Our facilities

The iMac Suite on the ground floor of the Music Department is open to all Music students from 8am to 10pm. It contains 16 iMACs with midi keyboards and headphones, equipped with Focusrite-Digital Audio Interfaces, music sequencing software (Logic Pro), Sibelius, and Sonic Visualiser.

At the east end of the Department of Music's main building are four music production rooms designed for film and media composition. Each is equipped with a digital audio workstation running Logic Pro, midi keyboard, mixing desk and microphone(s).

Scheduled for completion in spring 2024, Engineers Cottage houses professional-standard recording studios including two Live Rooms, a Control Room, and a Relay Room. With floating-room acoustic isolation, our Live Room 1 is suited to recording medium-sized ensembles including classical, folk, jazz and rock. Live Room 2 is equipped for recording solos and duos. The Control Room features an SSL Origin 32 mixing console, while the Relay Room allows larger classes to explore recording and mixing techniques. All rooms are connected by sight lines and video links.

These new recording studios will support our teaching and research in music technology, media composition and sound design, as well as interdisciplinary modules in film audio, podcasts and radio drama. They are integral to our exciting new degree BA Music and Sound Design for Film, TV and Interactive Media, which combines study across our Music and Media Arts departments in the creation of soundtracks for a range of media projects.

The Department of Music has 21 dedicated spaces for the purposes of music practice and teaching, 13 of which are open spaces for practice purposes for those enrolled onto a music degree. We are proud to be an All-Steinway School, housing a fleet of Steinway & Sons upright and grand pianos for teaching, practice, and performance. 

Woodlands Building is situated a short walk from the Wettons Terrace, opposite Car Park 14. A full campus map can be found here. As students enrolled on our music courses, you have automatic access to these buildings for practice purposes and for your instrumental and/or vocal lessons. If you are a student and want to find out more, please visit this dedicated webpage. 

We have 21 dedicated spaces for the purposes of music practice and teaching, 13 of which are open spaces for practice purposes:

• The following rooms are home to a mixture of upright and grand pianos: Woodlands Building Rooms 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13; Woodlands Cottage Room 00-1, 1-02, and 1-03.

• The following rooms are open spaces for solo instrumental or small chamber rehearsal (no keyboard): Woodlands Building Rooms 15, and 16; Woodlands Cottage Room 1-01.

We also have eight specialism-specific spaces:

• Woodlands Room 1 hosts our Early Music instrument collection including Andrew Wooderson harpsichord, clavichord and fortepiano, our double basses (College and student owned) and harps. 

• Woodlands Room 2, 3 and 4 are dedicated spaces for piano teaching, performance seminars and for the practice needs of Solo Performance students. 

• Woodlands Cottage 0-02 is our band room. Although open access to all music students, this space is for those specialising jazz and/or popular music. 

• The Postgraduate Rehearsal Room situated in Woodlands Cottage 0-03 can be accessed by postgraduate students requiring a private space. 

• Wettons Terrace Room 0-05 hosts our practice organ for organists to use for personal rehearsal purposes.

• Wettons Terrace Studio 0-03 is our dedicated Percussion Suite for those studying percussion as a first-study instrumentalist.

Our stunning Victorian Picture Gallery houses an incredible collection of world-class art. It also has a history spanning to the opening of the University in 1886 of housing many of the Department of Music's teaching and events. It offers:

• a key space for undergraduate and postgraduate performance-related masterclasses, lectures, and workshops;
• a versatile space for performance practice, lecture-based sessions, and workshops, housing a Steinway Model-B grand piano;
• an inspirational venue where professionals, students, scholars and alumni can collaborate in making new work;
• with the potential of seating up to 150, its glorious Victorian surroundings in the heart of our Founder's Building makes this the perfect venue for our International Concert Series. 

The Boilerhouse, once the generator of heat and power for the entire university, provides a beautiful 'found' performance and teaching space for the Department of Music. The Boilerhouse Auditorium accommodates undergraduates, postgraduates and music professionals, providing them with a unique space in which to try out new approaches to music performance and practice-led activities. It offers:

• a powerhouse for new creative work in the field of performance;
• a versatile space for performance practice, lecture-based sessions, and workshops, housing a Steinway Model-B grand piano;
• an inspirational venue where professionals, students, scholars and alumni can collaborate in making new work;
• with the potential of seating up to 250, its metro-tiled halls and peeling-paint brick walls create a truly individual environment in a unique Victorian building.

A finalist in the “Best Auditorium” category in the 2019 Conference and Hospitality Show Awards, the Windsor Building Conference Centre is Royal Holloway’s largest conference space. It comprises a 400 capacity state-of-the-art auditorium with a spacious and light two storey foyer and 8 flexible breakout/seminar rooms. It offers:

• our largest space at Royal Holloway for undergraduate and postgraduate performance-related masterclasses, rehearsals, and workshops. Here you will often find our biggest staff and student-run music groups rehearse and perform to sell-out audiences;
• a versatile space for performance practice, lecture-based sessions, and workshops, housing a Steinway Model-D grand piano;
• an ideal venue for students to showcase their talent through student-led initiatives, events, networking sessions, and concerts.

Housed in one of the most spectacular university buildings in the world, and completed in 1886, the beautiful gilded chapel includes bas-reliefs by Ceccardo Fucigna and a fine three-manual organ.

The Chapel is both a place of worship and a focal point for the Royal Holloway community - for example, for the graduation ceremony. It is non-denominational and a variety of services and events are held regularly including Choral Evensong from the 1662 prayer book, Compline and Catholic masses. We take advantage of the amazing acoustics in the chapel, and Royal Holloway maintains a tradition of daily sung morning services. As far as we know, we are the only university in the UK that does.

The chapel choir is one of the finest mixed-voice collegiate choirs in the country whose scholars, funded by Banco Santander, are regular inhabitants of the Chapel, giving about 50 concerts a year including their popular Midweek Music series.

The Chapel Organ is located in the central West gallery of the Chapel, with the console in the south gallery (above the south ante-chapel). J W Walker & Sons built the original organ in 1886. The organ was completely rebuilt in 1978 by Harrison & Harrison of Durham and was overhauled by them in 2003. Royal Holloway also has a Swedish instrument in the Baroque style (Anders Mårtensson; 1953, Lund in Sweden), currently based at St. Paul’s Church, Egham Hythe, which is used for teaching and practise

Our Global Music Suite, situated on the first floor of Wettons Terrace, houses a welath of musical instruments and artefacts from across the world. The suite houses our gamlean instruments where students specialiser in the Sundanese style of West Java (gamelan degung and salendro), one of the only ensembles of its kind in the UK. It also houses a special collection of instruments native to the Bolivian Andes, only one of its type in the UK, and an array of Korean drums and gongs.