Scotch College

Transfiguration of the Music School

Every picture tells a story, and these photographs reveal some of the key moments of the musical transfiguration which has now been completed at Scotch. Franz Liszt, in his magnificent compositions trod the path 'between meditation and grandiloquence', and how true it is also of the James Forbes Academy, School of Music. While alive with music making on both grand and more intimate scales, the School also provides spaces for reflection and contemplation - not least of all in the stunning Ayre Foyer with its inspirational mosaic.

The accompanying photographs chart some steps in the last stages of a major journey.

First comes the last photograph taken in the old Mackie Hall School of Music rehearsal room - overcrowded and gloomy, and with the Steinway Grand Piano in the foreground.

The second shot shows that same piano being gently and lovingly removed through the old Mackie window (now proudly facing up Fordholm Road) and on its way to the new home. The spectacular home is pictured across the new garden area, with the Keith Humble Auditorium beneath the arches in the centre left of the photograph.

The fourth image celebrates the visit of celebrity pianist David Helfgott on that same Steinway piano in June.

The fifth photograph, taken during a special preview opening of the School of Music, again highlights the piano (with pianist Frank Yang and Ye Lian He).

The final shot in the sequence displays the full beauty of the transfiguration. Here the chamber orchestra under the baton of Director of Music John Ferguson and with soloist Lin Jiang perform to the first audience in the Keith Humble Auditorium. Here the magnificent acoustics and bright surroundings combine with the great musical talent of the students to bring together all the elements that have made that lengthy journey so worth while. It shows a transfiguration indeed, and without overstating the enormity of what has been achieved, fulfils the dreams of all those involved.

Alan Watkinson
Director of Development