choir concerts, operas and special events, I never lost my feeling of wonder and gratitude for the amazing opportunity to make music with my friends in the de Jong. Thanks HFAC!
- Marian C.

My late father went to BYU for a short time (I think for a teaching certificate of some kind so he could move from his career of working in television to teaching it at universities) when I was just a preschooler. He worked at KBYU and spent plenty of time in the HFAC. My memories from being there with him actually made me change my intended major when I arrived at BYU as a freshman years later. I had planned to major in chemistry, but when I walked through the HFAC, it just felt like home. So I switched to communications/journalism and have been writing and editing ever since. I created new memories there during my time at the Y and had several opportunities to take some pictures with my dad. I'll cherish them all even more from here on out.
- Cathy L.

When you know a place intimately, you can recall not just its floorplan and idiosyncrasies but the sensation of your body in it. The HFAC is one of those places for me — and for so many other people. I travelled the same route every weekday afternoon for four years, jogging up the HFAC’s southwest stairs, taking them two at a time. My feet pounding the patio tiles, sounding hollow. Striding through the already-open doors of the fishbowl foyer that led to the Madsen Recital Hall, then galloping down a tight row and squishing between the tenors and the second altos — just in time for Concert Choir to warm up. Then there were our performances: the gleam of stage lights on the de Jong stage. The dizzying height of the risers. The warmth of dozens of other singing bodies surrounding me. Sister Hall’s face and hands, whether mournful or joyous, always precise. The HFAC will always be in my heart and hippocampus. Thank you to everyone who built, maintained and filled it.
- Carly S.

Has the inside HFAC ever been toilet papered before? Yes... well, kind of. After the 1994 Spring concert by the BYU performing choirs, several choir members met at the nearest Hogi Yogi on Bulldog St. where Fat Cats now sits. They were recruiting anyone that wanted to come meet up at the HFAC southside lobby at midnight to have some fun. They had secretly propped open a side door. There were about 15 students that snuck in at midnight, and once in the lobby, it was like the end scene from Finding Nemo where one of the students finally asked, “Now what?” Out of all these innocent BYU students that hadn’t done anything worse their whole lives than paying a 9% tithing, one student boldly announced, “We should toilet paper the building!” Seemed like a great idea. I mean, what noble idea doesn’t occur at midnight? Each gender ran into their appropriate restrooms, likely respecting the honor code, and since all the toilet paper holders were under lock and key we had to painstakingly unravel each roll. The moment our group walked out of the restroom holding toilet paper stacked to our eyeballs, we practically bumped into a security guard rounding the corner. He yelled the obvious, “Hey, what are you doing?!” The scene quickly turned into a panic with students frantically running in all directions. Toilet paper littered the floor like a crime scene. Joke was on us, though, as we ran for the stairs. It was like the security team had known this impromptu gathering was happening this whole time. They poured in like ants from all outside doors and easily cornered us, took our names, called parents, and hopefully made a good splash in the Daily Universe’s Police Beats. Too bad there won’t ever be a next time, but the memory will last a lifetime.
- Steve N.

I was sitting on a bench that backed up to the rail overlooking the vast interior of the HFAC, waiting for my watercolor class to start. I was prepared with my board (to tape watercolor paper to) and my empty milk carton (for my brush water). I turned and accidentally bumped my milk carton, then watched it fall, echoing loudly as it bounced down a couple of levels before finally coming to a stop somewhere. Mortified, I didn’t stick around long enough to find out where. I got up and walked away fast, hopefully before anyone looked up to see where it came from. For all I know, the milk carton is still there.
- Lisa H.

I have loved attending the annual German Adventsingen in the de Jong Concert Hall the past several years since moving back to Utah. The concert hall was the perfect venue for friends of German around the state to join to celebrate the birth of the Savior together in song and verse.
- Teresa B.

My first memory of the HFAC was when my mom and dad took us to BYU as part of our Summer family vacation one year. They had met at BYU in the late 60's and married in the early 70's. Though neither of them were arts majors, they had a fondness for the building. Knowing it could be a confusing place, my dad took us to the depths of it and told us to try to find our way out. We had fun opening this door and that, climbing stairs and scurrying down hallways. I remember one of the doors we opened led us to the seats of the Pardoe where a play rehearsal was taking place. I was mesmerized. Years later, I would rehearse on that stage and all the others in that building as an acting major and (almost) music minor. Whether it was taking power naps under the stairs of the slab outside the Nelke Theatre, working in the script library, or sitting at the feet of David Morgan, Laurie Harrop, or Barta Heiner (and many others) in B-201, the HFAC was a daily part of my life for five years as a student. After graduate school, and a few years of work as a speech language pathologist, I was able to return to BYU to teach and coach in those very same rooms. I will miss the HFAC, but I’m also thrilled for the new space to come.
- Melissa D.

I had the privilege of being on the BYU Debate Team and it was so much fun! My debate partner was often Rique Ochoa, who taught me so much. The debate team used to spend a lot of time in the prep room under the direction of our coach, Jed Richardson. I loved representing the Y! Most of my upper level classes were in the HFAC and it always had such a great spirit. I also loved practicing piano in one of the teeny tiny practice rooms in the basement. Go Cougs!
- Patti R.

Early this year, when I first heard that the Harris Fine Arts Center was being torn down to make way for a new art building, I really struggled to manage my feelings of dismay and loss. The HFAC has been one of the most important and familiar buildings from the first half of my life. Filled with deeply meaningful memories connected to important relationships, it’s personal significance to me cannot be overstated. My father, Merrill W. Cox, was a piano technician at BYU as I was growing up. I would often accompany him to work, familiarizing myself with the building through the lens of his vocation. Later, as a student employee, I worked two jobs simultaneously with my twin brother, Nathan R. Cox (BA 2001): as piano technician’s assistants, we performed the lowly task of watering the pianos at 5:00 a.m. as well as important tasks such as restringing one of the Steinway concert grands; we also worked as house managers for the Division of Arts Production, in the de Jong Concert Hall and the Pardoe Theater, spending many evenings dealing with the various circumstances related to front-of-house operations. As a student majoring in visual art, I spent countless rewarding hours in the printmaking studios, learning a vocation that continues to provide a meaningful career for me. I even met my wife, Michelle Doxey (BS 2002), in the intaglio studio on the fourth floor of the b-wing. Those spaces were sacred to me, a haven where I could retreat from my parents’ divorce during my sophomore and junior years; where I could make sense of the concrete processes of printmaking while not much else in my life made sense at all. I could write a substantial memoir filled with my memories of that building, but perhaps the most significant memory is the most recent when, last Summer, as I was visiting Provo for my mother’s funeral, I stepped soberly into the HFAC for the last time to say goodbye. Already, the printmaking studios were being gutted. The presses were gone, wires hanging down from the ceiling. Only a few familiar remnants remained. I could see the spot where I first met Michelle twenty years previously. It felt like no time had passed at all since she walked into that room and took my breath away. Everywhere, I felt the presence of my dad who passed away in 2015. I worried, irrationally, that all of these important, sweet memories would somehow diminish with the demolition of the building; that somehow, the place of the memories was just as important as the memories themselves. As I pondered and prayed there that night, alone in that empty printmaking studio, I felt an assurance that God knew of my sorrow. I also received an impression that He knew others, like me, who would yet benefit from a new building in the same way I benefited from the old. As that sweet truth occurred to me, my feeling of loss began to dissipate, making way for the knowledge of possibility for the students who were yet-to-come. Who was I to try to withhold the value of the best BYU, and the Lord, has to offer? I walked out of the HFAC for the last time feeling a sense of calm resignation, knowing that Heavenly Father is a giver of good gifts. I feel evermore thankful for the many gifts I received associated with that building. Even though my time there has passed, His goodness has not.
- Neal C.

I started BYU thinking I was going to be a music education major. I soon found out that students at BYU are very talented and that getting accepted into the program was a quixotic endeavor for someone with my abilities and talents. I remember the intense vibe in the practice room hallways. The cacophony of romantic-era piano pieces, Charlie Parker-level saxophone solos, flute and violin runs, and the rumble of the organ rooms left me feeling like I was at the starting line of an intense race. Auditions were nerve-wracking and I remember throwing up in the bathroom attached to the greenroom in the basement. Getting my third rejection letter finally knocked me to my senses and helped me reassess my life and priorities. I was able to finally chill out. I still spent time in the HFAC and had a blast in several of the open ensembles. After severing my mission in Malaysia, I joined the gamelan ensemble, Bintang Wahyu. I made lifelong friends in that group where we spent an hour twice a week banging on the oddly-tuned gongs. Under the direction of Jeremy Grimshaw, we learned about the history and theory behind the Indonesian music style. The disappointments I faced at the HFAC taught me resilience and patience and helped me. While the failures hurt at the time, they helped open my eyes to career options and personal hobbies that I would have otherwise ignored. I found purpose and passion in areas that were completely invisible to me when I started at BYU. It feels weird to say, but I am thankful for my failures at the HFAC.
- Aaron B.

Looking for more entrances into the tunnels under the campus, some of the Fijis and I found a way into the H – face one night. We eventually found ourselves in a basement recording studio that none of us have ever heard about! I spotted the security guard‘s flashlight coming in from the other side, so our stealthy door – closing and skittering away suddenly became more urgent. Tossed our own flashlights into the bushes outside the HFAC before the guard caught up with us and he couldn’t pin ANYTHING on us.
- Brent B.

My wife (Katie Peterson, BS Visual Arts ‘04) and I enjoyed our final year at BYU as married students. She studied art, and I studied statistics. Our respective majors did not generally put us in the same area of campus. However, we made it a point to meet and eat a homemade lunch on one of the benches in the HFAC whenever our schedules allowed it. We were never quite sure if eating was permitted (and I hope we are past retroactive retribution now that the HFAC will soon cease to exist), but we loved meeting up to enjoy at least a few minutes together during our busy schedules each day. I will not be able to go back and physically see those little areas where we used to meet in the HFAC, but I will always remember the joy of a brief respite and a few minutes with my wife on campus.
- Luke P.

It boggles my mind that the HFAC is going down. My first semester at BYU was Fall 1973 and the HFAC was a sparkling addition to the university. I spent countless hours in the building in classes, as a reporter for the Daily Universe, and working in the Dean's Office Communications Center. In the Communications Center, I wrote articles about the Music, Theater, Art and Communications activities at BYU that were submitted to newspapers throughout the West. I also had the chance to serve as the student host for actor Jimmy Stewart when he visited our campus in 1978, along with Lassie! So many good memories -- thank you, BYU, and the people who made it so special for me, especially Glenn McMurtrey, Don Searle, Stan Mikkleson and Rulon Bradley. Speaking of Dr. Bradley, our student Public Relations Society won national awards year after year under his direction. While I will miss the HFAC, it was the people inside that changed my life for good forever.
- Rick C.

I have so many beautiful memories of the HFAC — choir rehearsals, choir concerts, operas, musicals, plays, graduations, Education Week, art exhibits, etc. This list could go on and on from not only the time I went to school at BYU, but worked there and played there. But this is one of my favorite memories. When I was a freshman at BYU way back when, all of the choirs got together during a lunchtime right before the Christmas holiday and sang Christmas carols. We crowded around all of the floors surrounding the main lobby hall and filled that hall with beautiful music! The highlight was when we all sang the Hallelujah chorus. That was the first time in my young life I had sung that glorious song and I felt the power of its truth drive deep into my soul. I still remember our director, Clayne Robison, telling us that he believed that song was THE song of the Second Coming and nothing had ever supplanted it. After all these years, I still agree with that sentiment. Thank you HFAC for so many blessed memories.
- Deena K.

My husband Adam (BYU 1999, Mechanical Engineering, MBA 2005) and I met in the HFAC. Back in November of 1997, I was anxiously waiting for my magenta Women's Chorus dress to be delivered by my seamstress cousin, who loved to procrastinate. I was looking through the glass doors on the floor below the de Jong concert hall where the choir was lining up, and here I was with no dress! Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a man jogging down the main white staircase to the Margetts Theater on the bottom floor. He looked vaguely familiar. In my peripheral, I saw him come back up a few stairs and look at me. Then down a few stairs, then back up a few more, then finally he exited the stairwell and came over to me. He was working as the House Manager of the "Little Women" production playing downstairs, and he recognized me from our ward. He asked if we knew each other, introduced himself as Adam Stewart, and asked if I was okay. At this point, it was minutes before the concert and I still had no dress, so I was not okay. He promised to help look for my cousin. Adam had duties that took him downstairs, but within a few minutes he was back. At this point, I was frantic and teary. My choir conductors Emily and Jared joined to console me that they wouldn't start the concert until my dress arrived. Suddenly, my erratic cousin whooshed into the main hall (atrium?), and I rushed out to grab the dress. The concert went well, and when I came home that night, there was a message on our apartment whiteboard that Adam Stewart had called to check on me. What a kind and considerate person, I thought! Eventually, we started dating, got married the next year and now have four children, two of whom currently go to BYU. That was 25 years ago this month! Fifteen years ago, we founded a non-profit community children's choir in Arizona, where Adam continues to use the skills he learned as a house manager at the HFAC, and I became a choral conductor, so we've really come full circle!
- Aimee S.

The HFAC has actually been a much more significantly greater part of my life than I initially realized when I went there in June 2022! It has been a temple of sorts for me, and definitely a place of a few vital personal revelations! I used to go to the HFAC as a young piano student (studying with Margaret Brown) for Piano Federation. I remember so clearly being nervous one year, my mom took me into an empty practice room and said a prayer, asking Heavenly Father to bless me during my Federation performance. I’m sure I received a Superior (the highest score) at every single Federation performance because it would’ve been devastating to receive an Excellent and I don’t remember any devastating performances there! ;) Later in high school, I took piano lessons from Dr. Robert Smith there, and played in master classes. How long did I take from Dr. Smith? I don’t remember, but probably at least two to three years, and I grew exponentially as a pianist taking lessons from him! He prepared me for my audition at Ricks College and I also took from him in the summer between my freshman and sophomore years at Ricks. I’m sure I went there on a number of dates there… maybe in high school, maybe when I was a student at BYU, and definitely some after that. I had a music-for-elementary-teachers class in the HFAC when I was a BYU student. I remember taking piano there again when I was working at BYU (at the Benson Institute) from a woman (whose name I don’t remember), and I would practice down in the basement in those stuffy little practice rooms. I think I started practicing the Grieg Piano Concerto down there during that time. I LOVE that concerto!!! I accompanied Jenny P. one time for one of her violin performances (her jury at the end of a semester?) in that building. At some point, I attended Jenny P’s college recital. As I sat there listening to Jenny, inspiration flooded in and I started writing and writing in my planner journal. I think I was just feeling inspired to pursue piano more! I happened to be sitting next to Jenny’s sister, Mindy, who was distracted and bothered by the fact that I was writing, and she leaned over and said I was distracting her. I didn’t tell her that I was receiving revelation, but instead stopped writing during the recital… I sang in a non-audition choir directed by Mack Wilberg one spring or summer term in the HFAC. I took my guitar class in that building with Lawrence Green when I was working at the Benson Institute and could take classes for free or almost free. A few years later, during the years when I was attending the 25 to 31-year-old singles ward that met in the building by the Provo temple and MTC, a guy in the ward had his cello recital, which I attended. I’m pretty sure that may have been the moment when I decided to go back to school (at 30 years old) and study piano! I took a handful of lessons from a variety of teachers — Massimiliano Frani and Rob Hancock — while I was preparing to go back to school at the U of U when I was 30. I know I’ve attended plays there over the years. Actually, I think that might be where I attended my first opera when I was about 25 (I think it was Carmen), and fell in love with opera!
- Kimberly B.

