BARBICAN LIFE
The Guildhall School of Music and Drama at Milton Court
Gillian Laidlaw talked to Barry Ife, the school’s Principal, about the new facilities and the work of the school.
centres for the arts in the world but we are also close to a famous music conservatoire which has developed the careers of artists like Simon Russell Beale, Claire Bloom, Orlando Bloom (no relation), Ewan McGregor, Jacqueline du Pré, Sir James Galway, Sir George Martin, Bryn Terfel and Dominic West to name but a few. While most residents must at some time have attended events and performances at the Barbican Centre, perhaps fewer are familiar with what happens next door at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. We have watched as the new Milton Court rises on the corner of Silk Street and Moor Lane. We know that sales of the tower of flats will help fund additional space for the Guildhall School and a glance upwards in recent weeks suggests that at last the building works are reaching a conclusion. But why are they necessary and what will happen in the new building?
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The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is unique in London because it offers professional education and development to musicians – both instrumentalists and singers – as well as to actors and the technical staff whose skills are necessary to ensure that a performance can take place. This year 868 young professionals are participating in undergraduate and post graduate programmes. Of these 72 are on the three year
undergraduate acting programme, 24 in each year; 108 are taking the undergraduate technical programme with 36 in each year; the rest are musicians of whom about two thirds are undergraduates and the rest postgraduates. As the school was designed to accommodate only 340
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ot only are Barbican residents a few minutes away from one of the greatest
students, facilities are severely congested and more space is urgently needed. Milton Court will double the space available to the school but student numbers will remain much as at present.
Musicians studying at the school may be singers or instrumentalists and a wide variety of courses are offered. In addition to a four year undergraduate programme some of the specialisms offered include orchestral artistry, chamber music, jazz, composition, piano accompaniment and the highly regarded post graduate opera course. The core programme for actors is the three year undergraduate course but postgraduate options are available such as voice and movement. Technical theatre students work on the school’s public productions learning how a show is put together from set and costume design, to sound and lighting and stage management. They boast a 100% employment rate on graduation. The new facilities in the final stages of construction at Milton
Court represent the first phase of an eight year development programme. The old building has a hall for music performances, a theatre which can be organised into different stage and auditorium configurations as well as rehearsal rooms and some very crowded offices. Milton Court will offer a traditional theatre with 3 balconies and a proscenium arch and
Computer generated image of the final exterior of the GSMD facility at Milton Court The impressive Concert Hall. Picture shows a GSMD orchestra testing the acoustics in May. The concert Hall will not fully open until the Autumn
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