Designed by Sir Leslie Martin, West Road Concert Hall opened in 1978 and is widely regarded as one of Cambridge’s premier music venues. Situated only a few minutes’ walk away from the famous Cambridge Backs and King’s College, it is renowned for its superb acoustic qualities.

Housed within the University’s Faculty of Music, the building contains a range of flexible meeting rooms and a spacious, light and versatile foyer area making it an ideal conference venue.

Cambridge Music

Music has a long history at Cambridge. In 1464 the world’s first firmly-authenticated Bachelor of Music degree was awarded at Cambridge to Henry Abyngdon, Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal to Edward IV. Over the intervening centuries celebrated musicians such as William Boyce, William Sterndale Bennett, Charles Villiers Stanford, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Arthur Bliss, Alexander Goehr, Robin Holloway, Thomas Adès and Errollyn Wallen have studied or taught at Cambridge.

Recognising the importance of music as an academic study, the University established the Faculty of Music in 1947 to teach the newly created Music Tripos.

Over recent decades many of the most significant figures in British music have emerged from Cambridge: the composers mentioned above, performers such as Joanna MacGregor, Robert Tear, Thomas Trotter, Roger Vignoles and David Waterman, and conductors such as Andrew Davis, Mark Elder, John Eliot Gardiner, Christopher Hogwood, Richard Egarr, John Butt, and Robin Ticciati.