Concert Venues
Harty Room
Harty Room
With a splendid hammer-beam vaulted roof and warm acoustic, the Harty Room (seating 120) is situated within the Music building where the regular lunchtime recitals and evening concerts take place. It is also the main rehearsal space for choirs and orchestras at Queen's.
It houses two full-concert Steinway grand pianos, a double-manual harpsichord, fortepiano, chamber organ and many percussion instruments.
The Harty Room is also equipped with a large projector screen and audio PA system suitable for events such as concerts and seminars.
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3D Audio
Sonic Laboratory
SARC is home to the world famous Sonic Laboratory. Often remarked as a 'cinema for the ear'. The Sonic Lab is a specialist acoustic space designed to provide a unique and exciting listening experience, in fact, the auditory equivalent of an IMAX cinema. Forty-eight loudspeakers, strategically located, will project and move sounds throughout the space, including underneath the audience. No other auditorium for sonic art performance and experimentation currently exists with this revolutionary feature. The provision of this facility gives Northern Ireland a unique and pioneering role in a rapidly developing field.
This facility enables research teams to develop and implement cutting edge initiatives in the creation and delivery of music and audio.
The Sonic Laboratory's uniqueness is vested in the degree of flexibility it can provide for experiments in sound diffusion (the relaying of sounds through a large complex of loudspeakers) and for ground-breaking compositional and performance work within a purpose-built, variable acoustic space.
The configuration of the space has been recently upgraded to allow the mixing and playback of Dolby ATMOS surround sound mixes; used in film, music and virtual reality.
As an engineering research facility, the Sonic Laboratory will provide unparalleled opportunities to develop and test new ideas relating to loudspeaker design, loudspeaker placement, music perception, music interaction, delivery and diffusion.
Please note if visiting the Sonic Lab:
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The ground level is a metal grid that allows sound to come from the basement level. It is therefore advised not to wear heels. |
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Food and drink is not permitted in the lab |
View the specifications of the Sonic Laboratory
Sonic Lab Specifications
McMordie Hall
More than fifty years ago, when this building was occupied by the Student Union, the McMordie Hall was their debating chamber. Today, this spacious room with colourful light beaming through its beautiful stained-glass window is one of two main lecturing spaces within the School of Music building. It also houses many of our early keyboard instruments, three small ones on the balcony and the heavier ones on the ground floor.
Elmwood Hall
In 1989 the Elmwood Hall (seating 478), situated across the road from the main University site, became the rehearsal venue and administrative base for the Ulster Orchestra. The Elmwood Hall remains available, as a medium-sized concert hall, for a wide variety of musical events, including those during the Belfast Festival at Queen's each November.
Sir Whitla Hall
The Sir William Whitla Hall (seating 1250), on the main University site, is the University's principal venue for orchestral concerts, conferences and exhibitions and it hosts the graduation ceremonies each June and December. The University Choir and Orchestra give two large-scale concerts there each year. The Whitla Hall also houses a Steinway concert grand and a magnificent three-manual organ by Compton, renovated by Hill, Norman and Beard.
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