Abstract:
‘Informed by the historic Intersection of choral Music, church architecture, and acoustics.
My thesis will include the concept design of the adaptive reuse of a decommissioned church in Halifax, turning it into a concert hall catered especially towards the performance of choral music. Retrofitting concert halls into decommissioned churches is a suitable use of these buildings, as they maintain churches as sites of community gathering and capitalise off of the existing bonds between church architecture and music.’
JURY COMMENT:
The jury appreciated Erin’s application of her knowledge of choral music to the real-world, immediate problem of what to do with places of worship that can no longer be supported by their congregations. Her proposal to work with acousticians to study the physical properties of historic churches to better understand how they can enhance our experience of music also promises to expand our knowledge of how we appreciate historic places in general. We don’t listen to buildings enough, and the relationship between acoustics and conservation is one that deserves further investigation. Erin’s work shows great promise as a contribution to that effort.