The Music School will accommodate school children from five up for one-on-one tuition, as well as 100 undergraduate students, and 4,000 others.

The CIT Cork School of Music was one of the first and biggest of the country’s Public Private Partnership (PPP) education projects. But many obstacles arose in its path to completion, including planning objections from An Taisce, scrutiny of the PPP process from the European Union, and financial difficulties on the part of the British-based PPP partner, Jarvis. As a result the opening date was pushed back several times.

Public campaigns and protests were mounted and politicians were put under intense pressure. Now at last the striking curved 12,000sqm college on Union Quay, with its state-of-the-art facilities, is open for business.

The building boasts 46 studios which double up for teaching and practising. It has 12 large classrooms, two raked lecture theatres, a high-tech recording suite and percussion studio, and a 400-seat auditorium. The split-level Fleischmann Library on the top floor has panoramic views over the city.

The college has a 120-seat black box theatre which will be used for performances, and a smaller Doolan Room which can also host recitals. In addition, there’s a drama suite and a café which opens on to the river side.

The college has almost 200 iMac computers and 56 Steinway pianos. (Source: Irish Examiner)