The UC National Conservatorium of Music

The new building

Sir Miles Warren’s concept for the building on the current Hereford St car-park site and the creation of a third quadrangle of the Arts Centre has been embraced by the Arts Centre Trust Board. Sir Miles, in collaboration with the architectural firm Warren & Mahoney, has developed the concept to advanced sketch plan stage incorporating all of the facilities required by the School.

The proposal for the Arts Centre site is for a building that will:

• Replace existing inadequate facilities for music and hence support growth of the current music programmes and allow for the development of new programmes at the University
• Fulfil the University’s intention to have a visible and beneficial presence in the city.
• Enliven the cultural life of the University and the city, and provide a tangible interface between the two
• Be of architectural merit such that it can act as a much-needed base and point of identity for the University in the city
• Meet the University's strategic goal of forming close links with the local community
• Provide a venue for UC’s wider engagement with the city

The creation of such a building at the Arts Centre site will provide a central city location for the University and will be useful for other University events such as the UC in the City Lecture series, alumni events, fundraising events for the University Foundation, small conferences and other university activities.

This location has the potential to maximise audience numbers and community participation at such events and also at School of Music concerts. It will place the School of Music within the professional arts community of the city, enhance linkages with those organisations, and allow the School to extend its community education role.

The alternative option, the Ilam campus site, would lack these advantages. However, it would have the potential merit of forming a cultural centre for the University on the Ilam campus, given its close proximity to Fine Arts.

Although hard to quantify, these two site options may indicate different future directions for the School of Music. The School has commented that it is confident of a successful future on either location, but that it sees the Arts Centre site as the most visionary of the alternatives.

A prestigious site such as the Arts Centre would be uniquely impressive for a School of Music in New Zealand, and give it a particularly strong sense of identity more in line with the US or European conservatorium model which, at the highest level, includes Schools such as the Juilliard Academy where the primary focus is on training in professional performance.

Within this context the School of Music would flourish as a centre of musical excellence with a focus on conservatory-style training in the performance of classical music, providing the highest calibre artistic education for gifted musicians, in particular in strings, piano and voice, and with the possibility of developing a specialised opera programme. Students would also be able to pursue their interest in a comprehensive study of music, including musicology, music history and music education.

Combined with Christchurch's strength historically as a city of the arts - and of music performance and education in particular - UC’s School of Music could become a national centre of excellence in music performance and education.

The University of Canterbury has the opportunity to claim a leading position as New Zealand’s premier classical music educator. A prestigious and high-profile central city building and location is most likely to encourage such specialisation and provide the best chance of attracting and retaining high-level staff and students (including international postgraduate students), and securing the independent sponsorship that characterises such schools.

Student numbers are predicted to increase to a maximum of around 500 students (200 EFTS) with a corresponding increase in revenue. This increase has been estimated after careful consideration of student numbers elsewhere, and by taking into account the numbers of high school students studying music, and the number of students attending the Christchurch School of Music and the University’s Pettman Junior Academy.

The city would benefit considerably from the preferred site option, which would see students and staff working, studying and socialising in the city centre. Support has been expressed by the Mayor, Christchurch City Council Chief Executive, inner city business leaders and the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce. Consultation and presentations have occurred with the Arts Centre Trust Board, the Historic Places Trust, the Urban Design Panel, the Civic Trust and the Christchurch City Council.