Spivey Hall was the dream of the late Emilie Spivey, organist and philanthropist. Acoustical excellence, especially for the organ, was the goal when the design of the building began and that goal was never compromised. The $4 million 400-seat hall's centerpiece is its three-manual Ruffatti organ.

The rectangular hall is approximately 100 feet long by 56 feet wide, and at its highest point, about 50 feet tall. The cross-section is distinguished by inward-tilting shelves, right-angled cornices, and a pitched ceiling -- all carefully designed to supply the audience with "early" reflections that promote clarity as well as a sense of being surrounded by sound.

Virtually all of the hall's finishes are acoustically reflective, in order to preserve sound and prolong reverberation. Among the fixed furnishings, only the seats absorb sound. To also accommodate music requiring less reverberation than the organ, heavy velour curtains can be deployed along the upper walls.

Thanks to a generous endowment, Spivey Hall presents a full schedule of public concerts featuring internationally acclaimed artists. Gary Karr, a leading double-bass virtuoso, praised the acoustics of Spivey Hall saying, "After playing in halls on six continents during the past 30 years, this is the first hall that addresses what live music is all about."