New $8m music facilities hit the right note

Music

The traditional home of music in South Australia - the University of Adelaide's Elder School of Music, or the "Con" as it is still affectionately known - has had a much-needed $8 million facelift.

State Premier the Hon. Mike Rann officially opened the new facilities recently, which provide the music dimension of the city's famed 'cultural precinct'.

Funding for the extensive project was contributed by the Federal Government ($4 million), State Government ($2 million) and the University of Adelaide ($2 million).

Dean and Director of the Elder School of Music, Professor Charles Bodman Rae, said the redevelopment had been essential for the provision of intensive professional training of very talented young musicians who come not only from South Australia but also from interstate and overseas.

"Music has been an integral part of the University of Adelaide for 120 years, and while we are tremendously proud of our history as Australia's first specialist music institution, we have had our eyes firmly on the future. This major upgrade puts us now in a very strong position." Professor Bodman Rae said.

"The creation of many more acoustically treated music studios, together with lots of other enhanced facilities, makes us once again one of the top institutions in Australia for professional training, study and research in all the key fields of music.

"The key to our success with this project has been to give top priority to the practical needs of students and the spaces they need for high-level music making. We have also ensured that the Elder Music Library remains one of the finest of its kind in Australia."

All buildings associated with the Elder School of Music have received major refurbishments: the Hartley Building (including the Elder Music Library), the Madley Studios, the Schulz Building and the Elder Conservatorium teaching studios in Elder Hall.

In addition, a landscaped courtyard "hub" for the music precinct has been established in the area flanked by the Schulz Building, Hartley Building, Madley Studios and Scott Theatre.

Story by Ben Osborne