Renovations carried out at Bulgaria’s National Academy of Music, in Sofia, have improved conditions for teaching and learning, particularly in the faculty of instrumentation. The facilities have been made accessible for people with disabilities and the energy efficiency and safety of the building has been enhanced.
- 11 April 2020
‘The project aimed at improving the quality of our students’ educational environment in the faculty of instrumentation. A particularly important, and at the same time the most difficult part of this project, was ensuring an adequate acoustic environment for the repetition rooms and concert rooms in the building.’
An important part of the project was ensuring adequate acoustics and soundproofing in the practice rooms and concert halls. Aspiring musicians can now prepare for concerts by playing their instruments as loudly – or as quietly – as they like and make use of new equipment such as amplifiers.
Energy-saving measures included installation of new insulation around the building and reconstruction and insulation of the roof. To improve safety, a new lift and emergency exit staircase were added.
Professional training
Founded in 1921, the National Academy of Music has, since 1995, been named in honour of Bulgarian composer and former academy teacher, Pancho Vladigerov. Its main goal is to provide professional training in all fields of music.
Degrees are offered at bachelor, master and doctoral levels and programmes are periodically updated, in accordance with the latest educational, creative and scientific standards.
Much of the tuition is provided individually and students have regular opportunities to perform in concerts and stage productions, participate in scientific forums and publish their work in academy publications. Numerous master classes and extraordinary lecture series are organised by prominent Bulgarian and foreign musicians and musicologists.
Increased motivation
The academy has three faculties: theory, composition and conducting; the vocal faculty; and the faculty of instrumentation.
Each is divided into departments specialising in different areas: history of music and ethnomusicology, theory of music, conducting and composition, and piano in the faculty of theory, composition and conducting; classical singing, music and stage, and pop and jazz in the vocal faculty; and piano, string instruments, wind instruments and percussion, and chamber music and accompaniment in the faculty of instrumentation.
Facilities at the academy include a library with over 100 000 publications and some 17 000 recordings, three concert halls, two organs and a number of state-of-the-art practice rooms.
The project has made the surroundings more modern and pleasant, increasing students’ motivation and bringing standards into line with those of other internationally recognised music academies.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “National Academy of Music 'Prof. Pancho Vladigerov'” is EUR 1 445 817, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 1 223 730 through the “Regions in Growth” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Regional educational infrastructure”.