Mount De Sales Center for Performing Arts and Student Life

Mount De Sales Academy Center for Performing Arts and Student Life in Catonsville, MD is a 24,000 SF multi-use building that serves the school and the community. Originally started in 1852, this school is the first Catholic institution in Baltimore County to offer education to young women of all denominations.  The main school building evokes the Greek Revival style and is listed on the Maryland Historic Register. The new Performing Arts building occupies a prominent location adjacent to the main building and serves as an anchor to the campus creating a quad-like experience. JMT Architecture aesthetically designed the new center to blend into the rest of the campus using similar elements as other buildings such as brick, stone, arched windows, tall ionic columns, and red metal roofs.

The new center includes a two-level auditorium with a 400 fixed seated orchestra section and a mezzanine with 200 additional moveable seats. Also included are instructional spaces for the orchestra, chorus, dance classes, scene shop, storage, and a new gallery space for the students to showcase their masterpieces. The new Performing Arts Center enhances the already vigorous arts program by providing more space and allowing all the activities on campus to be in one location.