My friend, Lydia, was an art major and spent countless hours in the HFAC art studios. One April day in 2001, she invited me to make prints with her in the printmaking studio. A handful of other students were visiting and working in the studios and she introduced me to them as she gave me a tour. A tall, young man was working at counter to one side when we passed through the room. Lydia introduced us to each other and we moved on to a different studio. After having some fun together making artwork, I headed home and the tall, young man approached Lydia, asking more about me. He asked her to find out if he could have my phone number. When she called me, I turned the offer down since I had a boyfriend. She encouraged me to go out with this classmate of hers anyway, because she thought we'd hit it off, but I felt uncomfortable and still declined. Eight months later, in early December, Lydia called to chat. I'd broken up with the boyfriend a few months earlier and had another unsuccessful relationship after that. I was discouraged, upset and bitter. "Remember my friend, Neal, in the art studio back in April?" she asked. "Uh, not really. Wasn't he tall?" "Yes, that guy. I really see you two being good friends. I think you'd get along really well. He really wants to go out with you. Want me to tell him that you will?" she prodded. "Fine," I grumbled. She hurried up to the HFAC, where she hoped to run into him. Sure enough, though it was late evening on a Saturday, there was Neal, working on some prints. After some hesitation, she prodded his memory about the dark-haired girl she'd brought to the studio back in April. "She really wants to go out with you," Lydia assured him. Neal looked around at the pleasant evening he was preparing to have and then decided he might as well see how this unplanned date could turn out. He took down my phone number from Lydia and called me up. After a brief conversation, he showed up at my door. I barely recognized him; our first encounter had been in passing and so many months earlier. I was a little nervous, but his friendly and polite manner put me at ease. We shopped for ingredients and made dinner at his house, talking easily until it got late and he took me home. Our relationship steadily grew over the next four months as we felt drawn to spend more time together. In April 2002, one year from our first meeting, we were engaged. In July, Neal and I were married and have since welcomed six children to our family. We recently celebrated our 20th anniversary! Thanks to that unexpected meeting in the HFAC on BYU campus -- and a little help from a friend.
- Michelle C.

My dad, O. Lee Walker, spent 30 years working in the HFAC as the Technical Director of Theatre (1969-1999). I felt lucky when I got to go see him at work down the tunnel in the basement. It was usually a busy and noisy place. Dad loved the challenge of making the set designer’s plans become reality. He had to be innovative and come up with ways of doing things he had never done before. He remembers spending hours splicing cables to get a cable long enough to go three times around the turntable in the middle of the stage floor after reading how in a Navy handbook. I remember him trying to figure out how to make things move across the room without human help in the play "Blythe Spirit" and how to make a bullet hole appear when a gunshot sound went off. He also designed and built several vacuum forming machines of different sizes to build scenery, props, Cosmo costume heads, etc. Our family enjoyed being entertained watching so many plays in all of the theaters in the HFAC as we were growing up. I had a small part in a student directed play and my brother played Tad Lincoln in "Abe Lincoln in Illinois." I have so many good memories of time spent in the HFAC. Here are a few more memories from my dad in his words, as he has also been reminiscing: Back in the early 70s we had plans of cutting a double doorway upstage in the Pardoe. There was some dead space there that we needed to use for a storage space. We had to work in the evening rather than during the day, because we needed to make a lot of noise. We were cutting through the concrete with diamond saws and jack hammers. We had big air compressors on the east side of the building. We started about 7:00 pm. The thing we didn’t know was that President Wilkinson was meeting with the Seminary and Institute teachers up in the recital hall. President Wilkinson sent someone right away and told us to hold off on our project until at least 9:00 pm, which we did. At 9:00 we started in again only to have an irate President Wilkinson, himself, come shut us down. His suit was covered in dust as he made it clear we were not to start up our racket until he gave us the okay. We followed our orders. Apparently, I had a group of stage crew members that decided to swing on ropes from the balcony of the recital hall down to the stage floor. They would pull the ropes up through the seats until the ones on the balcony could reach them and take turns swinging down. I didn’t learn about that until years later. I’m afraid there are probably a lot of other things that went on that I haven’t heard about yet and it's probably just as well. It was sometime in the early 80s that Marshall Hutchings was up in a cherry picker above the concert hall stage. Someone on the ground was pushing the cherry picker to where they needed it to be. They hit a batten above the stage and tipped the whole rig over. As Marshall came down, he somehow hit the floor and came running out of the bucket across the stage without a scratch. I have no idea how he did that.
- Asena W.

Unfortunately, I never got to take any official classes in the HFAC, but I was lucky enough to attend BYU Art Camp a couple years before I came to BYU. I did activities in the classrooms and was able to experience the building before it was called to be demolished. It was some of the most fun I have had in art classes, partially because the environment was so good in the HFAC. I’m sad I don’t get to take my actual college classes there, but the HFAC has still aided me in my career as an artist. I also always enjoyed seeing the art displays on the main level, as well as seeing shows in the basement. Even if it was a bit of a maze, it was still an awesome building. I’ll miss it a lot!
- Kathryn K.

My dad, O. Lee Walker, spent 30 years working in the HFAC as the Technical Director of Theatre (1969--1999). I felt lucky when I got to go see him at work down the tunnel in the basement. It was usually a busy and noisy place. Dad loved the challenge of making the set designer’s plans become reality. He had to be innovative and come up with ways of doing things he had never done before. He remembers spending hours splicing cables to get a cable long enough to go three times around the turn-table in the middle of the stage floor after reading how in a Navy handbook. I remember him trying to figure out how to make things move across the room without human help in the play Blythe Spirit and how to make a bullet hole appear when a gunshot sound went off. He also designed and built several vacuum forming machines of different sizes to build scenery, props, Cosmo costume heads, etc. Our family enjoyed being entertained watching so many plays in all of the theaters in the HFAC as we were growing up. I had a small part in a student directed play and my brother played Tad Lincoln in Abe Lincoln in Illinois. I have so many good memories of time spent in the HFAC. Here are a few more memories from my dad in his words, as he has also been reminiscing: Back in the early 70s we had plans of cutting a double doorway upstage in the Pardoe. There was some dead space there that we needed to use for a storage space. We had to work in the evening rather than during the day, because we needed to make a lot of noise. We were cutting through the concrete with diamond saws and jack hammers. We had big air compressors on the east side of the building. We started about 7:00 pm. The thing we didn’t know was that President Wilkinson was meeting with the Seminary and Institute teachers up in the recital hall. President Wilkinson sent someone right away and told us to hold off on our project until at least 9:00 pm, which we did. At 9:00 we started in again only to have an irate President Wilkinson, himself, come shut us down. His suit was covered in dust as he made it clear we were not to start up our racket until he gave us the okay. We followed our orders. Apparently I had a group of stage crew members that decided to swing on ropes from the balcony of the recital hall down to the stage floor. They would pull the ropes up through the seats until the ones on the balcony could reach them and take turns swinging down. I didn’t learn about that until years later. I’m afraid there are probably a lot of other things that went on that I haven’t heard about yet and its probably just as well. It was sometime in the early 80s that Marshall Hutchings was up in a cherry picker above the concert hall stage. Someone on the ground was pushing the cherry picker to where they needed it to be. They hit a batten above the stage and tipped the whole rig over. As Marshall came down he somehow hit the floor and came running out of the bucket across the stage without a scratch. I have no idea how he did that.
- Asena S.

My favorite memory of the HFAC is the night my husband and I got engaged. We had talked about marriage and where our relationship was headed. We had even discussed rings a little, but hadn’t settled on anything. One Monday night he came to my apartment and was acting rather antsy. It was a cold January night, and he asked me to go for a walk with him. Even though we were bundled up, the cold was getting to us. We walked onto campus and into the HFAC to find a warmer place to talk. We were looking for some quiet and found one of the doors to the de Jong Concert Hall was left unlocked. We stepped inside and not long after we sat down on the red, carpeted stairs, he turned to me and asked me to marry him. He didn’t have a ring, but was so excited to ask me to marry him, he had decided to do it that night. Now I knew why he had been acting so antsy! Last spring when we heard the Harris Fine Arts Center was going to be torn down, we took our kids back into the HFAC and showed them (as close as we could get) where their dad had proposed to me. We memorialized that moment with a kiss and a few photos. In addition to our engagement, two of our sons performed in BYU orchestra performances and in summer camps on the de Jong Concert Hall stage. It’s been nearly 29 years since the cold January night he proposed. I will forever be grateful for and greatly miss the HFAC. Not only was it a wonderful place to see wonderful plays, art and hear beautiful music, it’s a solid part of our family’s history.
- Tiffany G.

I spent a lot of time in the HFAC for KBYU and various other classes. It took me the better part of a semester to figure out how the classrooms were numbered and where to find anything! My proudest accomplishment was that I had one of my watercolor paintings hanging there on the main floor for quite a while. Sorry to see her go!
- Jeff O.

During my freshman year, I got lost SO many times in that building. From the practice rooms to classes in a basement rooms with no windows along with singing in the Women's Chorus for several semesters, it took a couple of years to really know where I was. My first date with my future husband was to an Oratorio in the the HFAC. I needed to go to a concert a week for a music grade and since he wanted to date me, he came to many concerts in the HFAC. He definitely learned that country music was not the only thing people listened to. I can't wait to see the new fine arts facility!
- Jean T.

Having worked as a stage manager and house manager, I have a plethora of wonderful memories in the HFAC. I enjoyed working with my team to set up for events, manage those events, then clean up afterwards. I made so many friends and loved the experiences I had there. That job got me through college in so many ways. I will always cherish those memories.
- Jason M.

My memories are endless from rehearsing and performing with the BYU A Cappella Choir under the direction of Dr. Ralph Woodward in the early 1970s. But those memories are supplemented by events like the Mormon Arts Ball, art displays, and such. My most unique memory is performing as Samuel in a summer term production of "The Pirates of Penzance" outside on the northwest courtyard of the HFAC.
- Kent P.

Like so many BYU students, I mastered the art of napping in various buildings on campus. As a music student, many of those naps were in the HFAC. It didn't matter whether it was a soft bench on the fifth floor or on the hallway floor next to my classroom; I could fall asleep anywhere. I was quite pleased one day when I discovered a new napping spot: under the north stairs on the second floor. The staircase was free floating, so I could sleep directly beneath it, where it was quiet and dark and warm. No one was around, and I expertly positioned myself for maximum comfort. When I awoke, however, I was taken aback. I found myself between two other sleeping students. Three perfect strangers sleeping next to each other under the stairs!
- Darcy S.

One Sunday afternoon in August of 1979, as I walked along the sidewalk behind the Harris Fine Arts Building with my sweetheart, I asked her to marry me. Miracle of miracles, she said yes! We shared a very romantic kiss — our first! Years later, we took our children to see an exhibit at the MOA. As we walked along that very special sidewalk, we were overjoyed to see that a LOVE statue by Robert Indiana had been placed so close to that sacred spot! There might be some who would write it off as coincidence, but I am certain it was the vibes from that kiss that inspired the placement of that statue.
- Blake A.

I have such fond memories of performing in the de Jong Concert Hall and Pardoe Theater with BYU Theater Ballet during my freshman and sophomore years, 1986-1988. It was wonderful to mix and mingle with all of the other BYU dance companies in World of Dance. We performed West Side Story Suite, recruiting some of the Ballroom Dance team as we needed more male partners. I also loved dancing to Prokofiev’s music in Romeo and Juliet. I have as many great memories with BYU dancers in the green room as I do from the stage! We laughed, teased, prayed with and comforted each other as we shared that special time together.
- Christine W.

My junior year at BYU (1988-1989), I had the most awesome campus job as a secretary to the BYU music department’s Barlow Endowment. I had my own office in the HFAC, which I thought was really cool. It was actually more like a hallway/closet as it was about three feet wide with a door on one end, a window on the other, and a metal desk with a typewriter taking up the floor space in between. I spent weekday afternoons in that little office typing correspondence, maintaining a mailing list, and physically running typed memos up and down the HFAC stairs. I took minutes in meetings with greats such as James Mason, K. Newell Dayley and Merrill Bradshaw. I loved spending part of my day in the HFAC, seeing the beautiful art displays, listening to music rehearsals and associating with talented professors. It was the best on-campus job I ever had.
- Amey V.

Years ago as a toddler, I sometimes attended classes in the HFAC with my mother, an arts major. I have a single, particular memory of her pottery classroom: a large barrel of discarded clay creations. Approximately fifteen years later I too was a student at BYU. Despite being a computer science major, I spent a lot of time in the HFAC. I had a few general education classes there, but I also took a job in the Communications Department office, located in the HFAC, where I worked as a student employee for almost two years. One day I found a classroom in the northeast wing of the building where a few students worked on pottery wheels near a familiar looking barrel of discarded clay. Since graduating from BYU nearly thirty years ago, I have returned to the HFAC many times to enjoy concerts and other performances. Every so often I peek into that pottery classroom. I love that building of memories. I am sad to see it go.
- William S.

I could say so much about the HFAC. My BYU experience happened there, even before I joined my major. My freshman year, I did custodial there, wanting so bad to be in one of the majors in the HFAC. I met my husband doing custodial for the HFAC, which was the biggest blessing to come out of this building. As I entered music education, I found a home there with my cohorts and friends and professors, especially in the BYU choirs. With this being my last semester in the BYU choirs and start my student teaching next year, I will miss the memories in this building immensely. I won't get to fully experience the new building while I'm away student teaching, but I kind of prefer it that way. The HFAC was where I had a home at BYU.
- Sheridan J.

I will always remember the last day of Men's Chorus in 2020 before COVID hit. Our final concert was canceled, so we performed our entire concert in class that day. There was not a dry eye in the Madsen Recital Hall that day, because we knew that it would be the last time we would see Sister Hall conducting a BYU Choir.
- Taylor I.

