Beyond Music

Colgate University and Environs

The Colgate campus, set on a hill with broad vistas of the rural Chenango Valley in central New York, has frequently been recognized as one of the most beautiful college campuses in the United States. Conference participants have access to its air-conditioned libraries and study areas; ample athletics facilities, including an Olympic-sized swimming pool with a retractable roof; tennis courts; a fitness center; miles of wooded paths for running or walking; a boathouse; an 18-hole championship golf course; computer facilities and wireless access throughout campus; and an art gallery.

Hamilton, NY, the home of Colgate University, has been named by Forbes Magazine as one of the country's most friendly towns. Opportunities for shopping, dining, and outdoor recreation abound in Hamilton, while the surrounding area includes several state parks and the village of Cooperstown, with Glimmerglass Opera, the Baseball Hall of Fame, and museums. Cazenovia Lake, a 30-minute drive from campus, offers a sandy beach and public swimming. Information about Hamilton is available at the Colgate University and Hamilton Business Alliance web sites. Information about the surrounding areas is available at the Visit Central New York web site.

Campus and Facilities Overview

See this map of the Colgate Campus.

The facilities we use most are:

• Jane Pinchin Hall—dormitory, for housing, social gatherings, coaching, and playing
• Andrews Hall—dormitory, for housing
• Various on-campus Colgate apartments—suite-style residential complexes, for housing
• Alumni Hall and Lathrop Hall—academic buildings, for coaching and playing
• Colgate Memorial Chapel—for concerts, musicales, and seminars
• O'Connor Campus Center (The Coop)—for meals

Except for the apartments, all of these facilities are on or near the academic quad in the upper part of campus.

Note that attendance at the Conference requires the ability to independently negotiate Colgate’s walking paths, including some steep slopes.

Accommodations

Housing on the Colgate campus in 2024 will be in dorms and apartments.

The dorms and apartments have mostly double rooms and a few single rooms. However, all rooms in dorms and apartments will be single-occupancy, unless attendees request to share a room.

In the dorms and in the apartments, bedrooms are furnished with extra-long twin beds, wardrobes or closets, desks, and desk chairs. Bedding and towels are supplied.

Dorms

Jane Pinchin Hall and Andrews Hall will accommodate most of our attendees. These dormitories are air-conditioned, by either HVAC or in-room units. The dorms are very near the academic quad; the walks to various buildings we will use on the quad are 400-800 feet or 1.5-5 minutes.

Both dorms have shared bathrooms and common spaces.

There is no parking adjacent to the dorms. Attendees with mobility issues can park near Spear House (off of the main traffic circle near Alumni Hall), about 900 feet or 3 minutes away, or near Gate House (just beyond The Coop), about 750 feet or 2.5 minutes away; all others will park in a long-term parking lot in the lower part of campus. Pinchin Hall has accessible entrances and an elevator; Andrews Hall does not.

Apartments

Supplementing the dorms will be apartments at the lower end of campus and across Broad Street, about ⅔ of a mile from the academic quad, a 10-20 minute, very steep walk. There is ample parking immediately adjacent to the apartments. Residents of the apartments will be able to drive to the upper campus and park closer to the academic quad. Some apartments have entrances that can be reached from the parking areas without steps; other apartments require steps. Some apartments have a two-story layout and some are on one level.

The apartments have suite-style configurations of dorm-style bedrooms that share common areas and a bathroom. Most apartments have two bedrooms and a shared bathroom. Each apartment has a living area and a kitchen. The common areas are furnished with couches, chairs, dining tables, and dining chairs. The kitchens include a sink, a refrigerator, and a range; they do not include items such as cookware, dishes, utensils, or cleaning supplies. Each apartment complex has laundry facilities. The apartments are not air-conditioned.

Off-Campus Options

See the Hotels and Accommodations page on the Colgate web site for information about lodging off campus.

Dining

In 2024 we will take meals in the O'Connor Campus Center (The Coop). The dining service readily accommodates special diets. Attendees not on the meal plan will be able to purchase single meals on entry to the dining hall.

Getting to Colgate

See the Frequently Asked Questions page for information about transportation to Colgate and other practical topics.

Parties

The Conference is known for its informal get-togethers held in the evenings after the day's activities are over. A welcoming party on the opening night of each week kicks off Conference festivities, and another party follows each of the faculty concerts, which occur Wednesdays and Saturdays. Impromptu gatherings happen every other night of the week.