A £2.5m music centre that will become a focus for performance and research opens today.

The University of York's Sir Jack Lyons Music Research Centre will have areas dedicated to electronic music and digital art.

Roger Wright, controller of BBC Radio 3, will perform the opening ceremony. He will be joined by university chancellor, opera singer Dame Janet Baker, and university professors, to be treated to a recital called New Renaissance, by composer Ambrose Field.

The centre will provide an international-standard facility, built to the highest acoustic specification. At its heart is the 150-seat concert hall, which houses the music department's grand piano, which was made in Italy using wood from the Italian Alps.

It also houses an art gallery, which will display sculptures.

The launch will be marked by a festival, from Monday to May 1, bringing artists, academics and performers together to illustrate the breadth of contemporary computer-based art. For details, call (01904) 432439.

Published: 20/04/2004