I spent countless hours in the music practice rooms since I was majoring in both piano and viola performance, both practicing my solo pieces and collaborating with many of my fellow students. My favorite place to practice with hours was in the "fishbowl" of the de Jong Concert Hall. I played viola in a string quartet where we probably talked more than we practiced but we had a lot of fun. We talked about so many subjects during our practices that we called ourselves the "Tangent String Quartet." The HFAC was where I spent most of my time at BYU -- probably more hours there than my apartment. I will miss this crazy building with the long tunnels and lack of enough bathrooms.
- Joanne S.

Tucked away on the west end of the Harris Fine Arts Center's fifth floor is a large, spacious room where photographers, reporters and historians never go. Elementary music education students and elementary education majors fill it every day to learn about children and music. Off to the side are three offices. In the hall behind C-580 (as it has been numbered for all these years), storage rooms are filled with autoharps, ukuleles, Orff barred Instruments and hundreds of music toys for the pre-kindergarten children who come with their parents every Saturday to sing songs, move to the recorded music of such greats as Beethoven, Bach and Brahms and explore all things musical. For 37 years, that space was my home away from home. Part of its charm is that it is off the beaten path and not easy to find. One has to purposely look for it to get there. Good-bye dear, special place that holds all things musical for children and teachers of children. You will be missed.
- Susan K.

I will never forget my first performance in the magnificent de Jong Concert Hall with Synthesis. I first heard of the legendary Synthesis from a fellow missionary while 6,000 miles from BYU and I vowed to try to become a member of it when I returned. I was blessed to later be accepted to both BYU and Synthesis. I had only been home from my mission for six weeks when we had our first Synthesis concert, on September 30, 1976. There I was, on the de Jong stage, surrounded by some of the best musicians at BYU. The curtain was closed and a hush came over the standing-room-only audience as the house lights went down. The brass and wind players began softly singing their instrument parts of the opening two-bar vamp behind the curtain, almost at a whisper. (It was our acclaimed band director Newell Dayley’s idea.) I started playing a soft solo on my guitar. The piano, bass and drums gently came in. Then, the horn players switched to playing their vamp parts on their instruments, gradually increasing the volume -- the curtain opened, the stage lights came up, and the audience of 1,200 cheered, as the full band launched forcefully into the main melody of the song (“Fancy Free” by Donald Byrd). I will always cherish that memory and revere that concert hall in the Harris Fine Arts Center where I had that amazing experience.
- Mark H.

I met my husband for the first time at the Slab. We were both music majors, but never had any classes together in the HFAC. We definitely had mutual friends that helped us get connected, and passing each other near the Slab regularly led to our first conversation. He approached me one evening with a small poster in his hand, saying he was promoting an upcoming guest artist concert: The Airmen of Note. That concert became our first date. Every time we visit campus, we visit and remember the Slab with fondness. Two of our four kids eventually made the Slab part of their HFAC home!
- Jennifer E.

I visited it for my children who attended BYU; chorale concerts or plays and all kinds of wonderful performing arts.
- Chris K.

I had the privilege of meeting Lavell Edwards in the main lobby of the HFAC. I was drum major for the marching band that year and I was asked to meet him there when he came to express his appreciation to us for supporting the football team and for helping promote school spirit. One of the kindest men I have ever met. I have many fond memories of learning, practicing and performing in this beautiful and unique building.
- Carl L.

I watched choir concerts with my grandma there.
- Isabel L.

I had a crush from afar on Dan Bradshaw. Even though there was a huge hole in the middle of campus when the library extension was being built, I would walk over to the HFAC to read my British Literature on a bench in hopes that I would happen to catch Dan coming out of choir. When he finally asked me out after running into me for the zillionth time on campus, my roommates didn’t my just leave a message… they made a poster. Dan Bradshaw called! For our second date, I was meeting Dan at the HFAC to go to a play. Dan was coming out of a Singer’s rehearsal, so I brought dinner. As I hurried into the HFAC, the plastic lids came off the drinks and spilled all over me just as Dan walked toward me. The only speech I could muster in my flustered state was, “It’s wet! It’s wet! It’s wet!” I was a mess, but I was not about to miss a date with Dan Bradshaw. The HFAC was where we dated, talked, went to concerts… where Dan gave his first composition recital. I am thankful for the life we have had together and for the benches and hallways and doorways (It’s wet!) where we first came together.
- Emily and Dan B.

Since high school, my now-husband and I have gone to the Synthesis jazz concerts at BYU and then walked around the building talking for hours. It’s such a fond memory of the HFAC and we’ll miss it a lot.
- Jessica C.

The HFAC was my favorite building on campus. I loved walking through the atrium and hearing music being played, viewing art displayed and seeing someone rehearsing for a performance. Art all around me! It filled my soul just walking through the building. I also loved performing during World of Dance at the de Jong and joining with all of the various dance performing groups for one joyous show.
- Carrie B.

I loved getting to perform with the University Chorale on the same stage where my dad also sang with the University Chorale 30 years ago.
- Emily P.

The HFAC felt like home. I spent so many hours there practicing the piano, going to performances, attending music classes, chatting for hours with dear friends, eating lunch at the slab and practice breaks with my best friend at the vending machine (circus animal cookies!). It’s where I dated my husband, where I made the dearest friends and where I learned so much from my incredible professors. I will miss this building!! I brought my five kids there recently to show them around. I am so glad I could see it one more time!
- Jenny B.

The first day of theatre 101 freshman year, I met a boy in my class who became one of my best friends. We went to mask clubs together, studied together in the hallways and attended many other performances in the HFAC. After dating for a year, leaving to serve our missions and coming back, he proposed to me in the NELKE where we first met. The HFAC is a wonderful place filled with memories and history. It’s definitely where ours and other love stories have begun…
- Shelby C.

I loved looking at the art on display in the HFAC as I walked to Women’s Chorus in the Madsen. One day, the exhibit in the main gallery was taken down, and replaced with two yellow and black storage bins on a tarp. For several days, on my way to Women’s Chorus, I wondered what this “modern art” could mean. The next week, the bins had been opened and the clay inside used to make sculptures on the tarp. I guess I was overthinking it.
- Rylie S.

Not only did I finish my degree in the HFAC, I met my husband back in 2019 in the Pardoe Green Room for our class, TMA 228. We had class together, and started talking… and we haven’t stopped talking since! Now we have a little one. It all started in the HFAC! We brought our son to the HFAC to have one last picture together at the place it all started.
- Anna K.

I remember dark nights playing sardines and hide-and-seek in the HFAC basement. It felt like an alternate dimension; there was something so wondrous and beautiful about the emptiness, the art and the community.
- Elisha F.

I spent my senior year as a TA for Dr. Barrus, which meant I practically lived at the HFAC. The group picture shows myself with the other department TA (G. Garber) along with Dr. Ray Beckham and Dr. Dallas Burnett. Good times!
- Sue L.

Celebration of Christmas 2022 was a concert with the angels. Like that first Christmas, heaven seemed to meet earth, rejoicing with us in the witnesses of Christ that have been born here through music. Particularly stirring was “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming.” I listened to the choir as I never have before, waiting for their beautiful hushed sound to swell but was instead drawn to the strength of its stillness. The song surrounded us (with choir members in the balcony-wings and on the stage) and it truly felt as if the music was coming from heaven. My experience was not unlike this one: “And it came to pass that…they heard a voice as if it came out of heaven; and they cast their eyes round about, for they understood not the voice which they heard; and it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center, insomuch that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn” (3 Nephi 11:3). To have the combined choirs, who have so much vocal power, sing with such velvety stillness for so long turned my heart to the powerful and mild Christ-child and my soul was pierced with a tender witness of our beautiful Savior. When the audience was invited to sing "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" with the combined choirs and orchestra, my daughter and I (both choir alumni) were overcome with emotion at this last opportunity to sing here. Through our swallowed tears, we added our voices to the river of praise that seemed to connect heaven and earth. "Sing oh heavens, and be joyful oh earth, and break forth into singing...for the Lord hath comforted His people." (Isaiah 49:13) The angelic music lent comfort to my soul as we said goodbye to this beautiful place I love so much. To me, it is a musical temple, a place where I've come to know and praise God.
- Nicole B.

I wept throughout the “Celebration of Christmas," especially the numbers when all 600 of the student performers crowded the stage and edged the hall, not just because I was moved by the music celebrating the birth of our Savior but also because it was the last performance in the classy mid-century modern Harris Fine Arts Center. I have witnessed so much beauty in the HFAC since I started teaching at BYU 12 years ago and was overcome on Friday night by these memories, by my good fortune in living just up the street from the HFAC and by the generosity of the performers who have shared their craft with me and my community since the building opened in 1964. I was also weepy because I feel just about as close to my mom in the HFAC as I do anywhere else. I have thought of her during every one of the dozens of performances I have attended there, grateful to her for teaching me how to feel beautiful music and wishing that she was sitting next to me to take it in. But it occurred to me on Friday night that I also feel close to my Mom in the HFAC because she and her older brother John performed in the de Jong Concert Hall with the Young Ambassadors in the early 1970s and met each other in the HFAC every Sunday for church as well as every Tuesday evening for mutual activities. Because they spent so much time in the HFAC, they were the de facto dress-rehearsal audience for nearly every production put on in the building during those years. I've been listening to a song I heard Chanticleer sing in the HFAC in 2011 for the past several weeks. The experience of listening to this all-male vocal ensemble sing "Cells Planets" was one of the most aesthetically moving experiences of my life. Listening to this song on repeat has felt like the right way to memorialize the HFAC; it expresses the way I have felt towards both performers and my fellow patrons every time I have attended a performance in the HFAC: "I don't know you but I like you, I don't know you but I miss you, I don't know you but I need you." The new Music Building, which opens next year, and the new Arts Building, which will be completed in 2025, will be beautiful, I’m sure. I feel grateful to work at a university that supports the arts enough to invest heavily in them. I know I will continue to have sacred individual and communal experiences in these new buildings. But they won’t be haunted in quite the same way as the HFAC. And it is impossible to imagine that they will achieve the architectural magic of the HFAC’s modernist atrium, with its just-right assemblage of polished concrete, glass, steel and wood. So long, old friend.
- Jamin R.

For our family, the Harris Fine Arts Center has truly been a home away from home. Because of our love of music and the performing arts generally, my husband and I, our children and now our two oldest grandchildren have, through the years, gravitated to the warm embrace of the HFAC and all it offers. Since all of us came from out of state to attend BYU, and left our families far away, we enjoyed how the constant yet random sounds of instruments playing, voices singing and students chattering felt both familiar and exciting. Using a rough calculation, we estimate that my husband and I, our children and the two grandchildren that just started at BYU have collectively spent in excess of 35,000 hours in the HFAC across a period of now 49 years. This includes six music degrees, two communications degrees, years of BYU Acapella Choir, Men's Chorus, BYU Singers, Concert Choir, etc. and hours locked up in little practice rooms singing or painting piano keys with bleeding fingers, grand performances, competition awards and so much studying and learning. Beyond the learning and skill development are the rich memories created as we made life-long friendships with both fellow students and caring faculty. But, there were more than just friendships formed during our hours in the HFAC. My husband and I discovered each others’ love for music as we met one day between the Men's Chorus and BYU Acapella Choir rehearsal. We had our second date in the HFAC at the Mormon Arts Ball. It was just a short time later on the steps of the HFAC that he gave me a missionary-type challenge: either I date him exclusively, or he would plan to date others as well. I accepted the challenge and the rest is history. Following the tradition, three of our four daughters met or came to know their future husbands in the HFAC. We have so many great memories from our time in the HFAC that it is impossible to relate even a small part of them. In many ways we are sad to see the building go. We will miss the nostalgia created when we visit BYU and we wish we could share with all of our next generation the common experience of the HFAC. But we know the new building will be a center for making new and exciting memories for the generations to come. Farewell HFAC. We will miss you!
- Marlene A.

This building is where I made my first friends and where I spent the most time since coming to college. I learned how much I truly love music and I realized that this really is something I want to do for the rest of my life. The experiences I have had in this building have made it almost like a sacred space to me.
- Avery G.

I was an intern at the Division of Arts Production in 1995 when the HFAC turned 30 years old. We held a huge gala to celebrate the building and all the fine arts that had graced its halls. We had art displays, concerts and live theater performances, and a special performance by the BYU Ballroom Dancers. It was a black-tie event, and I can still remember standing on the third floor balcony, watching those dancers spin through the center of the building. It was spectacular!
- Amy L.

I love the HFAC! My memories began (1970-72) in middle school and into junior high school, as a member of the BYU Children's Chorus directed by Margaret Woodward. Thursdays after school, we gathered in a classroom on the southwest corner of the HFAC. Some of my friends were also in the chorus and we thought we were so neat to go to BYU campus and walk into the beautiful HFAC (Ralph Woodward directed the Acapella Choir and we performed at some of their concerts). My freshman and sophomore years at BYU, I had communications classes in the HFAC. It was always a pleasure to walk into that beautiful building with unique architecture. The sounds coming from the practice rooms brought a smile to my face. It seemed that vocal students, as well as the piano, and various instruments competed as they performed their exercises. Throughout the years I enjoyed the student art displays on the main floor. The de Jong and Pardo Concert Halls hold many special memories. My singles wards held stake conference and firesides in those halls. I also attended many concerts and plays in those beautiful halls. Over the years, I attended many BYU devotionals and forums (in the summer months), BYU Women's Conference, and Education Week classes also in the halls. I was invited to an Arts Ball held on the main floor of the HFAC. I am forever grateful for my experiences at BYU and in the HFAC, which have greatly blessed my life. I look forward to the new Music Building and future Arts Building. Go Cougars!!
- Robyn K.

I practiced in the de Jong green room every morning at 6 a.m. A handful of students would use the adjoining showers. I’m sure they get Mozart horn concertos stuck in their head to this day.
- Sara S.

HFAC days… In the words of Charles Dickens, “It was the the best of times, it was the worst of times.” For example, there was the time the jazz students invited four classically trained french horn players (including myself and my now husband) to play at their concert. It’s simultaneously my most embarrassing and cherished memory of completely failing and living through it with my right hand man. *Photo is of only two of the offending/offensive players.
- Sara S.

I guess you could say we're an HFAC family. My mom received her BFA and MFA from BYU and spent hundreds of hours doing shows in the de Jong, Nelke and other performance spaces. I grew up coming to choir concerts with my parents, and then choir and Wind Symphony concerts as a high school "music nerd." I played in every orchestra and band during my time earning a BM in Flute Performance, and particularly enjoyed touring Europe with the Wind Symphony and Dr. Don Peterson. My husband also studied in the Commercial Music program and worked as a TA in Studio Y. Although we met before BYU, our shared time in the HFAC makes up some of our best memories. Our one-year-old son has even enjoyed pounding piano keys in the practice rooms!
- Lyndsay K.

