If Miami University's plans come to fruition, superstars such as violinist Itzhak Perlman will no longer have to play Debussy and Brahms in Millett Hall, a basketball arena.

        The school has contracted a team of experts in acoustics, theater design, structure, cost control and landscape to conduct the first phase of planning for a new Center for the Arts. Topping the list is William Rawn Associates of Boston, the distinguished architectural firm known for its work at Tanglewood, summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Lenox, Mass.

        Others in the group include the acoustical firm R. Lawrence Kirkegaard & Associ ates, Theatre Projects Consultants and Lorenz and Williams, a Dayton architectural firm.

        “We think we've got a strong team put together for this,” says Robert Keller, university architect.

        The experts will determine the needs and goals of the university, choose a potential site and determine costs, he says.

        “Certainly, one of the issues is parking,” Mr. Keller says. “And we'll develop some very preliminary schematic designs.”

        A ballpark figure for such a performing arts center could be $30-$40 million, he says.

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