ConnectsMusic is excited to say the World Heart Beat Academy just recently launched their second music education centre/concert hall in London, Embassy Gardens – the first public concert hall to open in London for over 13 years! 

The intimate venue opened in early November and has a promising line up for January:

• Julian Joseph OBE
• Omar Puente
• Kamal Sabri
• Yevgeny Sudbin
• Amatis Trio

More about the opening season in January 2023:

This November, leading music charity World Heart Beat opened its doors to a new performance and music education centre in the heart of Nine Elms as part of the ongoing expansion of Embassy Gardens. World Heart Beat at Embassy Gardens will mark the first time London has welcomed a new concert hall in the capital since the opening of since Guildhall School of Music and Drama’s Milton Court Concert Hall in 2013. As well as the flagship 200-capacity concert hall, the building will enable World Heart Beat to build on its existing track record of providing music education that is accessible to all social groups amidst ongoing pressures on arts funding. Designed by Rory Aitkenhead ARB, director of ra-l architects, cutting edge technology and state of the art facilities will enable the charity to introduce young people to a huge breadth of music industry skills whilst also providing an unparalleled experience for artists and audiences alike.

Kickstarting 2023, the new concert hall will open with an eclectic ongoing musical programme comprising some of the biggest names in contemporary jazz as well as emerging artists who have undertaken training with World Heart Beat. Names confirmed for the first season include Julian Joseph OBE, jazz trumpeter Byron Wallen, Cuban-born violinist Omar Puente, saxophonist Tony Kofi, Indian classical musician Kamal Sabri, Russian-born British concert pianist Yevgeny Sudbin, winner of the BBC Young Musician brass category in 2016 Ben Goldscheider, and piano trio Amatis Trio. The first season of concerts in the venue, taking place from January 2023, will be on sale from early November, and the programme takes its inspiration from World Heart Beat’s deep-rooted connections into the global worlds of jazz, contemporary classical, and folk.

World Heart Beat founder Sahana Gero MBE said,

We are honoured to be opening up World Heart Beat Embassy Gardens to add to the vibrancy and excitement around the new Nine Elms area. It is such a privilege to be able to contribute to the community with a state-of-the-art boutique concert hall and a music education​ facility. Music brings everyone together, it brings joy by linking communities and breaking down political, economic and cultural barriers. We would like to think of World Heart Beat Embassy Gardens as an inspiring place to be, a citadel for musical aspirations and achievement. A welcoming home for all.

 

The auditorium is the first in the UK to install the revolutionary 360-degree d&b immersive Soundscape EnScene system (as used on tours by Bjork and Brian Eno), ensuring every member of the audience will experience the same exceptional quality of sound, regardless of their position in the hall. The venue also includes a state-of-the-art recording studios, teaching spaces, outside broadcast studio and a café/bar.

Continuing its deep-rooted links in South West London and emulating the success of its first music academy in Southfields, Embassy Gardens will provide the charity with a second centre for musical excellence and double its current teaching capacity each year.

World Heart Beat’s mission is to provide opportunities for all, and welcomes any young person interested in learning music. This commitment sees them providing bursaries and free instruments to more than half of the students that come through their door; this will directly benefit thousands of young people, particularly welcoming young those living in challenging circumstances, and on the neighbouring communities on the Patmore, Savona, Carey Gardens, Doddington and Rollo Estates.

World Heart Beat is one of the most prominent music charities in the country for providing grassroots, non-selective, richly diverse, music education programmes for children from a vast array of backgrounds. In 2018, the organisation was awarded National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) status by Arts Council England, acknowledging the quality of their work and the contribution they make to ACE’s Creative Case for Diversity and Equality. World Heart Beat is based in South London. The charity provides music tuition and performances opportunities for 380 young people each year outside of school hours. World Heart Beat’s mission is to provide opportunities for all, with an ‘open door’ approach that welcomes any young person interested in learning music. This commitment sees them providing bursaries and free instruments to more than half of the students that come through their door.

Nine Elms and Vauxhall have always been a critical part of London’s landscape – the area’s past is one of commerce and industry, its future is of enterprise, art, culture and living. The Opportunity Area is being regenerated by Wandsworth and Lambeth councils working together with the creation of 20,000 homes and 25,000 post-construction jobs in this innovative mixed-use district on the Thames in central London. The development programme includes extending the Northern Line with two new stations at Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms which opened in September 2021, new parks, leisure, health and school facilities. A vibrant cultural programme of events, exhibitions and installations is being delivered by Wandsworth Council alongside new cultural spaces opening up in Nine Elms including Matt’s Gallery and World Heart Beat.