Homewood High School will majorly update its auditorium for the first time since the school was built in 1972, with a renovation that will include new seating, lighting and sound.
There is a particular buzz of enthusiasm for the project from the schools’ performance arts programs, according to show choir director Byron Mosquera.
“There’s definitely excitement for it,” he said. “I think the kids are going to love it.”
Cody McDonald, the other show choir director at Homewood, said the renovations will also benefit other programs in the school and community events.
“It’ll make everything just feel nice,” he said. “So, beyond just the stuff that we do at the high school, we have so many outside events that come in. That’s a big thing.”
HHS band director Chris Cooper said sound and lighting have been an issue for years, highlighting how much potential the auditorium has.
“With that phenomenal room that we have, there’s probably not a better auditorium in the state of Alabama, facility-wise,” Cooper said. “But we’ve kind of held it together with a Band-aid. “The whole auditorium speaker system is on one speaker, and we’ve just been hanging on by a thread. So, we’re excited that we finally came up on the list.”
However, assistant band director Terrance Cobb made sure to acknowledge they’re grateful to have a performance space, perfect or not.
Even Head Principal Dr. Joel Henneke said he has noticed the sound of the auditorium deteriorate over the years, particularly after visiting other schools and hearing their sound systems.
So for him, the “when” was more of the issue rather than the “if.” Henneke said he thought renovations would start at the beginning of the school year, but now they will begin sometime in September with the new seats arriving sometime in December.
Until then, the other preparations will take place, including removing seating and carpet, as well as replacing the wiring, lighting and sound, Henneke said.
As for when the project should be done, Henneke is hopeful the renovation could be completed as early as December. However, the more realistic timeline is January or February.
