Music school to open at ex-Rockworld site
MUSIC is set to return to the former home of Jilly’s Rockworld in Manchester with the launch of the pop music school.
The 10,000 sq ft Rockworld and Music Box space in the basement of the St James’ Buildings in Oxford Street is owned by Bruntwood, but has been empty since the venues closed in 2010.
Access to Music, which has taught Ed Sheeran and Rita Ora, has taken a 15-year lease and is investing £1m to create rehearsal rooms, a full-size recording studio, class rooms and a performance space.
The Midlands-based business is owned by Armstrong Learning, which has an office in the city and provides specialist training and support for people in the creative industries.
Founder Adrian Armstrong said: “Depeche Mode, Joy Division, Lisa Stansfield and Edwin Starr, are just some of the names that have a history with
our new building and we’re extremely excited about training the next generation of musical talent from a place that has such a rich musical heritage, embracing genres from electronic, pop, rock and all manner of styles in between.”
Bruntwood’s property marketing director Colin Sinclair said: “This has been a very exciting project for the team here at Bruntwood and we are
proud to be bringing the space back into use for the music industry. Access to Music will bring a new era of creative talent through the doors of St. James’ and it further enhances our plans for West Village [Bruntwood’s new name for its buildings on the corner of Portland and Oxford Streets].”
The interior design work is being carried out by Atul Bansal from the Sheila Bird Group.
