Nelson Music Room is an intimate recital hall on Duke’s East Campus. It is located on the second floor of the East Duke Building, which was designed by C.C. Hook and completed in 1912, built of white pressed brick and Indiana sandstone and roofed with green tile. Nelson Music Room was originally named Columbia Hall as it was used as the meeting place of the Columbian literary society. It began being used as a recital room in 1936 due to its fine acoustics and became known as the East Duke Music Room. Then, in 1980, it was renamed to the Ernest W. Nelson Music room, in honor of the late founder and longtime director of the Durham Chamber Arts Society. With a capacity of 300, this elevator-accessible venue features a central performance area flanked by balconies on either side, with flexible seating on the floor level often configured in the round. Groups across campus utilize this space for rehearsals and performances of all art forms.