For my first two years at BYU, my ward met in the Harris Fine Arts Center. It was such a beautiful setting for our ward meetings and weekly activities. Our stake also met there so the building was a spiritual center for my life. I had many classes and attended many productions in the HFAC over the years both while attending BYU and since graduating, but it will always be the spiritual center for my BYU life for my first two years away from home that stay in my heart.
- Rebecca L.

I was preparing for my senior organ recital. Students were required to play a preview of their recital for the faculty several months before the actual performance. They would then determine if the student was prepared sufficiently to set a date and actually play the recital. The date of my preview was at the end of finals week in December of 1996. I came down with a cold and a friend who was working on a bachelors in piano gave me some cold medication. I noticed that it had alcohol in it so I set it aside and used my own medication. The morning of the preview I spent several hours rehearsing in a practice room. The medication began to wear off so I took some more. It was then that I realized that I had brought my friend's cold medication by mistake instead of my own! I practiced some more but began to notice a bit of dizziness. I was shocked and prayed that Heavenly Father would forgive me for my honest mistake, and that I would be able to play well and pass. My preview was around noon and as I headed up the stairs to the recital hall, I was dizzy and woozy and held on to the hand rails. But the medication didn't affect my playing. Doctors Parley Belnap and Don Cook said that I passed the preview and I then played my senior recital the following June. I was drunk when I played my preview at the Harris Fine Arts Center at BYU!
- Ruth Ann H.

Despite its countless rooms, the HFAC did not really have any for small ensemble practices. At Summerfest music camps, which I attended during high school and before the School of Music accepted me as a major, trombone sectionals were held in the cavernous de Jong Concert Hall upper stairwells, where the reverb was several seconds long. Then, I remember calling one of the building's two freight elevators (it had none smaller) and finding a string quartet practicing in it! Also, the two pipe organ professors' offices both had pipe organs sharing a wall, and it was common to hear the other organ playing through that wall during master classes!
- Thomas W.

Three memories of the HFAC: Taking a class in one of the auditoriums (The Madsen recital hall). It was a film class taught by Charles Metten. We would watch movies on the big screen and then discuss them. The Mormon Arts Ball. A different band or orchestra set up on each end of the main floor. People very dressed up dancing away. But the best part was the polka! Everyone moved in the same direction, but to dance you had to merge. It took a bit of courage! And if someone tripped up skirts would fly as people fell, dominos style. Best memory? I was on the tech crew for BYU Young Ambassadors for several years. Each year we put on a performance in the de Jong. Beautiful venue. And I got to run a Super Trooper! Amazing and fun memories.
- Virginia J.

I remember all the singing everywhere you go. Students sitting all over doing solfège signs and practicing sight singing. My husband thought it was the strangest thing, but to me it felt like home.
- Carlene A.

As a speech pathology/audiology major, I spent many many hours in the HFAC. Many were pleasant and enriching, but the hardest one was coming out of the one-way mirrored therapy room where I had been working with a little boy and finding all of my textbooks gone from the room across the hall where we stashed our stuff when working. With great financial difficulty, I eventually replaced my textbooks. At the end of the semester, I went to the buy-back book area in the Wilk and searched through piles of books looking for my stolen ones. I had written my student ID number on p. 20 near the spine of each book. The front pages where I had written my name were all torn out, but p. 20 confirmed that they were mine! BYU police traced the culprit, who was a BYU cheerleader, but I was never able to recover any money. I’d like to think that she needed them more than I did, but I doubt that as her major wasn’t speech pathology/audiology!
- Ann L.

I remember going to the Mormon Arts Ball in the HFAC in the early 80s. Black tie, very swanky. We were dancing to some sort of polka and my date and I accidentally smashed into another couple. It nearly turned into a ball room blitz. Good thing they played a slow song after that.
- JP C.

In 1975-1976, The Harris Fine Arts Center was where I spent all my time. From directing one-act plays to speech classes and learning so much from my school councilor Merrill Frost, I will miss that building so much.
- Glenna H.

There aren't words to describe what this building has meant to me. The HFAC has been part of my life for as long as I can remember, from taking piano lessons as a child in Dr. Anderson's office, to performing in the de Jong Concert Hall with BYU Singers, to now watching my own students perform on that same stage. My husband asked me out on our first date in the foyer of the Madsen, and I knew I was going to marry him after we sang together in a practice room in the basement. I lived at the slab in between classes. Walking in those glass doors every day felt more like coming home than anything else. How can I describe how much I learned, how much I grew as a musician and as a human being? Choral arranging classes with Dr. Wilberg, conducting classes with Dr. Staheli. Music Theory flowing like its own art form across those torturous chalkboards. Listening exams, written exams, juries and recitals. But above it all, making transcendently beautiful music every single day with some of the greatest people I have ever known. My heart aches to know that this building will soon be only a memory, but how blessed I feel that those memories are mine to treasure forever.
- Krista B.

As an English major, I usually only visited the HFAC for concerts. One semester, for some odd reason, my small-size writing for English majors class was held in the HFAC. That's where I first met Jennie, an intelligent, sharply dressed, pre-law English major, just like me. She caught my eye right away, and I realized she was also in another, larger English class with me (Old English Literature), but it took a month for me to get up the courage to speak with her. One day, after our writing class, I decided it was time. She left before me, so I chased after her and saw her one floor below me, by one of the sets of stairs in the open HFAC atrium. "Jennie!" I yelled, to get her attention. She stopped, startled, and looked up at me as I ran down the stairs, trying to figure out what I was going to say to her next. "Want to get together tomorrow to memorize the Prologue to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales?" (an assignment in our other class.) Looking back on it, that was the lamest first date I ever could have requested. Luckily, she said yes. That was 29 years, 1 wedding, 2 English degrees, 2 law degrees and 4 kids ago. That staircase in the HFAC will always hold my favorite campus memory.
- Richard B.

I have many wonderful memories of the HFAC: singing on the de Jong stage in the chorus of Opera Workshop productions and conducting a choir for a stake conference attended by Elder Spencer W. Kimball. The building was truly a place of knowledge and learning for music and the arts. I also recall often getting lost in the maze of hallways below ground level.
- Jill P.

The HFAC is where I attended my lab for 117R movie appreciation class -- a three hour time where I got to watch movies. "This is going to be a fun class," I thought to myself, not realizing it would change the course of my life for the better. As the custom was back then, we were asked to move to the center of the room to make room for late comers since the class was so popular and full. About a month into the lab we were all asked to move into the center and I sat next to a good looking young fellow. He was talking to a couple girls on the other side of him. He mentioned to them that he was from Virginia. My ears perked up; "An Easterner." This intrigued me since I am from Connecticut. When their conversation settled down, I started to ask him about Virginia and talked about me being from Connecticut. My thoughts were, "Yes, another person from the East!" We sat next to each other since then and would continue our conversations. After six weeks of sitting together I was going to start sitting somewhere else. He finally asked me out on a date the sixth week of sitting with each other. We dated for a year and a half and married in Washington D. C. Temple in August of 1980. There was lots of living a good life in Connecticut and adding four daughters to our family. Our trials and blessings were many. My husband died of pancreatic cancer in 2007. Life has changed since his passing but, I still have sweet memories of sitting next to my future husband in the theatre room watching movies at the HFAC for the 117R movie appreciation class.
- Melanee W.

I sang with BYU Vocal Point from Sept 1998 through April 2000 and will long remember the many hours rehearsing in the “bowels” of the HFAC in the green room beneath the Pardoe Theater. The nine of us would meet at 7 a.m. and sing until about 9 a.m. five days a week and then often have a gig Friday or Saturday night. The best shows were to cheering fans in the de Jong Concert Hall. Most mornings, it was dark when we arrived and it was often dark when we made it home. So many memories from the HFAC !
- Greg G.

There are too many important memories to single out one. I just know that I have had some of the most powerful experiences of my life in the HFAC. I have felt the electric power of truth as Professor Jones passionately spoke up against prejudice and hate. I felt utter compassion and vulnerability as I put myself out on the line every day in class. I felt the powerful bonds of friendship that can only come from hours of unitedly working on beautiful projects. The HFAC is a sacred space for me.
- Emma A.

I love the HFAC! I practically lived there during my time at BYU. As an art major, I had so many classes there: watercolor, intaglio, figure drawing. I met with teachers, mentors and counselors that helped me along my college experience. I attended my first opera here, Carmen. I presented my senior art show here. My fondest memory at the HFAC was being part of the student group that hosted Māori students from New Zealand on a student exchange let by Brother Ostraff. It was such a wonderful experience to exchange ideas in art and culture and build friendships.
- Gisela B.

Between working as part of a stage crew in the labyrinthine basement, napping under the stairs to attending countless performances and auditioning with my heart in my throat, I spent more hours in the HFAC than anywhere else on campus, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. The HFAC captured my heart and my imagination in all its maze-like, quirky, joyous, outlandish glory. May it continue to inspire bravery and creativity in the collective memory of all of us who wandered its halls (and then wandered back the other way because we were in the wrong wing, again).
- Paige G.

The HFAC was my second home during my tenure at BYU. I spent many hours on the slab at the north stairway with so many talented and wonderful people. It was a great place to relax, gossip, do homework, work on scenes and make appointments to work on scenes. The first stage combat class would rehearse fights on the main floor. Mainly, it was a place where friendships were born, strong familial bonds between us were forged. Those friendships are still strong since those days long ago. Yes it is sad to see this beloved building go the way of the dinosaur, but without those friends and professors to give it life and use, it would only be a building. Because of them, the HFAC was home. A place to connect, to keep from being too lonely, to act, to sing, to debate and provide all of us who travelled its halls the tools to move into the faster lane of life. For me, much of what was discussed there is used in my teaching today. D-341 lobby was home to many rehearsals for scene and directing work. Great shows from brilliant professors will remain strong in memory: Huebener, A View From the Bridge, Man and Superman, A Man For a Seasons, Room Service, Of Mice and Men. B-201 and the tunnel. I directed a student production of Inherit the Wind on the west patio. We set up chairs, lights and scenery. We had a capacity for over 100 audience members. Many from the community acted in this production. It could be heard throughout campus. We had a strong rain storm one night, not one audience member left. A last memory: I had graduated several years earlier when the Utah Theatre Association held its conference there. I had a performance of Shadowlands in the Margetts. I remember the lines started on the fifth floor and traveled to the basement. My young daughter got to be in A Midsummer Night's Dream there, my oldest son was in the Camera Noise Production of The Curious Savage. I love the HFAC.
- Corey E.

Having a roommate in the Arts, she enlisted me as an usher for several plays in the HFAC. Among my favorites was "Stone Tables" by Orson Scott Card (also a student at the time). That play sparked a life-long fascination with and study of the Old Testament by me.
- Ruth C.

Freshman year I had painting classes in the HFAC that inspired me to follow my dream and change my major to an art degree. I also loved taking dates to see some of the many wonderful plays performed here!
- Joseph S.

My husband and I first met in a music history class held in the de Jong Concert Hall in the HFAC. I love our story. I sent out an email to the entire class, hoping to find a good group to study with for the semester. I got several responses, but one young man and his friend were the only ones that consistently studied with me. During that semester, we studied together several times for tests, but there was absolutely no chemistry between us. He didn't ask me out, and I didn't really want him to. Fast forward to the next year when we met again at a mutual friend's apartment. This time, chemistry! We started dating, and the rest is history. Daniel, my husband, took me to the de Jong Concert hall one night when it was empty to give me my engagement ring (after getting engaged somewhere else). We were married a year and a half later. Now, we take our kids to BYU every year for a family date, and a big part of our date has always been visiting the HFAC to remember and commemorate the big part that it (and the class that we both took there) had in our lives. We are very sad to say goodbye. Picture: me, sitting in the de Jong Concert Hall, around where I would've usually sat in our class, on a date night, pregnant with baby #3 of 4
- Leslie H.

I took classes in the HFAC as an undergrad in Communications and Advertising. The F-Wing will forever live in my memory. That, and no windows, while being stuck in the bowels of that building for almost all our classes. I have also had the opportunity to start two programs in the HFAC in hidden little corners. The BYU AdLab was started in a literal closet in the F-Wing of the HFAC. There was just enough room to fit a small desk, a blueberry blue original iMac, and two chairs. From those humble beginnings and in that small HFAC closet, the #1 ranked advertising school in the nation and the #1 creative advertising program in the world started. I was privileged to be the co-founder of the AdLab with Professor Doug McKinlay, and become its first manager and subsequent Director, and then replacing Doug upon his retirement as a Professor and Faculty Director of the Lab. The Laycock Center for Creative Collaboration was also created, and I served as its first Director. As space is the most difficult to find and important resource on campus, we were given some former BYU Broadcasting space, and we remodeled the former control room and engineering offices in between Studio A and B, suspended in between two floors and the only offices on the 3rd Floor of the A-Wing of the HFAC. It was quite literally a cupboard under the stairs, a la Harry Potter, and some absolute magic came from that little creative corner of the HFAC. I worked with Associate Deans Ed Adams and Rodger Sorensen, and Dean Stephen Jones to help shape the vision and goal of using creative collaboration to bless the work across the campus.
- Jeff S.

In 1967, I returned to BYU from Denver after working to earn college tuition money. I roomed with Frankie Fox from California, who was majoring in Theatre. My major was journalism, especially the printed word. Frankie was always found in some theatre rehearsing for one of her many productions. My favorite was when her friend, Doug Stewart, introduced a new play "A Day, A Night and A Day" in the small round theater. My classrooms were all over the Fine Arts building including the television studio. It was exciting to have a beautiful new building for our studies. Yes, Frankie and I both graduated and moved away from Provo to raise families. Frankie passed away after a life helping others including with her knowledge of theatre that she learned in that beautiful new building. It was shocking to me to learn the university was tearing down that fabulous building to start over. It's tearing little parts of my memories apart. How did 1967 become 2022 with the architectural features outdated. To me it's still trendy with soaring staircases, many theatres full of talented students and faculty, and radio and television filling airtime for listeners. The last production I shared with my granddaughter was a well-staged Brigadoon. To keep up with new students studying theater a new building needs to keep up also. Yet, I still remember early mornings and late nights when we had to be at the HFAC for important events that shaped our lives. If you're tearing it down, keep the memories alive in our hearts and documentaries.
- KayLee P.

I spent so many hours at the HFAC, I practically lived there. Good bye old friend, I will always remember the oil scent in our studio. 🥰
- Yadira B.

