Calgary Studio Bell National Music Centre
What started with the installation of a pipe organ in the Jack Singer concert hall in 1987 grew into an organ festival and has transformed into Studio Bell Canada’s National Music Centre.
In 2013 in Calgary’s East Village, construction began on a 160,000 square foot amazing architectural showpiece. Studio Bell was completed in 2016 and opened on Canada Day. It has become Canada’s place of all things music. Their mission: “To give Canada a place that amplifies the love, sharing, and understanding of music.”
Studio Bell houses over 2,000 rare instruments, artifacts, and four Canadian Music Halls of fame. There are Four Pillars that comprise the Centre.
The first is exhibitions, to preserve past musical history and artifacts, and to promote new innovative instruments and sound.
The second is to ensure artist development by allowing new and current artists opportunities to use the Centre’s collections to create and record.
Third, to engage artists in live performances. Allowing a diverse spectrum of musicians using the center’s performance venues, The Performance Hall and the King Eddy provide those venues.
The fourth pillar is education. Studio Bell fosters learning for varied and inclusive music lovers no matter their age or background.
Studio Bell’s vision is “To be a natural catalyst for discovery, innovation, and renewal through music.” It is more than just a museum; it is a place to access unprecedented music history and technology. Telling the music stories in Canada, the Centre’s music history spans over the past 450 years. Many artifacts are rare and are on display like any other museum, but there is more.
Many of the instruments are part of the Living Collection. They are making music available by keeping many instruments in working order for artists to access and create. There are three live instrument rooms, and each includes different working instruments that are best suited for that room’s acoustics. Canadian musicians of all backgrounds and genres are open to apply to become an Artist in Residence at NMC.
Some of the sites and artifacts to experience are the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, one of Elton John’s pianos, the Canadian Music Hall of fame, and the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame. The King Edward Hotel was dismantled and rebuilt as part of the NMC and hosts live performances every night of the week. The Tragically Hip played one of their last performances there. There are five floors of musical history and legend to interact with and explore.
The NMC has a” Director’s Picks” list, which highlights some favourite artifacts such as a 1966 Balwin electric Harpsicord, a Broadwood Paris Exhibition 1899 Grand Piano, a Buchia 100 1968 synthesizer, a CKUA Microphone from the 1920s, and even Corey Hart Sunglasses from his 1984 hit “Sunglasses at Night.”
Visitors can even find fashion at Studio Bell, where costumes from historical, cultural, and famous musicians are on display. There are many hands-on interactive activities to try your hand at as a visitor. An online artifact gallery is available to view with stories to educate about the items.
The National Music Centre offers five floors of musical story-telling that are sure to evoke an emotional musical memory. Studio Bell is one of Calgary’s genuinely unique attractions, and many tourists are enthralled just with the beauty of its architecture alone. NMC is a non-government, non-profit charitable organization dedicated to keeping Canada’s Music growing and a place for its story to be told. As one tourist said, “There is nothing quite like this place. Our relatives were very impressed. A definite top attraction to visit in Calgary!”.
Check out the Prince Island Park and Peace Bridge which is in Calgary AB too.
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