Music has always played a significant part in the life of Toorak College. With over 260 students learning a musical instrument and performance opportunities available to even more students through instrumental and vocal ensembles, the place of music is well established.

Current physical Music facilities do not match the quality of the programs we deliver at Toorak College. Our classroom based music curriculum needs access to purpose built facilities, we need more storage space for instruments and rooms for individual lessons are cramped and acoustically deficient. All of this is about to change.

The Journey So Far

Our school architects were briefed several months ago and prepared several different concept drawings for consideration by Music Staff. School Management and the Board of Governors chose a preferred design and the concept plans were refined. With detailed costings carried out the budget was established and relevant permits were sought.

It is estimated that construction will take around nine months and work will likely carry on throughout 2009.

Our New Building

Our new Music Centre will be a substantial building, connected by covered walkway to the Southern end of the Marjorie Williams Centre.

It will take up space between the Marjorie Williams Centre and the adjoining netball court, through to the land which is our Western most tennis court. Planning is currently underway to address the impact on these facilities both during and after construction.

Above is the Southern Elevation drawing of our New Music Centre and the First and Second Floor Plans are shown over the page. You will see that there is ample storage space and ten instrumental teaching rooms. Each of these spaces is roughly double the size of existing rooms and two are larger again; with the added capacity to accommodate small groups.
There will be a large ensemble rehearsal room (similar in size to the current ‘D4’ Drama teaching room), incorporating an opening onto a stepped courtyard for semi-external performances. Wardle House Music and Movement classes will be held in a new purpose built room and that space will be mirrored on the upper level for senior classes.
A Music Technology room and Recording Studio has been incorporated into existing but redesigned spaces within the Marjorie Williams Centre. Administration and office space has also been incorporated into the new building design and the existing ‘D7’ space will be shared by Music and Drama.

Acoustic engineers have been involved from the earliest stages and the level of sound isolation will enable a full range of activities to occur without impacting on one another. The building has been designed in an environmentally sensitive way with natural cooling and warming built into the design.

Many of the spaces will need to be air-conditioned and this will be done in a manner consistent with the need for sound insulation. Appropriate levels of water harvesting will be incorporated so that the surrounding landscape design emphasises sustainability.

We’re All Very Excited

Our Music staff and the hundreds of students at all year levels are excited at the prospect of having a state of the art and purpose built music facility. While the working drawings are being prepared, we will plan to effectively manage the impact of the construction phase. Safety will be our highest priority and we will seek to minimise disruption; recognising that some level of inconvenience is inevitable.

I’m sure you will agree that the outcome will make these challenges worthwhile and we look forward to sharing this exciting journey with our wider school community.

Noel Thomas
Principal