In the fall of 1976, I entered BYU as a first gen student, a Kimball Scholar and clueless. I didn't know, for example, that I should take courses from the best teachers, even if they were not on my major outline of classes. However, I did discover two things that enriched all of my university experience. One was the honors program and the other was the HFAC. I learned early -- and to my delight -- that the HFAC had wonderful plays, and they were only a dollar. I went to every play during my four undergraduate years. Years later, when my children began to attend BYU, I discovered that the HFAC also included wonderful music. All five of my sons have sung in Men's Chorus, and some have also participated in the Philharmonic Orchestra and Concert Choir as well. One of my sons majored in piano pedagogy, so we attended many of his concerts in the Madsen Recital Hall. He is now getting DMA from Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. One of my daughters played in the non-audition choir and took voice lessons (The other daughter graduated from BYU-I in cello performance). These experiences expanded my idea of learning and gave me foundations in art (which was always on the walls and the main floor), music and theater and continues to enrich my cultural life today.
- Karen A.

I entered BYU in the Fall of 1987. I was not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A very close cousin of mine had passed away unexpectedly a few weeks prior to me entering college. I missed my cousin so much. He enjoyed making amateur movies and had a great sense of humor. On my cousin’s birthday in October 1987, I walked into the HFAC and asked if I could speak with the dean. I went into his office and told him about my cousin and his passing. I asked if I could make a modest donation to the HFAC in honor of my cousin. The dean was so gracious and kind. It made me feel so comforted. When I think of the HFAC, I think of that interaction with the dean in honor of my cousin. The dean’s kindness and compassion made a big impact on me and my decision to stay and eventually graduate from BYU. After graduating, I did become a member of the Church. I’m so grateful for my BYU experience.
- Julie S.

During my freshman year, I sang in the Men's Chorus during Rosalind Hall's first year as director. I loved the time spent rehearsing and performing in the HFAC. I lived in the nearest on-campus dorm to the the HFAC (Broadbent Hall in Heritage Halls). I could go from my dorm couch to a choir chair in well under a minute, especially if I didn't have to wait for the light at the crosswalk.
- Eric P.

I spent the most formative years of my life in the HFAC. I grew as a musician, person and disciple of Jesus Christ. I spent countless hours doing the most difficult and most rewarding work I've ever done. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to study in this building, which holds a special place in my heart.
- Kalysha C.

Watercolor (strange seeing Brother Marshall in one of the Temple films! Only at BYU), Pastels, Lithography, Drawing with Jim Christianson (bet he STILL remembers my attempt at a Nude drawing [a DARING challenge in the 80's]; how EMBARRASSING! Does "Hollywood" sound familiar???), and sitting on my oil covered stool in Oil Painting taught by Bro. McKay who taught us how to make our own handmade paints =] I got engaged that semester and he was concerned because he rarely saw me again (YIKES!) BEST ('89) graduation program EVER! =D|
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From the first moment I walked into the HFAC as a student in 1968, it felt like I was home. The energizing buzz on the main floor was palpable as I watched students chit chat and then disappear into the wings for classes, lessons, rehearsals, opera workshop, the scene shop and more. My memories include nervously checking callback sheets and then spending hours on all the stages rehearsing the musicals, "The Order is Love," "The Jo Show" (Little Women) and "Dames at Sea" (opposite Lars Christensen) with choreographer Dee Winterton and directors Max Golightly, Lael Woodbury and more. I watched Newell Daily form Synthesis with my husband-to-be as one of his trumpet players. My mother-in-law, Barbara Lowe, even taught group piano/theory there. Three of my daughters earned music degrees in that building, and my oldest daughter Kysha Lowe made BYU history in the early 90's when her piano quartet, coached by the Drinkall-Baker Duo, won the National Collegiate Quartet Competition in Washington DC. Two more of my children studied organ with Parley Belnap, while our two oldest played in the BYU Young Chamber Players with David Dalton. Over the years, numerous professionals have emerged from the HFAC. Never did I realize just how my training there, coupled with my experiences as an original founding member of the Young Ambassadors, would lead to marriage and incredible musical opportunities the rest of my life! President Worthen's 2022 Christmas message is a call to action; we need to exercise our faith and commitment to enlarge the influence of our BYU education in a world that longs for hope and joy. HFAC, we will always be family!
- LeeAndra M.

I have so many memories of the HFAC: taking classes, working with Stage Ops, seeing shows, supporting friends’ senior recitals, performing, attending church, etc. But I think my most beloved memory of the HFAC was seeing BYU’s performance of Carmina Burana in February 2020, right before the pandemic hit. I sat with my friend on the first row of the de Jong Concert Hall balcony, leaning forward as hundreds of musicians delivered Carl Orff’s masterpiece with monumental power. By the end I was moved to tears and grinning like a madwoman.
- Lindsey B.

The HFAC is a mysterious building! I will miss the quiet privacy of the downstairs organ and piano practice rooms. I spent hours in the basement practicing music. I absolutely loved going to Alan Menken's Disney concert in the HFAC back in 2018. That was my favorite concert I went to there. I also will miss playing laser tag in the basement!
- Mitchell R.

I experienced my first live ballet in the de Jong Concert Hall as a child, participated in BYU Broadcasting’s news program for 6th graders, enjoyed innumerable concerts and plays, and then found myself in some of those concerts and operas/musicals myself as a music major. I used to play “guess the major” from the 3rd floor during lunch. I watched students come in the south door and try to guess their major by the way they walked.
- Cristy R.

I didn't have many classes here, but I was part of the window washing crew, and maintained this building regularly. My most vivid memory was cleaning windows, summer session, enjoying the day time and sun with the window cleaning crew on one of the patio decks. We had an 'ol school boombox playing Steel Pulse reggae music. "Earth Crisis" was the song in memory, and I can sing every word to this day. Such vivid memory of a 22 year old kid trying to figure out school, life, paying bills and what's next.
- James S.

As a violin performance major from 1993-1999, I feel like I practically lived in the HFAC. I have so many fond memories of orchestra rehearsals, practicing in the practice rooms, taking breaks in the halls of the practice rooms, concerts in the de Jong concert hall and finding other creative places to practice like the stairwells and the green room. I feel like the HFAC was literally my home for four years, I was surrounded by people who all shared the same passion of music and I learned so much. It is also where my future husband (not a music major) and I realized we could see ourselves being married, and so we decided to start dating! My mom was a voice major so it was very special for 2 generations to call the HFAC our home. My daughter is now an art major at BYU. I was looking forward to her having classes in the HFAC, but alas, that was not to be! She's enjoying the ample space at the West Campus. I feel like once the HFAC is torn down, we will all keep a piece of it in our hearts.
- Sonia W.

My dad proposed to my mom here. About 20 years later, this is where I didn’t make it into BYU choirs and then where I did. It’s where my brother and I sang our last Christmas concert together. It’s where I spent hours practicing in the basement. Where I went to my first (only?) marimba recital. Where I’ve attended and performed in dozens and hundreds of concerts, plays, recitals and exhibits. Where I made some of my dearest friends. Where I first arranged music for my ward choir. Where I really learned to sight read. Where building Zion through music cemented into my soul. Another 20 years later, I came back as a professor and gave a post-play talk session here. It’s where my toddler son has now come for music lessons. I’ll miss it dearly.
- Sharon H.

The HFAC is named after Franklin D. Harris, who was president of Brigham Young Academy when my Grandfather, Bert Fullmer, attended. The academy became a fully accredited university under Franklin Harris’ tenure. Franklin met my grandfather and became aware of his situation: both of his parents had died, and Bert was supporting himself through school. It was then that Franklin stepped in and became a father figure to my grandfather and helped him get through college. Bert not only graduated, but then taught at the university before moving to LA and ultimately becoming head city planner. My grandfather LOVED to garden and now I have an inkling why. Franklin Harris was an agricultural scientist, holding a doctorate in agronomy from Cornell University. I am most certain he shared his love of plants with my grandfather, who consequently won countless awards for his own meticulous home garden. Bert was also the landscape architect for the Springville Art Museum. What touches me the most is how Franklin’s act of kindness to watch over my Grandfather has affected multiple generations. You see, just like Franklin took my grandfather under his wing, my grandfather took two young boys under his wing when he married his sweetheart, Ida Packard, and adopted her two boys, one of which was my father. My father attended BYU as did I. I love that three generations of Fullmers have attended the university. Franklin S. Harris was known for his love of the arts, so much so that when it came to name the arts building, his name was chosen to represent it. I’m so grateful for that building! Just like Franklin put his arm around my grandfather during his time at BYU, so did the music that filled the halls of that building during my time at the university. The HFAC was a refuge for me during my time at BYU. I loved singing every day for an hour in the Madsen concert hall. I sang in women’s chorus with Tracy Jensen and then Concert Choir, with the amazing Mack Wilberg who conducts the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. So thank you, Franklin S. Harris, for being the father figure my grandfather needed during a crucial time in his life. Thank you for creating a legacy that helped steer the course for multiple generations. You were a remarkable man and I am so grateful for you and your legacy. I am beyond grateful for the Franklin Harris Fine Arts Center and the amazing memories created there.
- Annie H.

The HFAC was home and the heart of my BYU experience. Any rehearsal or even social gathering almost always started at "the Slab" and would proceed from there. I became an expert at finding classrooms, theatres, foyers or even hidden nooks where we could have rehearsals. Great times.
- James Royce E.

Three things of lasting importance have happened to me in the halls of the HFAC. First, I received my education in photography from good teachers and staff and graduated in 1982 with my BA. Secondly, and most importantly, I met Marilee Caldwell from Upland California at the south entrance of the HFAC next to the bulletin board and couches that were usually there. Her sister introduced me to her. I remember the time of day and the weather outside; I remember everything. We started dating in June and were married in September of 1982 -- 40 years now. We've spent most of that time in Massachusetts where I am originally from. East coast guy meets West coast girl. One last experience: I was coming up from the photo lab that was in the basement, coming up the stairs to exit the building to the North parking lot where my car was parked. As I was walking up the stairs, I suddenly felt the powerful spirit of the Holy Ghost. I continued my walk up the stairs to the landing and headed down the hallway to the exit, feeling this powerful spirit. As I came to a side hall that led into one of the theatres, I saw President Spencer W. Kimball and his councilors and their wives gathered and talking. I quietly tried to slip by so as not to disturb them. Then suddenly, President Kimball turned around saw me and to my surprise, quickly walked up to me with a big smile, put his hand out, and said, "How are you young man?" in his raspy voice. I looked down at him, reached out my hand and he shook it with great vigor. He was a man of small stature but I felt his presence through the spirit over 90 feet away. I will never forget it. The HFAC probably has thousands of stories like mine but these are the three that are special to me. I will always be grateful to the Lord for my experience and privilege of attending BYU and working in the HFAC.
- James A.

I discovered the HFAC while working at 4:00 a.m. in the morning as a janitor. It was that building that prompted me to go into the Fine Arts. I attended concerts in the de Jong concert Hall and the Madsen Recital Hall, acted and the Margetts and Pardoe Theatres, built sets in the theatre workshop, met fellow students at the large statue of the Indian Massasoit that used to stand in the main gallery. I will keenly feel the loss of this building as it holds so many emotional memories from my time spent at BYU.
- Polly W.

I called the HFAC home for nine and a half years while working on my degrees and having five babies in the meantime. My experience began as a student at Provo High, when I went to the HFAC every morning before school started to practice the harp. It continued through my bachelor's degree, spending uncountable hours in stuffy and sometimes smelly practice rooms learning music that would ultimately be performed in the de Jong, or the Madsen Recital Hall, or even places like E400 or the beautiful stairs. Then I had the opportunity of earning a master's degree there. I remember when I passed my orals, I ran down the back stairs to the bookstore, and bought fudge with impunity, all the time wanting to yell, "I passed my orals!" After my own degrees were earned, I had the great fortune of accompanying my own daughter as she progressed toward her Music degree on the violin. How many concerts, plays and recitals I delightfully attended! If I counted the hours I have spent in its confines, it would come to a staggering amount, I am sure, and I'm grateful for every minute.
- Sherrie D.

The HFAC is a sacred space for me. It was here as a freshman at BYU that I discovered the awe-inspiring talent, grit, and passion of the students and faculty in the School of Music. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I wanted to be in the music program, too. Through a series of miracles I was accepted into the music composition major. The HFAC was a constant support as I attended classes, studied, practiced, and performed within its walls. I will always remember my senior recital in the Madsen Recital Hall and performing with the University Chorale in the de Jong concert hall. I will always be thankful for the part that the HFAC played in my educational experience at BYU.
- Hannah G.

A beautiful and practical building. My BYU home when I wasn’t working in the Daily Universe news room. Great professors like Ralph Barney, Dallas Burnett and Ed Haroldson. I taught journalism course labs as a graduate assistant to Dr. Barney. Dr Haroldson gave me the contact that led to my first post BYU job. That led to a 40-year career writing for some of the nation’s leading magazines, including my final 30 years for a Time Inc. owned publication. My BYU education and my work on the Universe gave me the tools to make it in the journalism world. It is special to me that a grandson has spent much time in the past two years as a music composition major. It has been a joy to always take a memory stroll through the HFAC whenever a vacation brought me to Utah.
- Jim P.

I started my career in broadcast journalism in 1970 when I began working part-time as a student at KBYU-TV in the infamous HFAC Tunnel. I did not major in broadcast journalism but that is where my career path took me. I worked as a freelance producer and director and sometimes reporter (when no one else would do it) for CBS, NBC and the BBC News. It was a wild ride! Much of the time, I never knew which time zone I was waking up in or which time zone I would maybe go to bed in... if, in fact, I would actually have the luxury getting to go to bed. I have been around the world many times over but never managed to land in Mexico, Central and South America, Canada and most places in the USA. I have been shot at (and shot), chased by wild animals and people and met the most wondrous people of the world both famous and infamous and the most wonderful and inspiring humble men, women and children of the world. I will have to come an pay my respects to my beloved HFAC Tunnel and visit the new BYU TV facilities.
- Bruce E.

My most memorable classes, rehearsals and performances were in the beautiful Harris Fine Arts Center, where I first felt at home at BYU. I am sad to see it go. Here is where I received my first invitation to perform professionally, recorded my first album, and gained valuable experience to later teach at BYU Idaho. But very special to me is the night a student director led me to the Green Room stairwell, where he shared with me that after 4-5 years of dating, I was the only girl he felt he could marry. He was so sincere. I was impressed that he was one of the few guys who did not play the "dating game" I so disliked.... We married in Sept. 1972... This year, we celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary!
- Diana Lynne J.

I met my husband in the HFAC. First in high school at music camp, then in college. There are many other good memories there, but that is the best and most important.
- Ginna H.

I spent more hours in this building than anywhere else on campus. Each stage was my home. I can still smell the sawdust and see the makeup, hear the sewing machines and hammers and saws, eagerly waiting for the actors to perform. My love for the big echoey hallway under the HFAC will never die. This was my building, and I appreciate all it's given me.
- Rachel R.

