FEATURES: EDUCATION
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A high school in Shanghai is providing students with state-of-the-art recording and performance spaces to equip them for a bright future. Caroline Moss learns more IN ITS DRIVE TO EQUIP THE COUNTRY FOR FURTHER development, the Chinese government has made significant investment in vocational skills training at all levels of the educational system. As an alternative to traditional high schools, vocational schools are opening across the country to teach students a trade with market demand. Vocational high schools now account for around 40% of all secondary schools across the country, preparing students for industries such as manufacturing, elevator maintenance, high-speed railways, e-commerce and, for a handful of lucky Shanghai youths, music production. Featuring a complex of teaching studios designed by worldrenowned acoustician Sam Toyoshima, the US$5.5 million Shanghai Vocational School of Contemporary Music aims to cultivate talent in modern music production and performance at a professional level. The school, which currently has 300 students, is supported by the Shanghai Municipal Government and offers majors in recording art, music production and music performance. It aims to provide a high level of contemporary music training, as well as assistance in gaining employment after graduation. The bid to design and equip the facility was won in late 2018 by Shanghai SunYart Digital Technology Co, which had worked on other projects with Toyoshima in the past, including a world-class recording studio at the Jiangsu Centre for the Performing Arts in Nanjing, and brought the Japanese acoustician into this project too. Work began to convert an existing school, and the Shanghai Vocational School of Contemporary Music opened its doors to students in early 2020. Shanghai SunYart Digital Technology director Alex Wei and his team carried out a basic layout design for the new facility, with Toyoshima providing an acoustic design. Wei and Toyoshima continued to discuss and refine the plans, with the latter making regular visits to Shanghai to oversee the project. At the centre of the new school, taking pride of place on the ground floor, is a large music recording studio capable of
Alex Wei explains the installation of the Genelec 1236A SAM monitors in the glass
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