10 Years of Milton Court: Professor Jonathan Vaughan

As we celebrate 10 Years of Milton Court, we sat down with some of those who were involved in the initial project to hear a little more about Milton Court's contribution to the cultural life of the School, the Barbican and London as a whole. 

School Principal, Professor Jonathan Vaughan was working as Director of Music at the time and reflects on how it felt walking into the Concert Hall for the first time, how the facilities have benefitted Guildhall students and the future for Milton Court. 

Introduce us to Milton Court

Milton Court opened ten years ago, in September 2013. It was a complete game-changer for Guildhall, an extraordinary vision, doubling the size of the School’s footprint. It provided us with an incredible state-of-the-art 600-seat Concert Hall, 220-seat Proscenium Arch Theatre, Studio Theatre, three big rehearsal rooms, TV studio and 11,000 square metres of space.

How did the space come to be?

I have to pay tribute to the people who made Milton Court possible. Firstly, Sir Barry Ife, who was Principal at the time. He took on this project when the UK was in financial crisis. Everyone said: ‘You’re crazy for even contemplating creating a new building at a time of austerity’. But he and his team had a clear vision – to turn a decrepit fire station into this extraordinary, wonderful building. Then there was David Walker, of David Walker Architects and Simon Smith, previously of RHWL Arts Team. Along with ARUP, the acousticians, and Theatre Projects, who advised on the theatres – they all did an astonishing job.

Milton Court was made possible by a public-private arrangement brokered by the City of London which meant that the commercial tower – the residential apartments above this building – essentially paid for the part of the building that is now Guildhall School. Our section of the building was originally £89 million and we only had to raise £13 million. Working closely with the City of London Corporation, who of course Guildhall School is a proud department of, continues to be critical to us.

How did you feel when you experienced the building for the first time? 

The first time I walked in, it was a rather dangerous building site! When we entered the Concert Hall, all wearing hard hats, the carpenters were there installing all the wooden panelling – you couldn’t see across the Hall, there was so much sawdust. I was Director of Music at the time, and the first time I heard any music in the space was the acoustic tests – we came in with great trepidation because we had invested all this money and had no guarantee of what it would sound like. But from the very first notes, it became clear that it was a really extraordinary acoustic – everything we could have hoped for, and more. As it happened, one of our well-known alumni, composer and conductor Thomas Adès, was in the building and said to me “the sound reminds me of the Musikverein in Vienna…”, and I thought OK: we’re there! I've since heard many external observers say it’s one of the best acoustics in London.

Walking into the theatre spaces was totally inspiring too. If you stand in the middle of the Milton Court Theatre stage (it's designed in the way that 19th century opera houses were made, in a horseshoe crescent), you're no distance at all from the audience. The intimacy that actors feel when standing on that stage is palpable.

How does Milton Court benefit Guildhall students? 

On the theatre side, our equipment is state-of-the-art. In the Theatre we have automated flying – it's all robotic, you can fly people in, you can fly scenery in. The opportunities for graphic projection and other high-level technical activity is a huge advantage for our Production Arts students.

Having two venues for theatre is hugely useful too – the facilities at Silk Street and Milton Court complement each other. In the older building, we've got ropes, sandbags and pulleys, and students having to manually move things. In Milton Court, it's all automated; so they’re learning both sides of the discipline, and becoming capable of working in any theatre or TV studio. No matter what Production Arts pathway students are focusing on – set-building, lighting, wig-making, costume design – having access to two venues, of different periods and designs, makes them all the more well-rounded and adaptable. It adds a positive challenge, and prepares them fully for their career post-Guildhall.

For music students using the Hall, I always say it’s like handing a violinist a Stradivarius – the acoustic is amazing and timeless, and makes them play to a higher standard. The building has an extraordinary historical legacy already – when you think that on this very concert platform we've had the likes of conductors Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Antonio Pappano and Bernard Haitink, as well as soloists such as Yuja Wang, Leila Josefowicz and Pierre-Laurent Aimard. Wherever possible, we get visiting artists to work with our students too, so they have the chance to rub shoulders with the very best in the industry.

What's the future of Milton Court? 

It's a truly exciting time for us. We're taking receipt of new equipment all the time – for example, thanks to a major grant we received earlier this year, we've now got kit that will enable 3D capture, with 48 cameras that will transform students into 3D avatars. But there are always new projects we need funded. We've seen the industry change exponentially over the last couple of years and it's going to continue to do so. Even though this building is only a decade old, some of our equipment is already starting to date. We need a steady stream of new equipment to remain cutting-edge.

We’re determined in our mission to make our student community ever more diverse. We want to welcome young people from all kinds of backgrounds, which of course requires ongoing bursary and scholarship support. We believe passionately in the performing arts changing and improving lives; we do that through our outreach work, which, again, relies greatly on the generosity of our supporters. 

We're always on the lookout for people who share Guildhall’s vision. There are many Milton Court projects we’d love to get our supporters involved in – if that’s you, please get in touch with our Development team. Or contact me directly. We’d love to hear from you.