Performing on the various stages, working in the shops, studying in the different classes prepared me to be a theatre director and educator for 40 years. I wrote, directed, performed, built sets, made costumes, designed publicity... that's what you do in a rural school. I thank BYU for giving me the knowledge to become that person. I also modeled for the art department. The first day I walked the halls and saw drawings of myself with feathers in my hair and black material draped over my shoulders hung on the walls, I felt like a star. Now, I am an artist. Thank you HFAC. Good memories.
- Sarah B.

This building was my home every semester for my entire degree. My father-in-law also spent most of his time at college in the HFAC. This building has truly been a special place for so many of us. After nearly 6 years, I still could get lost in the basement, though. Goodbye, old friend.
- Dorian P.

It took 7 semesters to receive my degree, and I spent all of them in the HFAC. When I finally left, I left with knowledge that impacts every aspect of my life.
- Rachel G.

My dad proposed to my mom at the HFAC. About 20 years later this is where I didn’t make it into BYU choirs and then where I did. It’s where my brother and I sang our last Christmas concert together. It’s where I spent hours practicing in the basement. Where I went to my first (only?) marimba recital. Where I’ve attended and performed in dozens and hundreds of concerts, plays, recitals, and exhibits. Where I made some of my dearest friends. Where I first arranged music for my ward choir. Where I really learned to sight read. Where building Zion through music cemented into my soul. Another 20 years later I came back as a professor and gave a post-play talk session here. It’s where my toddler son has now come for music lessons. I’ll miss it dearly.
-

I was finishing my BS and working on my master's degree in speech language pathology, with a minor in audiology. This required MANY hours of heating screenings. I would wander around the HFAC stopping everyone (and flirting if need be) asking if anyone wanted a free hearing screening. Thankfully many people were kind enough to oblige me. I always loved the HFAC! Very fond memories.
- Glenda G.

Although my major did not have any classes in the HFAC, my college girlfriend (now my wife) Baylee was an acting major, so I spent countless hours in that wondrous building and had the opportunity to explore its many rooms and theaters, backstage areas, and the labyrinthine sub-basements. I volunteered as a makeup model for friends a couple of times and was turned into an old man and an orc among other things, and I was even allowed to take the beginner stage combat class as a non-performing arts major (likely the only person who can say that) because my then-girlfriend was the TA, which was such a blast! I saw many shows there, either sitting next to Baylee or watching her perform, and my college experience would not have been as rich or as meaningful had it not been for the many memories made in the HFAC. It's sad to see it go, but the memories made in that beloved building will always remain.
- Rory P.

The HFAC was one of the first buildings I stepped foot in as a freshman at BYU in 1996. I was a hopeful vocal teaching major and there were choirs to try out for and faculty members to meet with -- all in the HFAC. A year and a half into the program and I realized that all the competition was causing me to doubt myself and made singing more of a chore and less of a joy. I changed my major to Nutritional Sciences and later Psychology. I loved all the energy that was happening in the HFAC so I found excuses to come to the building frequently: watching my friend perform with the ballroom dance team and the annual World of Dance showcases -- both in the de Jong concert Hall, all the senior art shows on the main level, frequently going with friends to the practice rooms on the bottom level and singing and playing our hearts out, and most importantly, enriching myself by continuing to sing in choirs and private lessons as well as taking drawing classes in the studios in the far corners of the HFAC. So much of my time at BYU was spent in the HFAC -- it really does feel like saying goodbye to an old friend...
- Kiersten B.

My freshman year I was introduced to the Art Store Room in the HFAC. Glory of glories! With some money on my student ID card, I could purchase gorgeous large sheets of paper at cost. There was an enormous roll of watercolor paper that could be torn off in the length of my choosing. That storeroom felt like a wonderland of possibilities.
- Kara B.

As a member of the bass section of the BYU Oratorio choir, I stood with all the other singers on the stage of a magnificent concert hall that was to be dedicated that night and named in honor of Gerrit de Jong, Jr. In front of us were the 100 members of the BYU Symphony Orchestra all in their formal black concert dress. As I looked out into that beautiful auditorium and focused on the top back rows of the upper balcony, I realized what was meant by the comments that there were still a few “finishing touches” that had to be made. All the seats of the auditorium were upholstered theater seats, whereas the back two rows of the balcony consisted of metal frame folding chairs! But it wouldn’t make any difference to our performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, the “Choral Symphony” which that night proved to be a glorious “Ode To Joy!” Finally, Dr. Crawford Gates took his place on the podium, raised his baton, and for the first time ever, music filled the hall! What a magnificent, electrifying performance it was. Dr. Gates directed with the passion and exuberance reflecting his love of music and the significance of the event. The final notes of the symphony filled that beautiful auditorium, truly reflecting “Freude, Freude” as the capacity audience rose en masse to cheer and applaud. The Gerrit de Jong Jr. Concert Hall was officially dedicated and the HFAC open! Before I graduated several years later, I returned to that magnificent hall, as a high priest in the opera “Aida,” as a Londoner encouraging Oliver to “..consider himself at home,” and as a member of the Oratorio Choir singing the music of Mozart, Brahms, Dvorak, Haydn, Orff, and many other great composers. But none of those performances ever reached the glorious excitement of that opening night concert. For me it was then, and has always remained, a “marvelous work and a wonder!”
- Robert S.

I met my wife to be a couple hours after she arrived in Provo. We dated for a while, then we drove up into Provo Canyon and I proposed to her. Her answer was the worst ever: "Are you kidding?" She told me she would get back to me. Two days later, we arranged to meet on the steps at the southwest corner of HFAC. She said yes! We have now been happily married for almost 44 years.
- Clint S.

My favorite non-performing course at BYU was choral conducting. On the first day of class, Dr. Mack Wilberg let us know that it was very rare for him to give an “A” in that class and that he had only given a handful in all his years teaching it. I resolved right then that I was going to work hard and do what it took to earn one. I never missed class and spent countless hours throughout that semester developing my skills in front of a mirror in a practice room down on the second level of the HFAC. I don’t ever remember being more excited to receive my grades than at the end of that semester. It was thrilling to open them and find that my hard work had paid off — I actually received an “A” in choral conducting from Mack Wilberg! He taught me so much in this course and in Men’s Chorus and Concert Choir about hard work, perseverance, and always striving for excellence. His influence has had enduring effect in my life ever since.
- Daniel F.

Aside from being the place where I spent many hours studying and practicing, the HFAC holds a special place in my heart as the setting where I proposed to my wife. While we were dating, we snuck into the Margetts Theater late one evening and danced together to soft music in the empty black box performance space. Later, I led my soon-to-be bride on a scavenger hunt across campus, stopping at various places where we had formed memories together. The final stop was in the Margetts Theater, where I knelt and popped the big question -- and she said yes!
- Peter F.

I have been to the HFAC a number of times since I was around 8. My dad is a professor there and took me to lots of performances. Some of the most memorable were experimental and student composition performances.
- Enoch T.

I started at BYU in 1977 as a Piano Pedagogy major. It was an exciting time, a stressful time, a learning time and a time to make connections that would last a lifetime. Most of the faculty serving during those four and a half years of my degree work are no longer with us. Once I started remembering the names of the music faculty, the list grew longer and longer. Hal Goodman, department chair James Mason Reid Nibley, piano (my first piano teacher) Paul Pollei, piano, (my third piano teacher) Robert Smith, piano Richard Anderson, piano (my second piano teacher) Lawrence Sardoni, violin Percy Kalt, violin Barbara Williams, violin David Dalton, viola Clyn Barrus, viola Walter Birkedahl, double bass Doug Bush, organ (my organ teacher) JJ Keeler, organ Parley Belnap, organ (my theory teacher) Ron Staheli, theory and choral (my form & analysis teacher) Ralph Laycock, orchestral conductor Ralph Woodward, choral conductor Newell Dayley, jazz and trumpet Harold Laycock, winds Darryl Stubbs, winds Gaylen Hatton, winds Ted Wight, flute Glenn Williams, bassoon David Randall, clarinet Larry Lowe, French horn Dan Bachelder, trombone Steve Call, tuba and euphonium Clayne Robison, vocal Brandt Curtis, vocal Ray Arbizu, vocal Bob and Clarine Downs, vocal Margaret Woodward, vocal Harrison (Tom) Powell, music history Merrill Bradshaw, composition David Sargent, composition Susan Kinney, early childhood music I'm sure there are more but that is quite a list of who's who in music. The amazing thing is that I accompanied in most of those studios as a student. It turned into a lifelong career for me and I value the lessons I learned while under such great tutelage. After graduating, I continued to accompany BYU music students. Here we are 46 years later and I'm still accompanying the students. I average 20 recitals a year, so I estimate I've played over 800 recitals in the Madsen Recital Hall and other performance spaces in the HFAC. It is an honor to have had a close relationship with the faculty and students housed in the HFAC. My life is enriched by my experiences lived there. Now they will be fond memories. The first photo is me at age 6 with my family when we visited Provo in 1965. Who knew I would end up walking the halls of the building behind us for so many years. The second photo is me in December 2022 after the last day of juries ever to be held in the building. Onward to the new Music Building and making more glorious music!
- Jayne C.

So many of my most cherished memories involve choral music. I was privileged to be in the original performance of "The Redeemer" by Robert Cundick and Ralph Woodward. We sang in the de Jong Concert hall. The work was a spiritual pinnacle, made even more touching when we learned President Spencer W. Kimball and (then) Elder Boyd K. Packer were in the audience.
- Bruce S.

When I began classwork at BYU, the HFAC was newly built and it was exciting to be in such a beautiful building! I remember that the first Vocal Point groups gave noon concerts from the stair landings which could be heard from every part of the building and overlooked the entire floor. I also remember dances held there. Since I was a member of both the BYU Concert Band (where my husband and I met during my junior year) and the BYU Marching Band, I spent a lot of time in this building (my minor was music). After graduation from BYU, we lived outside of Provo for the next 14 years. When we returned in 1981, we began to attend events held in the HFAC: concerts, plays, and Suzuki music competitions for our children. I also enjoyed taking classes just for fun, many of which were held in the HFAC (water color art, calligraphy, beginning theatrical makeup). In 2000 I decided to pursue an advanced degree in the Theater Department with a focus on costume construction, design, and makeup. As my graduate project, I designed the costumes for "School For Wives," and was amazed that I was able to do this! I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent in this building pursuing subjects I loved learning about. We have continued attending performances and productions there in the years since. The Harris Fine Arts Center has been a major part of my life and, although I am very sad to see it go, I appreciate the many happy experiences I have enjoyed there! The Harris Fine Arts Center has been a big part of my life!
- Marlene M.

My now-husband was my fiancé and visited me in some of my longer classes in the HFAC. Longer classes also meant I was able to really get to know people and make lots of friends there. I always loved getting to walk through the exhibits, as well.
- Shana N.

My Dad taught at BYU for many years, so I spent quite a bit of time as a kid in the Wilkinson Center and the Fine Arts Center. I attended church in the Art Center (the fighting 46 branch) and hung out in my dad's office. I spent countless hours at the Daily Universe on the fifth floor of the Wilkinson Center, playing on the DEC terminals. While my dad edited articles, I watched them paste up the pages of the newspaper, watched the teletype machine. BYU Campus and my dad are some fond memories. *Sorry a bit off topic*
- William P.

I was a new Freshman in 1964 and a music major. It was the first school year the Harris Fine Arts Center building was opened for use. The “Y Center” (Wilkinson), as it was called then, was also brand new. I remember walking into the HFAC and being awed by it. It was so beautiful to me. The Atrium was a special place to me as I performed and listened to performances at “Music at Midday.” There were also exhibits, dances, concerts and more there in the Atrium. It was decorated for the seasons and always looked wonderful. The practice rooms below ground were my home away from home. My roommates joked that I should pay rent to the practice rooms instead of our apartment since I spent so much time there. My teacher, Paul Pollei, was an inspiration to me. His studio had two grand pianos in it and was crowded, but held many memories of time spend there. The Madsen Recital Hall was where choirs practiced and recitals were done. I liked to slip in at the top and listen to the rehearsals and recitals. The de Jong Concert Hall is where my Graduation was held in 2004. After leaving BYU to get married, I finally finished 40 years later. What a special moment. I loved the staircases at each end and the beautiful openness to the building. It is truly a special place to me and will hold dear memories forever.
- Karen S.

I had just been accepted into BYU Singers and I thought the greatest thing in my life had just started. I had my first rehearsal with the ensemble in the Madsen. Little did I know, that rehearsal is where I would meet my husband. We got to know each other by talking on the Slab, and eventually started dating. We had many concerts and rehearsals in the HFAC together. Now we are married and the HFAC will always be the beginning, where our happiness started. It will always be in the happy memories of the beginning of my music degree and the beginning of the best relationship I'll ever have.
- Madison P.

ODE TO THE HFAC Some would say it is just a building Built of stone and pain. With rooms to practice endlessly And lose your way… again. But for me, it has more meaning; I’ve helped to keep the grounds. I’ve gone to see the masters play Beautiful songs of praise. I’ve used the practice rooms to sing And bear my soul to God. I’ve united my voice with others Trying to earn His laud. I've waited in the wings for concerts Hoping that all our practice Will be felt by those who listen here And those who watch abroad. So when you say with vigor “It’s just a building gone,” Remember that God has roamed these halls With me and those since gone.
- Jessica K.

I began my freshman year as a graphic design major and spent a majority of my time in the HFAC. I played many games of hide and seek for family home evening, and ate many sandwiches from the basement vending machines. I always felt at home in the HFAC -- it even had my favorite water fountain -- but the best part was the people I met and the friends I made. Although I will never have another class in the HFAC again, it will always remind me of the foundations and beginnings of my college experience.
- Ashley P.

I am a new transfer student, so I didn't get to see the HFAC for very long. Though, I remember the first time I walked throught it during Spring Term 2022, and the last time before going home for Christmas Break 2022. I also remember doing proctered exams and tests, studying, writing papers there, all in the HFAC. I also slept there on benches, now at West Campus, two to three times. It was always very peaceful, quiet, and sometimes the music echoing through its walls helped fall asleep and take a nap. Cut, and that's a wrap on the HFAC!
- Tiago B.

I don’t remember the first time I went inside the HFAC, but I do remember always loving the building. The big open atrium, quirky layout, art displays on the walls, and music flowing from every hallway captures my heart. I didn’t know as a little girl that I would spend hours in the HFAC as an undergrad, nor did I know that I would witness its last year of use. Little did I know then how much I would grow, both as a person and as a musician, within the walls of that building. The HFAC holds many memories for me, and because of that is dearly loved and will be sincerely missed.
- Jewel T.

