This article reports that for the opening of a huge new life-sciences building on its campus, Syracuse University wanted to capture the sense of expansiveness shared by architecture and science. It commissioned the composer Robert Ward to write a musical composition, "In Praise of Science," which was performed at the building's dedication late last year. A former dean of the college, who knew Ward's music, first had the idea while attending a concert of the brass ensemble. In this article, the author also reports on a theater partnership which grapples with legacy of Rwandan genocide; a documentary which features Pennsylvania State University's Blue Band; and a recent Yankees fielder who shows his pluck at a conservatory.