Playing with numbers

The University keeps telling us that the School of Music currently has 300 students ( or 119.4 EFTS).  This is completely misleading.  We have also been told that the stage 1 will continue to be taught at the university and anyone who has any familiarity at all with universities, knows that stage one courses have by far the greatest numbers of students. At a recent public meeting, Professor Strongman stated that the number of students studying at the conservatorium would be between 14 and 200, but probably nearer 200.  Are we really expected to believe that the University cannot provide  more accurate figures?   I find it astonishing that a University official can stand up in public and expect people to accept such a  statement. Their reluctance to reveal the current number of performance students strongly suggests that the numbers are not particularly favourable.  If  the City Council is being asked to finance the building based on the life the students will bring then the public surely has a right to know.  (It is perhaps worth noting here that CPIT has  230 EFTS in its music programme, yet where do we hear this department extolled for the vitality it brings to the city?)

A review report on the Music School in 2006 (available on the University website) showed that of 618 total students, only 250 or 40% were enrolled at stage 2 or above. The first thing to note is that between the date of the report and  now,  the total roll has approximately halved. Second, if we assume a similar attrition rate beyond  stage 1, then current enrollment for Stage 2 and above are likely to be around 120 students rather than 200.  Not all progressing students will be performance students and it is likely that purely academic courses such as music history will continue to be timetabled at Ilam.  Of course, it also needs  to be remembered that class sizes will be small so that at any given point in the day, the actual number of students present at the Arts Centre will be much fewer than the total roll.  In  2006, when as already noted the roll was greater than the 500 students they are aiming for, the average class size was only 10 students.  This dropped to an average of 6 students for courses above stage 1.  The largest class recorded above stage 1 level had 25 students.  It is time for the University to stop prevaricating and provide the public with the precise figures on numbers currently enrolled in performance programmes.  

The aim to create a "thriving programme in performance music with 500 students and 35 fulltime staff" (The Press, 29 /9/09)  is interesting, because earlier in the debate about the proposal, Dr Rodd Carr stated in a television  interview with Mike Yardley, that the University already has 550 more students enrolled than it is funded for by Government. The current funding regime is not likely to change in the foreseeable future.  Dr Carr observed  in  The Press  (29/9/09) that the tertiary sector is facing "the very real likelihood of minimal funding increases in the short to medium term".  I understand from sources within the University that in response to the funding situation, departments have been told that next year they will be charged $5000 for each student above a stipulated maximum. Unless Music is to be exempted from this requirement, student numbers are unlikely to change greatly from what they are at present.  If Music is to be encouraged to grow, could the University inform us which programmes are to be cut to allow for this increase?

Misleading images?

                                
Professor Ken Strongman, Assistant Vice-Chancellor ( Government and Community Relations) at the University of Canterbury stated in The Press (8/9/09) that a misleading image is being reproduced which is known to be no longer representative of the proposed building (see above). A new image was submitted which is said to reflect the street profile and incorporate refinements resulting from consultations with the Historic Places Trust.

This is rather strange because apart from the fact the new image is a perspective drawing and also shows the heritage buildings to the west along Hereford Street, it clearly incorporates no change to the design from what can be seen in an elevation of the Hereford Street facade, which has been displayed on the University website since June.  

 

It would therefore be very interesting to hear from Professor Strongman exactly what recent changes and refinements have been made to the design as a result of discussions with the Historic Places Trust, because they are certainly not evident.  We  know from the public meeting held at the Employers' Chamber of Commerce that the central stairwell and the elevation at the Dux De Lux end, as seen above, were modified as a result of discussions with the Historic Places Trust before the plans were presented to the public. (The previous design has never been made public.)

What is very clear is that the "new view" is a totally misleading one.  No-one will ever see this view unless all the buildings between Hereford St and Cashel St ( or even as far as Cambridge Terrace) are removed.  I defy anyone to stand on Hereford St and see the view as presented here.  The building will appear much larger and more dominating and the buildings to either side will only be able to be viewed obliquely   On the other hand the view which Professor Strongman claims is misleading is an accurate portrayal of the oblique view anyone will see walking down Hereford St from the Botanic Gardens end.  The accuracy of the view was challenged by the University when it was first made public, but the architects confirmed that it was indeed an accurate representation.  Though there is nothing about the "new drawing" to suggest the plans have changed in any way, if they have, then let us see them presented from the same angle as the disputed drawing.  It should be noted that this same view is still seen in the flyover video presented by the University on its website.  The flyover in itself is misleading because for much of its duration it represents the building from a birds-eye perspective rather than a pedestrian perspective and therefore downplays the scale of the building.  (For some reason the elevation and the perspective have a small dormer to the left of the tower which does not appear in either the flyover or the  South-west perspective, but this discrepancy has been present from the outset.)  We await with interest Professor Strongman's further elucidation as to the nature of the changes.

Capturing the passing crowd

The University in its publicity makes a great deal of the 800,000 visits made to the Canterbury Museum  and surrounding area each year by out-of-town visitors. We are  told  it is this passing crowd, as much as the citizens of Christchurch, that they want to expose to the talent within the music programme.  Apparently, this would not be possible with a building anywhere other than the Arts Centre.

In reality, turning the passing crowd into a fee paying audience is far easier said than done, as Elric Hooper, with years of experience in trying to achieve that for the Court Theatre,  can attest.  By and large theatre and concert performances do not capture an impulse audience.  The best way to display the talent within the school would surely be to provide performances in as wide a range of venues as possible, preferably for no charge or only a nominal charge.  The very successful National School of Music has a no charge policy for the majority of its concerts and it performs at a range of venues throughout Wellington.  The Music School does not need to build a costly auditorium at the Arts Centre to showcase the talent of their students within the cultural precinct.  Numerous potential performance venues exist, of varied size, acoustics and atmosphere. The possibilities are only limited by lack of imagination.

The first and most obvious one is the Great Hall. As the original home of the university and an outstanding heritage building, it surely has the gravitas Mr Carr desires.  A new auditorium at the Arts centre would directly compete with this venue, reducing the income stream for the Arts Centre Trust Board.  A second option, one entailing no additional cost to the University, would be the use of the SOFA gallery for intimate recitals or chamber concerts.  This would allow the audience to experience the talents of the Fine Arts Department at the same time.  In spring and summer outdoor concerts could be held in the quandrangles with the musicians seated under the arcading.   The Southern Ballet Theatre might also be willing to hire out its small and very intimate venue from time to time.  

What about an occasional concert in the McDougall Art Gallery?  That would certainly showcase the talent of the university to the passing crowd intent on making their way to the Museum and Botanic Gardens.  In the daffodil season,  performances in the Band Rotunda could add to the atmosphere for all those tourists who go to admire the daffodils in bloom.  The new visitor centre for the Gardens might provide another location.  The shelter near the childrens' playground  area could provide an opportunity to introduce music to young people. 

It has previously been noted that the atrium of the Art Gallery provides a wonderful opportunity to perform to a captive audience and there is also precedent for using the gallery spaces.  In addition there is a small auditorium.  From time to time COCA is also used for performances and this could provide another possible venue with mutual benefit to the gallery and the Music School.  A little further afield, but still within the cultural precinct, both the Provincial Buildings and the Cathedral offer further possibilities. Still within the Central City but beyond the cultural precinct there are of course places such as the Music Centre,  the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, St Michaels and All Angels in addition to obvious venues such as the James Hay Theatre for more formal concerts or opera performances.  In reality, there are innumerable possibilities for bringing the vibrancy and talent of the music students to the centre city while still locating the music building on campus. All that is needed is the will to do so.