The HFAC became my favorite building on campus during my very first semester at BYU. I was in Women's Chorus, and I was often in the building. One day, I was walking out of the southeast exit just as it was getting dark outside, and I could see the art studio through the glass! It made me so happy. It became a habit of mine to check in on how the artwork developed and see what was added every now and again. All throughout my years at BYU, I would show the studio to friends and family.
- Evelyn P.

I struggled mentally when I went to BYU. I felt like I never had any friends or support while there. I discovered by chance one day that the HFAC had piano rooms downstairs and I decided I would learn to play. I would go there anytime I was struggling. I spent a lot of time in those piano rooms and became quite skilled at playing, but it’s also what helped me get through those hard times.
- Brandon B.

"The King and I." It's my first memory of being inside the Harris Fine Arts Center. It was 1984, 4th grade. I was mesmerized by the musical, but paid little attention to the building, a place that would later be at the center of my college and professional life. The HFAC was completed the year my parents married, 1965, when they were students at BYU. It was in that building in 1997, as a college sophomore, that I found the flyer hung on a basement wall that introduced me to live television production. I had found my major. It was the year I got married. For the next two years, I spent a lot of time in classes and at my student television job in the HFAC. Its large concert hall, theaters, television studios, art galleries, and classrooms became my second home. Since graduating, I continued to spend way too much time there, in live television productions, teaching classes, and, best of all, bringing my family to theatre productions, much like my own experience in 4th grade. I'm familiar with the weird hallways and the many quirks. I sprained my ankle helping a TV truck back out of the enormous HFAC tunnel in the basement, near where I saw that sign that got me started in my major and career. I've been in just about every room, even rooms that don't officially exist. I have a lot of friends with whom I've worked and studied there. It is the building that started it all, at least with me, as a 10-year-old enthralled by a live production on a theatre stage. This week, BYU started tearing it down, 58 years after building it. The new building will be, I'm sure, magnificent and ready for more modern purposes. I look forward to it, knowing others will be inspired in big ways. So here's to you, HFAC. You sparked in me creativity and hope, and started me on an adventurous and lively path. The HFAC and me, the King and I.
- Scott H.

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend BYU Summerfest in 2006. I loved every minute of my time spent in the HFAC playing my instrument. We played fun songs like "The Imperial March" and songs from "West Side Story." I think it was being on that stage playing those songs that made me fall in love with music. I felt so alive, and I think about that time often.
- Cindy A.

My wife of four months and I saw the Provo Temple dedication closed circuit broadcast in the Pardou Theater in April 1972.
- Will K.

So many memories of the HFAC since all of my acting, music and musical theatre classes took place in that amazing building. I did shows in the de Jong Concert Hall, the Pardoe Theatre and the Nelke Theatre. I participated in recitals, rehearsals, lessons, classes and practice sessions in all the nooks and crannies of that maze of a building. I hung out and did homework for hours in the slab and made some of my best friends inside those walls. It will forever be a part of my remarkable BYU education and experience and I will be forever grateful for all the people I rubbed shoulders with during my time there. Au revoir HFAC!
- Debbie D.

I would often cut through the HFAC building as I left the main campus to the (old) Heritage Halls and one day, I met my future wife on one of shortcuts. I had walked by her and recognized her as someone in my ward and I waved hello, she was in the middle of a conversation with someone else so I did not interrupt but kept on walking up the stairs on the north side of the building. I could hear that she was wrapping up her conversation so I waited at the top of the stairs a moment to see if she would walk up the stairs as well and we could maybe walk back toward the dorms together. It turns out she was also eager to chat with me so she bounded up the stairs and found me waiting there for her. She turned slightly red and she realized that I had seen her running up the stairs. I didn't mind at all! We walked back to the dorms and I dropped her off at her door. She was surprised I had kept walking her all the way to her door instead of peeling off to mine, but I wanted to keep talking! We started dating shortly after and now we have been married nine years and have two awesome boys!
- Alex L.

Always felt lost in this building. Reminded me of "Relativity" by M. C. Escher.
- Alex Z.

Where do I begin? I'm so sad to see the iconic HFAC go. It was a huge part of my BYU education from the art classes I took to the concerts, recitals, and plays I attended, to the exhibits I observed, to the choir rehearsals I participated in, to the stairs I climbed, to the numerous classrooms I sat in, to the many classes I attended as a communications major so many years ago. The HFAC was my building. My dad often purchased Christmas Concert tickets for our family back in the day those many years ago. We had the fun experience of attending the recording of the famous Mack Wilberg's Men's Choir performance of Betelehemu. We weren't allowed to clap right away because of the recording. It was all we, as an entire audience, could do to refrain from bursting. The second we got the green light, we erupted in applause and leapt to our feet. I will never forget that moment. I remember exactly where I was sitting. It was electric! A fond and tearful farewell to a well-loved edifice that housed so much beauty, exquisite talent, art, culture, teaching and learning. Truly experiential. Farewell :-(
- Julia B.

I was part of the Women’s Chorus under the direction of Sister Colleen Harris. I LOVED when all choral groups would gather at Christmas to sing the Hallelujah Chorus! We lined each floor, along all the stairs, facing the center of the interior of the HFAC! The singing was glorious, almost angelic and thunderous at the same time! We all felt the excitement of the occasion and it was an honour to participate in such a wonderful event using our God given talents to celebrate Jesus Christ! Nothing better EVER!!!
- Heather D.

Although I graduated from BYU, my most impactful HFAC memories are of recitals and plays I saw there with friends during high school. It was wonderful to have access to such art and talent, especially in the last days before the internet. I also remember playing in a high school honor band that met at the HFAC. From my undergraduate years, I have priceless memories of participating in Douglas Bush's early music ensemble and performing J.S. Bach's "St. John Passion" in the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake. I also fondly remember weird composition recitals in the Madsen Recital Hall, practicing the lute in the cells of the 2nd floor, and playing crumhorn with friends in the foyer to the de Jong. I never understood how I got away with checking out these instruments, since I was not in a music program. I probably shouldn't have practiced on the pipe organs, either. As an adult, I have taken my children to the HFAC dozens of times for music lessons, and attended many concerts and university conferences in the de Jong. The HFAC has been a fixture in my life for a long time, even though I never studied in the fine arts. Last but not least, I will never forget the first floor: a creepy, empty, silent abyss with weird stairways leading to nowhere.
- Thomas S.

Formative Memory: Hearing the BYU Wind Symphony and Synthesis in the de Jong Concert Hall as a high school student convinced me that I wanted to come to BYU. Getting to play on that stage many times was a dream come true. Unfulfilled longing: For a long time I've thought that it would be epic to play laser-tag in the HFAC — all those practice rooms, alcoves, and balconies would make for an incredible experience!
- Michael W.

It is a wee bit difficult for me to hear that this grand old building is coming down. I grew up in this building, attending concerts and recitals as a child. Through my teen years, sitting in on Synthesis rehearsals with Ray Smith and the many great players that came through that band. I attended school events here and year after year of Summerfest as both a student and a counselor. I took years of guitar in the Green Room with Professor Green while in high school and in college. I completed my degree here as a guitar major in both jazz and classical with a scholarship in both studying under the great Lawrence Green. After injuring my hands, switching over to recording to stay in the music industry spending my time working in Studio Y, the composition studio, and Mac lab on the first floor studying under Jim Anglesey. I taught guitar there for many years and met my wife there, with whom I have six children. I loved all the nooks and crannies found in this building and all the dead-ends and crazy stairways that lead to dead-ends for patrons. I could say so much more of the thousands of hours I spent in this building in classes and practicing late nights and weekends until close and often past closing. Of course, my deep memories are in the people and events that happened in this building, and so on to a new era of music and art.
- Adam O.

The morning of 9/11 was pretty typical for me: wake up, head to the HFAC building for class or practice, etc. Except as my first class let out and I was on the central staircase people around me said, “Have you heard? An airplane hit the twin towers! Have you seen it?” I remember following the mass of people over to a room with the media coverage playing and just feeling stunned. I was watching when the second plane hit and just couldn’t believe it was real. I think I went straight home and watched the news. It was a day in the HFAC I will never forget.
- Alicia W.

I was working for KBYU doing a broadcast with the governor at the time (Mike Leavett). The governor offered me a ride home (I had a mutual friend with his wife). I declined the offer because a guy I was dating was going to meet me to walk me home. When my guy showed up, we had our first kiss in the tunnel. That guy has been my husband for 27 years.
- T. B.

I was not a fine arts student. Rather, I was an engineering student who took breaks from my very challenging classes and studies by walking over to visit the HFAC. The atmosphere and the people I encountered there were a welcome change, and I still remember how much I enjoyed viewing the various exhibits and displays that were present.
- Karl M.

In the Harris Fine Arts Center, I was introduced to glorious music, elevating art, illuminating drama, and character building instruction. One year, every choral group on campus stood on every level of the building overlooking the gallery and sang excerpts of Handel’s Messiah. The sound was thrilling and drew staff, instructors, and students walking nearby on campus into the building to listen. So many memories and not enough space or time to tell them.
- Susan M.

The Fine Arts Center was my home for many, many years, and I'm not sure there was a corner I was not familiar with. I worked in the Music Department in the de Jong Concert Hall, media services, and for the Theater Deptartment. When I was a younger student and still didn't know the tricks and turns, a friend of mine and I got lost in the practice rooms on the bottom floors. All we wanted to do was find our way out and we couldn't find the elevators or the main stairs. We finally found a staircase and began to climb, only to find ourselves confronted by a very angry stage manager of the de Jong who thought we were trying to sneak into the Concert Hall without paying for the show. (It was later that I worked for that same stage manager.) It was that experience that provided me with a sure fire win in any game of Sardines in the HFAC. The building will be missed, but I'm sure the new one will be just a memorable.
- Erin C.

My husband and I had our first date in the HFAC. Years later, we enjoyed attended our son's performances there with BYU Men's Chorus. We have lots of fond memories of plays, concerts, and chance encounters with art pieces. Fare thee well, HFAC.
- Taunja B.

For five years I lived in that building, in the recording studio every week, rehearsing for musicals and with the Young Ambassadors and Synthesis. I made so many friends and memories. Newell Daily talked me into majoring in music there, and that has taken me on a decades long journey as a music professional in Los Angeles, working first in music publishing and then producing professionally. It feels like a part of me is going away with the HFAC. A shout out to a few of the great friends I built memories with there: J Bateman, Dave Mohlman, Tony Mortimer (RIP), Staci Peters, and the incredible teachers and mentors like Ron Simpson, Janielle Christensen and Jon Holloman. Thanks be to God for giving me such a great experience there!
- Trey V.

I remember going to one of my very favorite classes in the HFAC, history of art! My friend and I both had it and we would meet there, get a candy treat and go to class, which consisted mostly of slide shows (like a movie) showing art and artists! I still have my textbook! Also, I remember seeing all the art exhibits in the foyer and going to plays and musical events. Our son had his Law School Graduation there in 2022. I will forever miss this iconic building that held so many special memories for me!
- Sue M.

As a high school student, I was hired to be part of a pit orchestra for some summer productions that would take place in the Harris Fine Arts Center during Education Week. I had a scholarship competition right before a performance one evening, and ended up needing to change clothes in the elevator. In considerable haste, I did a complete change, top to bottom, between the third and first floor. When the doors opened, no one was the wiser for my costume change, and I walked out nonchalantly, suitably attired for my pit orchestra gig.
- Rebecca P.

During my first semester at BYU, a very patient scene shop manager gave me a job. I had a lot to learn, but I ended up working in the HFAC scene shop for over three years and helped build many sets. I remember taking my lunches in the stairwells and listening to all the rehearsals and performances. I loved the busyness of that building. That job set the stage for one of my favorite things in life. Using what I learned in the scene shop, I have designed and built the sets for over 20 plays in our community.
- Nate M.

I cleaned the HFAC every night for a couple of years when I first started at BYU. My boss was the nicest man and really helped me out as I learned how to be on my own from my family in Japan.
- Ryler N.

I was a member of the BYU Philharmonic Orchestra my freshman year under the direction of Dr. Clyn Barrus. I will never forget the night he had us kneel and pray together prior to our performance of Gustav Mahler’s second “Resurrection” Symphony. Dr. Barrus died a few years later, far too young. Learning from him in the glorious Harris Fine Arts Center ranks among my most meaningful memories while a student at BYU.
- Rebecca P.

I learned how to play piano practicing every day in the basement of the HFAC for a year. Thanks, HFAC!
- Zach S.

During my undergraduate time at BYU, the HFAC was one of my favorite places to sit and draw. All the windows and angles of the building were good frames of reference for the things required for my art class. It was also a nice place to sit in the winter and still experience the sunshine without the cold outside.
- Amy S.

My very first BYU memory: I was 10 and attended a flute conference in the recital hall with my Dad. One of my few memories of him taking time just for me. Then, when I found myself far from home for the first time as an undergrad, the HFAC became my safe space on campus; not to mention the plush red carpets and quietness of the de Jong lobbies provided the perfect spot for an afternoon nap.
- Jenni R.

I vividly remember all the film classes I used to take at the HFAC and how lots of great friendships and collaborations started there. My husband and I met during our time in the media arts program. We recently went back with our toddler to take a walk down memory lane before they tore it down. It was fun seeing her walk the different hallways and classrooms. We hadn’t gone back since we graduated and made it a nice family outing. We even went to the Creamery for a much needed dairy fix.
- Melissa M.

I have so many wonderful memories from time spent in the HFAC. It was there I took my first art class and tried my hand at drawing and water color. It was there I learned to appreciate art of all kinds. I also had church in the Madsen, took guitar lessons in the practice rooms downstairs and went to too many concerts and plays in the de Jong concert hall to count! All of my children and grandchildren have spent many happy hours in the HFAC. Long after I graduated from BYU, I returned for Education Week almost every year, waiting in line for classes and attending plays and concerts in the HFAC. I feel like I am saying goodbye to a dear old friend! A beautiful home that is well worn and loved. All the sweet memories will live on ❤️
- Karen B.

I went to many theatrical productions in the HFAC while I was there (1982-85). One such was my first opera, "Tartuffe." I don't really remember much of the opera, but it was in a smallish stage on the ground floor, east side of the building. We had great seats! Of course, being a smallish theatre, ALL the seats were great :).
- Thomas K.

I used to go there a lot to see the exhibits in the main hall. One time it was of LDS art and had a large painting, easily 10 or more feet tall, of King David. It was of the pointillist style with large thumbnail sized daubs. Close up, it was not very impressive, but far away it was very nice!
- Thomas K.

I'm now 75, but way back in 1966 I was fortunate to receive a scholarship from the BYU Music Department. I played the viola and had a practice room in HFAC, took lessons there, played in the symphony and chamber orchestras, and, my favorite, in a string quartet. So many friends made there. So many memories. I'm sad to hear it is gone.
- Barbara J.

