We recently had an opportunity to tour the University’s state of the art music studios and were given a guided tour by Will Goring (Technical Director, Performance Space and Sound Studios), who told us all about the work his team undertakes and the facilities they support.
The studios have undergone four years of progressive upgrades, bringing significant improvements to everything from the performance rooms to the mixing equipment. These upgrades have contributed to the School of Music achieving one of the highest National Student Survey (NSS) satisfaction ratings across the sector, with a score of 96% in 2012/13 and 100% in 2011/12 (one of only two music schools in the UK to achieve a perfect score in this particular year).
The facilities in the music studios enable students to experience every stage of the music production process, from live performance to mix-down and post-production. Students have access to small, sound-insulated recording studios as well as a larger performance spaces. Each room is equipped with state of the art recording equipment, allowing students to capture and manipulate their recorded performances or to work with sampled/synthesised instruments and incorporate these into their work. Rooms are available to be booked by students, who can request technical support from Will Goring and his team, as necessary.
Studios have also been equipped to support Composition for Film, emulating the setup students may expect to find in real-world studio environments. Large, high definition monitor screens and surround speaker systems are provided, allowing students to compose, record and mix full Surround Sound film scores.
All recording studios are built to professional standards and feature a ‘fully floating’ construction (meaning they are isolated from the external vibration & sound interference) and feature sound management technology which assists in the rooms having neutral sound characteristics by absorbing sound, rather than reflecting it.
The high quality of our music studios was recently recognised by the BBC, who used our facilities to record a programme about music, called Sound of Song. The 3-episode series made use of our recording spaces and sound mixing equipment to demonstrate historical recording practices as well as contemporary digital processes.
Neil Brand (writer and presenter of the BBC series) said of our studios: “We’ve had a great time filming here in these wonderful facilities. We have had access to everything we needed in one very convenient space and the result is better than I could have hoped.”
At the end of our very interesting visit, we asked Will what was next for the Music studios. He responded with a number of ideas that he hopes to bring to the studios over the coming year, thus ensuring that our facilities remain cutting edge and maintaining our excellent student satisfaction rates. We look forward to visiting again!
