LSO St Luke’s, the unique music venue and the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, has launched brand new recording facilities as part of a multi-million-pound investment in the venue’s creative and technical infrastructure.
The major development marks a new chapter for LSO St Luke’s, enhancing the venue’s creative and technical capability and opening up new possibilities for artists, producers, filmmakers, broadcasters, audio professionals and creators working across any speciality or genre of music.
At the heart of the investment is a new Audio Control Room (ACR), a bespoke studio designed to meet the highest standards of audio creation. Featuring a Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 reference monitoring system, ATC speakers, and an Avid S4 console, the ACR delivers accuracy and flexibility for recording, mixing and spatial audio work.
The ACR sits at the heart of LSO St Luke’s and is connected to every performance space within the venue’s historic Grade I-listed building. Its flexible design allows it to function as either a post-production studio or a full-scale recording control room, supporting a wide range of creative and technical projects.
Sarah Quinn, Chair of London Symphony Orchestra, said: ‘The launch of our new Audio Control Room and expanded recording facilities marks an exciting new chapter for LSO St Luke’s. This investment strengthens our ability to support world-class artists and creative teams, while opening up exciting new possibilities for how music, film and broadcast projects are made within this historic space. We are delighted to be building on the legacy of LSO St Luke’s and ensuring it continues to inspire creativity for generations to come.’
For filmed projects, the venue’s Master Control Room (MCR) provides a state-of-the-art digital and broadcast recording facility. The enhanced MCR now provides a dedicated camera gallery for high-definition capture, enabling filmed sessions, live streams, podcast production and broadcast.
LSO St Luke’s has also seen a significant enhancement to its Clore Rooms, which now serve as multi-functional, acoustically controlled spaces supporting rehearsals, creative sessions, recording, production and more. The wider studio investment also includes acoustic improvements throughout the building. This includes newly treated spaces and upgraded sound insulation such as window sound barriers, designed to give artists and engineers greater precision while preserving the character of the historic setting.
Becky Lees, Director of LSO Live, added: ‘These new facilities allow us to open up the space in a new way, welcoming a broader range of creatives alongside our orchestral, community and education work. We are excited to support artists, producers, filmmakers and audio professionals of all kinds in accessing everything the venue now has to offer, from recording and production through to broadcast and digital content creation.’
Originally built in 1733 as St Luke’s Church, the venue was transformed into a music education, performance and recording venue for the London Symphony Orchestra in 2003. Today, LSO St Luke’s provides a unique backdrop for a wide range of creative activity from orchestral recording and public events through to contemporary gigs, artist projects, commercial audio work and podcast filming.
The launch of the new recording facilities builds on LSO St Luke’s reputation as one of London’s most distinctive music venues, having welcomed leading musicians and artists including Elton John, Annie Lennox, Bruce Springsteen, PJ Harvey and Sting. Its expanded offering ensures that the venue continues to evolve to meet the needs of creators now and for the future.
To enquire about hiring the Audio Control Room at LSO St Luke’s, please email acr@lso.co.uk or call the team on +44 20 7490 3939. Full brochure linked here.
Media Enquiries
Christopher Millard, London Symphony Orchestra
chris.millard@lso.co.uk | +44 (0)7545 502226
Notes to Editors
About LSO St Luke’s
LSO St Luke’s, a unique music venue on London’s Old Street, is home to the London Symphony Orchestra’s learning and community programme as well as a state-of-the-art recording studio. A blend of 18th-century, Grade I-listed architecture, contemporary interiors and cutting-edge technology makes LSO St Luke’s a striking backdrop for a wide range of creative activity.
In addition to the orchestra’s own busy programme of rehearsal and recording activity at the venue, it hosts a range of public events for all ages, welcoming artists from across the musical spectrum. Its vibrant programme ranges from lunchtime chamber music concerts to jazz and contemporary gigs, plus activities for families, and intriguing lectures.
LSO St Luke’s has welcomed many of the world’s leading musicians, including the outstanding classical soloists and ensembles of Lunchtime Concert series with BBC Radio 3, and a host of other artists across other musical genres including Elton John, Annie Lennox, Bruce Springsteen, PJ Harvey, and Sting. Now with its own bespoke recording studio, LSO St Luke’s continues to evolve to remain at the forefront of the music industry, and to meet the changing needs of artists – now and tomorrow.
Audio Control Room technical specification
- AVID S4 24-channel console with Surround Joystick Module
- ATC SCM100s with ATC SCM12i surrounds and overheads
- A Dynaudio Acoustics 18” subwoofer
- Yamaha HS7 nearfi elds
- Apple Mac Studio M3 Ultra
- Pro Tools Ultimate
- Logic Pro X
- AVID MTRX II
- Bricasti M7 Reverb Unit
- Blackmagic Videohub 40×40 Matrix
- Venue-wide patching across fibre, CAT6a, 12G SDI and analogue.
