The Project: MOD Kneller Hall

The Brief

The Corps of Army Music provide military personnel the opportunity to create amazing music through tuition, guidance and the support to develop an individual approach to music which continues from first joining, through to becoming a member of a band.

Training for the Corps of Army Music takes place at the Royal Military School of Music which is based at Kneller Hall, Twickenham.  The courses develop the musicians’ skills and individuals are then assigned to appropriate bands.  The school is also the venue to the annual summer concerts where three bands feature at six spectacular events over the summer.

Central to the events is the bandstand. There has been a bandstand on the site since the 1890’s and currently, an amphitheatre construction is a replica of a 1940’s design, was built in the 1990’s. However, it was found that the conductor’s podium was too high and the eye level between conductor and performer was not appropriate. Deciding to remove the podium influenced the update of the entire bandstand creating a new platform across the existing stand, producing a higher, single level, large performance area.

The End Result

The band stand, in its new format is mainly used for the summer events, so a demountable platform was ideal. The structure is formed from Multi-dek, and in this case, a bespoke design to fit perfectly into the semi-circular shape of the band stand.  The tailored contemporary design, sits comfortably alongside vintage features, combined with a robust structure that now hosts musical practices and performances with musicians and their instruments up to 100 strong. It is proving to be the ideal performance platform for the bands’ acoustics, contact with the conductor and visibility for the audience.

What They Said

The six summer concerts held at this venue are always amazing events, and have a different theme each year. The audience picnics on the grass whilst watching phenomenal musicians perform amazing music, accompanied by a finale of fireworks. The event has now been further enhanced with this new and unique performance platform, providing “a modern base for our bands to perform in a traditional setting.

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