New multi-million pound music development in Belgium

In a welcome sign of investment in and confidence in the musical arts, the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium has announced the development of a new multi-million pound building to include a state of the art concert hall, 20 residential studios, two additional music studios in the context of a global artists village. The new building will form a back-drop to the existing Art Deco building.

The Chapel was started 75 years ago, and was one of the first such institutions to have a residential programme. They also have an impressive array of artists in residence including Maria João Pires, Gary Hoffman, Augustin Dumay and the Artemis Quartet, and even offer their students recording contracts and career integration into their studies. The chapel currently hosts 46 young artists from all over the world. The new residential studios will provide enviable new facilities, each with its own grand piano and sleeping platform.

The new buildings are designed by architects Olivier Bastin, Sébastien Cruyt, with landscape architect Jean Noël Capart in charge of the redevelopment of the park.