The Royal Academy of Music has completed a refit of its facilities and opened a new recital hall. It is the largest renovation project it has undertaken since it opened its doors in 1822.
Perched on the Academy’s roof, the new 100-seat Angela Burgess Recital Hall is acoustically isolated from the rest of the building with rubber bearings. This makes it an ideal room for recording, with a press release stating it will provide “one of the best quality small recording studios in London.”
The Susie Sainsbury Theatre now seats 306 (a 40% increase), and now boasts a fly tower as well as enhanced recording capabilities. The space is suitable for both opera and musical theatre productions.
Other elements of the refit are five new percussion studios, 14 refurbished practice and dressing rooms and a new audiovisual control room.
The project was led by Ian Ritchie Architects with Arup Acoustics, and took seven years from initial planning to opening performance.
“The new facilities mark an important milestone in the Academy’s history with these superb spaces enabling our students to rehearse, perform and record music at the highest level,” said Academy principal Jonathan Freeman-Attwood. “The theatre, in particular, was not a straightforward space and Arup have magnificently matched Ian Ritchie’s aesthetic vision in sonic terms.”