Work commences on Leeds College of Music refurbishment

A multi-million pound refurbishment has got underway at Leeds College of Music (LCoM).
Once complete, it will provide world class facilities to music students, including recording studios and brand new performance spaces.
Work has begun on building new state-of-the-art Mac labs, five recording studios, two mixing studios, a songwriting studio and a surround sound post-production theatre.
It will also see the creation of an SSL G-Series-based production studio, which will be open to students for the 2011/12 academic year.
And in addition to the brand new spaces, the latest equipment and technology will also be incorporated into the refurbishment.
One major change will be to the Recital Room, which will be installed with raked seating that improves the acoustics of the space and provides greater flexibility for performances.
While offering creative space is important, the project will also see improvement to the school’s library and investment has been made in the college’s Virtual Learning Environment. This will enable students to communicate and learn remotely from their computer or mobile.
While the work is going on, the college is working towards becoming the only English conservatoire to hold All-Steinway School status, joining the ranks of Yale University’s School of Music and the Juilliard School, New York.
On August 31st, representatives from the institution will visit Hamburg to hand-pick nine brand new pianos at Steinway & Sons headquarters.
The new instruments will take the total of Steinway pianos at LCoM to 56 and will include a Model D Concert Grand and a Model B Music Room Grand, which is thought to be one of the most perfect pianos.
Pianist Jakob Fichert will perform a recital on the Model D in September to show off the sound of the Steinway.
An additional 30 Boston models and 17 Essex pianos will be acquired by the college.