Contemporary Music students at the College have been inspired to compose a soundtrack to accompany a 3D animation of the College’s £22.5 million new buildings.
The Contemporary Music department challenged its students to interpret this innovative animation, putting their own spin on the architect’s vision.
Thanks to the wonders of modern technology you can visit the College’s new world-class facilities before they’ve even opened. The 3D ‘flythrough’ takes the viewer on a virtual journey into College via the glass-lined foyer, with its spectacular views of Bute Park, up into the 450 seat Chamber Recital Hall, along one of the internal bridges and into the 160 seat Richard Burton Theatre. It shows how the outside of the new building changes from solid to open, as you move past it at different speeds as if seen passing by in a car, or walking.
John Hardy, Head of Contemporary Music, was delighted to challenge his students in this way. “It is rare, in my experience, if not unique, to have a chance to make a soundtrack for a two-minute movie, with no voice-over or dialogue to be careful about, showing off the stunning architectural features of the building that is taking shape all around us right now. The ambition and design of the new parts of the college are so inspiring, that many students in our department found time to respond with a stunningly wide range of different musical reactions to the concept & imagery.“
Jason Flanagan, architect at BFLS, commented, “The building is conceived as an elegant and adaptable container, optimising possibilities for musical and theatrical performance. It was very exciting and inspiring to see how the Royal Welsh College composition students used music in such different ways to explore and characterise the new spaces we have created for them, and to see my own work set to music! ”
The new build project was recently the only UK project shortlisted for the World Architecture Festival awards, (futures category) and is due to open in May 2011.
http://www.rwcmd.ac.uk/other/news/headlines/students_compose_soundtrack.aspx
