Classes start at the Isabel

Matt Rogalsky (Music) leads his class at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts in an exercise in acoustic design. He described it as “an exercise in listening to sound through the fingertips.” He plays a tone and the students walk around the class holding balloons, noting how different parts of the room affect the sound. (University Communications)

It was a day of firsts Monday.

First day of classes at Queen’s but also the first day of classes at the newly built Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts.

On a beautiful, sunny morning, small groups of students walked along King Street and down the entranceway, some getting their first glimpse of the building.

The anticipation of a new start was clear.

“I think the building is absolutely brilliant — the big windows give a beautiful view,” says film student Nicholas Simonds (Artsci’16), who arrived a half hour early for class so he could look around. “I love that they’ve used limestone throughout. It really makes it feel like a Kingston building.”

Mat Kahansky (Artsci’16) also decided to get an early start and ended up being one of the first students to arrive.

As he wandered the halls trying to locate his classroom, he was impressed by what he saw. The ancient limestone, concrete and the steel and glass of the main lobby elicited a wide-eyed reaction.

He’s hopeful about the building’s future.

“It’s very pretty,” he says, as he settles into a sitting area for students that provides a stunning view of Lake Ontario. “It will be interesting to see how much Queen’s facilitates students as well as make use of the building to its full potential.”

The Isabel not only hosts the Department of Film and Media and acts as a working and learning space for the university’s other creative arts disciplines, but also boasts a film screening room, black box theatre sound studio and a world-class concert hall.

“I think it’s excellent for Queen’s to have its own state-of-the-art music facility,” Mr. Kahanksy says, adding that it boosts the reputation of the school.

Matt Rogalsky (Music), who was teaching a class on recording techniques, acoustics and radio production Monday morning, also says he is excited to be teaching at the Isabel.

“My class and I will be making great use of the new sound studio,” he says. “It’s the most advanced space on campus for mixing audio and I’m excited to put it to use.”

With files from Andrew Stokes, Communications Officer.

The Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts was made possible by a transformational gift from Alfred Bader (SC’45, Arts’46, MSc’47, LLD’86) and his wife Isabel (LLD’07) as well as the financial backing of the federal and provincial governments, the City of Kingston and additional philanthropic support.

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