Students move in!

More than 1000 students and staff moved into the new state-of-the-art Ian Potter Southbank Centre last month, home to the new Melbourne Conservatorium of Music.

Part of the University of Melbourne’s Southbank campus, the $109 million conservatorium is located in the heart of the Melbourne Arts Precinct and is the centrepiece of the university’s $200 million Southbank campus transformation.

While classes have officially started, the facility will be formally opened to the public in June.

The facility’s completion is a huge boost for the Arts Precinct and Sturt St’s ongoing transformation into the precinct’s creative spine. With a new linear park linking Sturt St to Dodds St and the new park along Southbank Boulevard soon to come, the conservatorium forms an important part of Southbank’s evolution.

Faculty of Fine Arts and Music Dean Barry Conyngham said the conservatorium was one of Australia’s first music education institutions and continues to be one of the most internationally-prestigious, providing cutting-edge facilities for students.

“With a student cohort that has increased by two thirds since 2010, the new conservatorium will allow us to teach, rehearse, perform and record like never before,” he said.

“Currently, the faculty has over 40,000 campus visitors a year and hosts more than 220 events, which will now be expanded with a public program of events at the conservatorium that will enrich Melbourne’s thriving cultural scene.”

One of the major funders, whose significant donation helped make the new conservatorium possible was president of the Myer Foundation Martyn Myer.

“I’m so proud of this beautiful building,” Mr Myer said. “It is a wonderful example of how philanthropy can support the creation of valuable infrastructure, and in this case, provide world-class learning experiences for students and staff.”

In addition to accommodating around 80 to 100 students at Melba Hall at the Parkville campus, the conservatorium can now integrate over 1000 enrolled music students and 6600 students from the other faculties across two campuses.

The building was designed by award-winning John Wardle Architects, constructed by Lendlease and the integration of superior acoustic spaces designed by Marshall Day.

The conservatorium also boasts one of the world’s largest oculus windows – six metres in diameter – and includes a 400-seat cantilevered auditorium, a 200-seat ground floor studio and rehearsal spaces for teaching, performing, recording and research.

The Ian Potter Southbank Centre will be officially opened on Saturday, June 1.