RNCM to open new recital room
Motorcycle insurance entrepreneur Carole Nash has provided £1m of funding towards the refurbishment of the room at The Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester city centre.
The 1,500 sq ft recital room will be used as a performance and recording venue for students and professional artists.
With a seating capacity of 117, the space will offer sound and recording technology, a voice-over booth, and a green room for performers.
The college is working closely with architects BDP, specialist office refurbishment company Overbury, and acoustic specialists from BDP to complete the renovation of the space, due to be opened officially by Carole Nash on Thursday 7 October from 6pm.
Professor Jonty Stockdale, principal of the RNCM, pictured with Nash and Ian Palmer from BDP, said: "We are delighted to announce the creation of such an exciting new project and are extremely grateful to Carole for her generous gift. This has enabled us to transform our public recital room in a way that will inspire performers and enhance the experience of our audiences.
"The ability to vary the acoustic of the room, to use flexible lighting to create the right atmosphere and the capacity to make high quality professional recordings is a leap forward for the College."
Ian Palmer, architect director at BDP, added: "This development has been a challenging and fulfilling project to work on. Our brief was quite complex in that the space had to be functional and flexible because it needed to be used by students and audiences. We've achieved this by ensuring the new recital room complements the existing design and feel of the College."
The Royal Northern College of Music is based in Oxford Road in Manchester city centre.