Listen for the sound of shovels as the University of California, Davis, breaks ground for its new music recital hall and classroom building Friday, May 2. This symphony of shovels will be augmented by a new musical work composed for this event, performances by a string quartet, Gamelan ensemble and Korean drumming group, as well as presentations and acknowledgment of those who have made this long-dreamed of project possible.

The community is invited to take part in the 10 a.m. celebration of what will be an important place for the university and larger community far into the future.

“UC Davis has enjoyed a world-class tradition of music performance and education for decades,” said Linda P.B. Katehi, chancellor of UC Davis. “This magnificent new hall will be a fitting home for our dedicated faculty and students to showcase their talents.”

The $15 million facility, the centerpiece of which is a 394-seat recital hall, is scheduled to open in the fall of 2015. The university has already raised $3.5 million in gifts toward a goal of $5 million, including $1.5 million from arts patrons Grace and Grant Noda of Davis. Tax-exempt bonds will finance the remaining $10 million, and no student tuition, fees or state funds will be used.

“Along with providing much-needed classroom space for the university, this building will be all about performance — ensembles, rehearsals, practice rooms and music instruction,” said Jessie Ann Owens, dean of the Division of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies and a professor of music. “There has been an incredible partnership in the creation and design of this building ... from the university, the donors, the music faculty, and the architects and builders. We are all looking forward to hearing the first performances that will bring this building to life.”

The recital hall will host about 100 concerts of all kinds each year including performances by the Empyrean Ensemble, UC Davis Jazz Band, UC Davis Baroque Ensemble and University Chamber Singers. The 17,000-square foot building will provide much-needed classroom space, as well as rehearsal studios, a recording control room and production office. The building is adjacent to current music, theater, dance and art facilities, and close to the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts and the future home of the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art. The building on Hutchison Drive is being designed and constructed by LPAS Architects and construction company Kitchell, both of Sacramento.

The groundbreaking will feature the premiere of music professor Ross Bauer’s “in the midst of it all,” which will also be first piece performed in the new facility when it opens. The six-minute work for piccolo, flute, bass clarinet, violin, cello and piano begins with “several strikingly divergent ideas each of which makes sense internally but not necessarily as a continuity,” Bauer said. “As the piece unfolds and the phrases and sections become longer, many of these contrasts are reconciled although some are not.”

The event will also reveal the latest design refinements, fundraising successes and needs and opportunities going forward. Taking part will be Chancellor Katehi, Provost Ralph J. Hexter, Owens, and Henry Spiller, associate professor of music and chair of the Department of Music.