Farnborough Hill School

Music Suite

When we were contacted by Farnborough Hill School to look at the requirements of their new music suite, it presented as a very unique and interesting project, that would present numerous challenges as the project developed and that had to meet the specific requirements of the music teachers, students and in this instance the start for an integrated approach to teaching and event production for the whole school.

Working with the School, IID Architects and the main construction contractor Feltham Construction we successfully designed, supplied and installed the cabling and equipment for the Recording Studio with additional infrastructure cabling to the Grade 1 listed School Chapel, Music Practice Rooms, Music Technology Classroom and the PA and underfloor phased array induction loop system to the glass sided heptagonal shaped ‘Choir Room’

The school requirements were that Music Technology could be integrated into the curriculum teaching from Year 7 upwards and that the new facility would allow for GCSE and A Level Music and Music Technology courses to be fully implemented. The recording studio is used for GCSE and A level Music Technology and for recording performances taking place in the main Choir/Recital Room and the adjacent School Chapel.

Music Technology Classroom

We recommended using MAC computers as these ideally suit the demands of industry standard music software together with bringing the availability of Garage Band software which extends exciting possibilities to the younger students. This also allows integration of the School iPads.

Roland Juno keyboards were chosen over midi controller keyboards for two reasons, they work as standalone keyboards (so lessons can be taught without having to have the computers on) they also allow the teaching of sound synthesis and multitrack recording and of course they have brilliant synthesizer sounds and effect processors. Secondly they act as sound cards for the MAC computer when using software in lessons, thus giving a diverse experience to the students and teachers alike.

Each computer workstation has infrastructure cabling back to the teacher workstation desk into Sonifex stereo Line Mixers so that each individual workstation can be monitored through the central PA speakers for the classroom. The students work on headphones but the teacher can at any time monitor one workstation, or a collection of workstations simply by pressing an illuminated button, this is perfect for monitoring students’ work progress but also allows for classroom individual or group performances from the workstations.

The teacher’s workstation becomes an intuitive, simple central command post for the room, with the classroom system paired to a Tascam AV amplifier, the projector and whiteboard become very flexible tools in lessons.

Recording Studio

Recording has never been so easy to implement. At the heart of the Recording Studio control room is a Behringer X32 digital mixer, linked to an iMAC. This mixing desk was chosen for it’s incredible feature set at a budget pricepoint. With over 130 tie lines coming into the control room from the Chapel, Main Recital ‘Choir Room’, Music Technology classroom and Practice Room this mixer interfaces perfectly with the Neutrik patchbay, with all common use audio lines prewired and others can be punched in by simply using a patch cable. The Mixer’s intelligent ID strips have been labelled and colour coded so it is very intuitive for the music staff to use on the fly, be this for a formal concert, lunchtime ensemble or exam related coursework recording. In addition having iPad remote control of the mixer means recording at the end of the rehearsal can be accomplished from the conductors stand.

Choir Room

Performing in a beautiful acoustic can only aid anyone's education. Link this space with cost effective state of the art technology that is completely intuitive to use and you have at truly amazing and inspiring experience for performers and teachers alike. Recording of soloists or ensembles can be achieved remotely via iPad from the conductors stand directly into the recording studio not only from one room but from the 'Choir Room' recital hall but also from the 'Chapel' and 'Practice Room 1' via underfloor and overhead pre-installed cabling that is ideal for ensembles, drum kits, guitarists and other solo instrumentalists for multi-track or stereo recording projects.