Agenda item

On 26th September 2013, the City Corporation will mark the opening of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama’s (GSMD) new premises at Milton Court. 

The GSMD is one of the world’s leading conservatoires and drama schools.  It attracts over 800 full-time students from 60 countries and counts Sir George Martin, Sir James Galway and Daniel Craig among its alumni.  Construction of the new Milton Court premises began in 2010, with the cost of development being met by private donors, Heron International and the City of London Corporation.  Milton Court will provide state-of-the-art performance and teaching spaces, including a 608-seater concert hall, 227-seat theatre, three major rehearsal studios and a TV studio suite. 

To mark the opening of the building it is proposed that the City of London Corporation hosts a reception at Milton Court immediately following a concert featuring students and alumni of the School. This will provide guests with an opportunity to tour both front and back of house facilities.

Guests at the reception will include a senior member of the Royal Family; the Lord Mayor, major donors; patrons and trustees; the Board of Governors; senior representatives of London’s creative and academic sectors; the press; and international GSMD contacts.  The occasion is also timely given the current Lord Mayor’s commitment to the City as a global centre for the arts and in the light of concerns regarding the impact of funding cuts on the arts sector.

We recommend that hospitality be granted and that arrangements be left in the hands of the Board of Governors of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama; the cost to be met from City’s Cash, within the approved cost parameters.

(This will be a full Court event.)

Read and agreed to.