After two years of renovations and construction, Selkirk College’s Studio 80 has finished its transformation to the Shambhala Music and Performance Hall.
“It’s almost completed with the new sound and lighting equipment and it looks amazing,” said development and alumni co-ordinator Pat Henman. “We just had to do some minor little things like get the final equipment in and that’s going to be happening over the next few weeks. It’s all new. It looks amazing. It sounds amazing.”
The hall has been in use over the past few weeks as students who are in the midst of finishing their two-year programs are performing their final showcases there.
“We’ve been allowing the students to do their final showcases there, because these were the students that started two years ago on a two-year program and they never even got to be in that space,” said Henman. “It’s been closed since they started school. They did their showcases while our technicians were putting the final equipment in.”
The public will get their first glimpse of the new facility this coming Wednesday when all of the donors attend an event featuring a mixture of music by students and the faculty.
The hall will officially open its donors to the community on Thursday for the same performance.
“It’s going to be all music. We’re going to have messages from our alumni... we have 20 years of music alumni all over the world,” said Henman. “For me this all says it took two years of our lives, but it’s done. The public can come in and the students are back in learning and playing and the public can rent it after April 5.”
For more information about the Shambhala Music and Performance Hall visit Selkirk.ca