Oh! How I loved it when the orchestra would perform on one side of the main floor and the Jazz Band would perform on the other, while those who attended the ball were dressed in their tuxedos and gowns. Oh! How I loved hearing the orchestras and choirs perform Christmas carols on the main floor and the balconies! The echoes of the music in the HFAC will forever live in my heart!
- Terry S.

During my undergraduate and graduate years at BYU, the Harris Fine Arts Center was my home. As an art major, most of my evenings were spent in the printmaking and painting studios finishing art projects. Upon reflection, an important lesson taught there was that the nature of an artistic career was meeting deadlines. As a full-time artist, the past 49 years have been full of deadlines of all kinds. None of the early classes and late nights were dreary. Everything was exciting and even fun. I loved the teachers and my student colleagues. The proudest moments occurred when one of my pieces would be exhibited in the B. F. Larsen Gallery. Besides the visual art component of the Harris Fine Arts Center, the School of Music played a crucial part of my education. For a few years, I played percussion in most of the band and orchestra ensembles just for pleasure. Understanding the close connections between musical and visual art has been a subject of interest to me throughout my career. The HFAC was the perfect launching pad for me.
- Brent L.

My husband, Edward L. Blaser (1973 BA Communications, 1982 MA Communications), spent many long hours in the HFAC while completing his Communications degree and working for KBYU-FM radio. Just a few months after we were married, while still not yet used to wearing his wedding ring, he left it on the sink in one of the restrooms and when he remembered and went back to retrieve it, the ring was gone. Brokenhearted, we turned to the Daily Universe — the main source of campus communication back in the day — for help! We placed an ad in the Lost and Found section. Then the next day, to cover all bases, we wrote a letter to the editor — because a letter to the editor was a BIG deal on campus and the buzz of most campus communication at the time. It worked! Two days later we wrote a thank you letter to the editor because the ring was returned to us! And now, 50 years later, while the HFAC is being demolished, our own “happily ever after” is still going strong. The wedding ring still remains in place! Thanks for the memories HFAC!
- Lynne B.

My favorite HFAC memory was a BYU Philharmonic concert in the de Jong Concert Hall on 19 March 1981. This just happened to be the same night as BYU's Sweet 16 basketball game against Notre Dame. There were some members of the orchestra who had small radios in their pockets with earphones in the ear (so Dr. Ralph Laycock couldn't see them). During the intermission we all gathered back stage, clustered around one small radio, listening to the 10-15 minutes of the game (We were very grateful when Dr Laycock extended the intermission by several minutes to allow the game to finish). We breathlessly listened to Paul James broadcast Danny Ainge's final 8 second, full-court drive with the finger roll layup over the outstretched hands of Rolando Blackman, then erupted in pandemonium and cheers. We went back out on stage, played an impromptu version of "Rise and Shout, the Cougars are Out," and finished the second half of the concert!
- Richard B.

I worked HFAC custodial cleaning C-wing. I met my wife in C-580 when her Women’s Chorus rehearsal was scheduled there one night at the same time I was supposed to be vacuuming the room and straightening the chairs. She was one of the first to offer to help put the chairs away after the rehearsal. I later proposed to her in that room. This photo was taken outside the de Jong where we went to see La Boheme on our first date. She later told me that she had just seen it the night before I asked her, but she agreed to go with me to see it a second time.
- Scott M.

The HFAC was home to my people. Here it is that I refined my art skills, learned and practiced art teaching skills, and connected with amazing faculty and peer students. I will never forget hours and hours of art-making processes. I learned from some of the best in art history, production, aesthetics, and art criticism. Thank you, Art Education Faculty of 1996. I also grew up playing musical instruments and performing in the HFAC for Music Federation Festivals. Those were times of growth, wonder, and joy. Many years later, I attended BYU organ workshops here. I feel so blessed to have decades of memories at the beloved HFAC.
- Delinda W.

I spent thousands of hours in practice rooms and classes, dozens of hours rehearsing and performing; many visits with friends within those wonderful walls.
- Ron A.

I have been really sad since I have heard about the demolition of the HFAC. I loved that building and had many good memories there. I was in concert choir from 1979-1981. One of my favorite memories was right before Christmas break. During Fall semester, we would practice singing songs from The Messiah. The grand finally at the last Christmas Concert before we all went home for Christmas was the best. On different levels of the balconies there were choirs and orchestras and we each had the opportunity to sing or play a piece until at the end we all did the Hallelujah Chorus. We sang and played our hearts out until I thought we would blow the roof off the building! I loved that. So long, old friend.
- Valerie S.

I remember the dedication of the HFAC. They were naming the art gallery after my grandpa, so I got to attend even though I was a little kid. Several of us kids got a little crazy running in the halls (and getting lost). When I later attended the Y, I enjoyed playing the piano and organ in the practice rooms just to unwind from class. Since then, with each visit to BYU I’ve enjoyed standing in front of his portrait in the gallery.
- Bart L.

Besides attending church, receiving my first temple recommend, and enjoying many shows as a student in this building, I also “supported” thousands of theatre-goers for years. The de Jong Concert Hall had every seat reupholstered one summer while I worked at the BYU Upholstery Shop. Cushier seats means more enjoyable shows.
- Kristin W.

I remember the de Jong concert hall and performances on that stage in World of Dance! I loved being with all the performing dance groups and admiring what we had at BYU!
- Emory S.

I took my freshman English 115 class in this building in 1985. I used to walk through this building on my way home from my classes to my dorm up in Deseret Towers. I always felt like I was walking in a museum. The building was beautiful. I will miss it.
- Wael K.

The HFAC was a good place to study perspective drawing. This is a page from my sketchbook of an HFAC staircase.
- Emma M.

As a Communications major focusing on Broadcast Management and Media Sales, I had many classes in the HFAC. I always loved the look of the building, especially the atrium. Recently, I served in a YSA bishopric. For five years I spent every Sunday in various rooms and hallways, from the first to the fifth floor. I also attended many of the plays my son worked on.
- David F.

Where to even begin? I have so many happy memories of music lessons, classes, rehearsals, concerts and recitals, inspiring teachers, wonderful friendships, amazing guest artists, and master classes. I also remember copious amounts of tears, copious amounts of joy, struggling and learning and growing into the person and musician I am today. I also have very fond memories of: - Hours and hours in those practice rooms, playing duets with my friends - Hanging out on the "slab" (the south slab, so I could spy my crush coming up from the E wing) - Sitting on the south lawn with my friends, eating my vending machine lunch (purchased in the tunnel) - Having a Pepsi with Dr. Blackinton on the southwest steps during a Wind Symphony rehearsal break - Finding my boyfriend (roommate of previously mentioned crush!) hiding at the back of the concert hall after a concert (he told me he couldn't make it, so I was really happy to see him there), only to find out he was there to meet another girl in the band! Fast forward a year or so, and this same boy proposed to me in that same concert hall, during a performance of "The Pirates of Penzance," during "Modern Major General." So romantic... Thirty five years later, with four children, four grandchildren, two degrees (for me), three degrees (for him), and a career spent in the shadow of the HFAC (both of us), we really ARE saying goodbye to a dear, faithful, old friend. Cue more tears.
- Marianne C.

I'll never forget my first Christmas season at BYU. It was a cold night when word spread quickly through on campus housing and across the school grounds that everyone was hurrying to the Harris Fine Arts Center to carol. The whole central atrium was packed with students, as were all the stairs and stairwells, students completely surrounding the hall on all floors, facing and leaning over the railings. The acoustics were incredible as we all sang and the building resonated with the familiar Christmas songs. It was electric -- you just knew you were in a very special place among some truly awesome people. The Spirit was strong with the hope of Christ and it's impossible to forget such an experience.
- Michael P.

The first live musical I ever saw was BYU’s production of "Phantom of the Opera," put on in the HFAC’s de Jong Concert Hall. In a way, I owe my love of the performing arts to that building.
- Don V.

I auditioned for the music education program in 2019 and in the year before I got in, the HFAC was the building I would walk by and say, "That is hopefully where I will spend most of my time soon." When I finally got into the program, I was so happy to finally be spending my time in that building, learning about music and teaching and sharing the joy music brings to everyone. I performed in both my first and last BYU concert in the de Jong Concert Hall. I'm so grateful for the fond memories I've had in that building. Farewell, HFAC!
- Amelia W.

HFAC Parking Lot I couldn’t believe the Harold B. Lee Library closed at only 11:00 pm at night! Why would they do that? Everybody knows students stay up late at night studying. It should stay open to at least midnight like the library at Chico State University does in Chico, CA, where I studied every night for a year and a half until I transferred to BYU. When Hawaii 5.0 comes on over the intercom and all the freshmen hop on the tables and act as if they are from So Co and start “table surfing” it’s time to pack your stuff and go -- and go I did. Out the north doors and right towards the Eyring Science Center, left at the corner toward the Smoot Admin building and then split the parking lot towards the Carillon Bell Tower up to Deseret Towers dormitory (at least where it used to be), or so I intended. Only problem was, there was a young female co-ed who was going the same direction I was, and it was 11:30 at night. I don’t know about her, but by the time I was walking in front of the science building I was getting nervous thinking I might be making her nervous by following in her footsteps. Not wanting to make her nervous, I decided to wait and slow my pace, so it wouldn’t seem as if I was following her. I did notice as we crossed the HFAC parking lot, her to her car one way, and me towards Deseret Towers in a different direction, that she got safely into her VW bug and tried to start her car. Wouldn’t you know it, her car didn’t start. As I stood at the crosswalk ready to cross, I paused, and the Spirit and I got into an argument. “Go help her.” “Bad idea spirit, I probably just freaked her out for the last 5 minutes following her. Now that she is safely in her car, her car doesn’t start and the guy who has been following her starts walking towards her again…right. It will probably freak her out.” Again, came the prompting, “Go help her.” “Listen spirit, I know this sounds good and all, but I don’t know anything about automobiles. What am I going to do at 11:30 at night, in the dark, with no tools, ask her to open the lid and stare at her engine? Besides, the campus police are right over there, and this is what they do.” I thought I made a pretty darn good case. It was late, I know nothing of auto mechanics and even if I did, I had no tools, and it was dark, and the campus police are just across the parking lot. Was the spirit going to listen to me? No. He talks, and we listen. I decided to make one more effort to challenge his suggestion and this one was a little more selfish. “OK spirit, I would like to help, but it’s late, I’m tired and have been studying all day and I have a final exam first thing tomorrow morning and I really need the sleep if I’m going to perform well on the test.” His answer, “You want some help on that test?” “So, this is how it’s going to be huh? Fine I’ll go help and make a fool out of myself and freak this poor girl out.” It never occurred to me perhaps she had been praying for help and this is what she wanted. Little did I know this wasn’t just an answer to her prayer but also an answer to mine I would be asking in about 9 months from then. As I approached her car that summer evening, she unrolled her window and to my delight didn’t appear apprehensive to some guy approaching her under these conditions. She explained her car wouldn’t start and wanted to know if I could help. I thought, “No,” but said, “I can try.” The spirit hadn’t left me and suggested I look under the hood. I told the young woman, “Put it in first gear and put the clutch in. When I say, ‘Now!’ pop the clutch and we’ll see if we can push start it.” The Spirit again offered, “Look under the hood.” To which I of course argued with the Spirit by replying, “And then what, look at a dark engine?” “Have it your way,” he replied. “Let me know when you need my help.” So, I pushed that car around that parking lot sputtering and stopping until I had sweat pouring into my eyes and couldn’t see. My legs were burning with pain and cramps and my lungs on fire. Finally, I surrendered. “I’ll look under the hood, even if it’s not to do anything more than rest.” I hadn’t done a workout like this since high school football practice pushing a sled around a practice field. “Fine, you win, I’ll look under the hood,” I muttered under my breath, looking up into the darkened Provo sky. Sucking in air, I lifted the hood to the engine compartment and guess what? The coil (a wire) that connects the starter to the distributor cap (an electrical source) for starting the car had become disconnected. “I know what that is, I know what to do…plug it back in.” I did, and the car started up and she drove off with a, “Thank you!” I was left standing there in the dark … in pain … both physical and male pride. The spirit was right, and I was wrong. Now it is true I know nothing of auto repair. Even to this day that has not changed. But one year earlier when I was doing my student teaching at an Alternative (Continuation) High School in Spanish Fork, some of the students decided to pull a prank on me and pulled the coil off my car. After school when my car didn’t start a teacher came to my rescue and helped me out by pointing out what the kids had done and how to rectify the problem. If they hadn’t done this to me then, I couldn’t have helped her now. The Spirit new this but I didn’t. Kinda like the lost manuscripts. I could have saved myself a lot of pain if I had just listened, though in retrospect I guess I eventually did. I’m sure that young woman prayed for help when her car didn’t start and hoped that God would have just made it start. Well, he did make it start, he just used me to make that happen. Now did he do this to help her or to help me? The answer is a resounding, “Yes” And something else that wasn’t quite so obvious to me at the time. Though at the time I thought the only people present in that parking lot and conversation were me, her, and the Spirit, it has been made clear to me there was a mom and a dad somewhere out there pleading and praying every night for their daughter, “Heavenly Father, please watch over, bless, and protect our daughter…” As a father of several sons and daughters, I pray for this every day. It has much more significance to me now than it ever did then. Might I suggest when the Spirit speaks, it’s time to listen and obey. Hearing comes through paying attention, listening comes through practice. Obeying comes through exercising faith. I’m pretty good at paying attention. I still need to work on the faith. And by the way, I got an “A” on the test and in the class. I’m sure you were wondering.
- Robert M.

Two of the most impressive visual expressions I had at the HFAC were seeing the Nutcracker for the first time and seeing Shakespeare’s “Otello.” The HFAC for me repeatedly was a place to lift my sights, heart and spirit. I sang for Ralph Woodbury for three years. One moment he let me take a picture of his ear for me photography class. Thank you HFAC.
- Bill C.

I loved my time spent in the HFAC. As an Animation Pre-Major during my first year, I was struggling to be away from home and found solace through the various art classes I took in the building. The countless hours spent browsing the gallery displays or singing in choir practice defined my time at BYU and changed me. Seeing the interior decorated with lights and trees each Christmas season saturated the space with magic, music, artistic beauty, and a spirit of giving. I will never forget the happy and peaceful memories created in the halls of the HFAC as a student, a performer, and even an early-morning custodian vacuuming the stairs outside the deJong Concert Hall. This building was a place of both beauty and dedication, and I firmly believe its legacy is carried on by each student who used its vast resources to nurture their own gifts and talents.
- Hannah A.

Oh, the naps I took there! On the slab, in the practice rooms, backstage during slow periods of rehearsal, before a performance. Other than the library, this was the place where most of my naps took place during my undergraduate work! Have a nice nap, HFAC.
- Holly M.