Humber students will be learning and creating in the innovative Humber Cultural Hub (HCH) this September and that has engineer and producer Justin Gray eager to begin teaching and creating in the new spaces.

Gray, a professor in Humber’s Bachelor of Music program with the Faculty of Media, Creative Arts, and Design, has done several walkthroughs of the facility that will inspire creativity and support the arts by offering world-class film, media and performance facilities along with much needed collaborative spaces.

Gray can’t overstate the benefits it will have for students in a variety of programs, but especially the Music cluster. Gray points to the 140-seat recital and recording hall and how it will serve as a teaching and learning space as well as a performance hall and venue for Artist/Producer-in-Residence Week. The space also features removable seating to accommodate live recording of large ensembles and world-class mixing and mastering facilities.

Gray said it has been designed by some of the best studio designers and acousticians in the world.

“The fact that we have a world-class Dolby Atmos immersive audio recording studio and mixing production suite attached to a large recording hall puts Humber into a class that few facilities and institutions worldwide belong to,” said Gray. “It truly is epic.”

While the old A Building at Lakeshore Campus will be demolished to make room for the second phase of the HCH, the existing Gordon Wragg Recording Studios will be preserved and incorporated into the new facility. This will further support learners as they explore their passion for creating.

Phase one of the HCH will feature music production labs, practice rooms, keyboard labs, a piano practice room, a percussion teaching lab, percussion practice rooms and small ensemble practice rooms. It will also be home to the Community Music School, which offers innovative opportunities for youth aged three to 18 to experience, explore and expand their knowledge and skills in music.

Gray says every classroom is state-of-the-art and the spaces opening in September will help prepare Music students for their future careers while fueling their creativity and enthusiasm for making music. The capstone project for fourth year Bachelor of Music students is to record, mix and master a three to four song EP and he’s excited to see what they can create when immersed in the new facility.

Having access to the HCH and all its amenities will help prepare Music students for their future careers. They will have purpose-built professional facilities in which to record and perform while being introduced to the latest technologies and industry standards.

“It’s been designed in a way that makes it desirable as both a professional and instructional facility,” said Gray. “These facilities allow us to meet the highest technological standards while providing students new opportunities to expand their creativity.”

The impact that the ground-breaking, 500-seat multi-purpose Performance Hall will have on the Humber community as well as South Etobicoke and Toronto is also noteworthy.

“It’s something that Toronto is going to celebrate, not just Humber.”

Once phase two is completed, the HCH will also have film studios and screening rooms for student and industry use, and a Comedy Cabaret for private and public comedy performances. The 365,000-square-foot facility will include an informal interior amphitheatre designed for festivals, public events, and community gatherings.  

To learn more, visit the HCH website.

Humber Inspired: A Vision for 2030 is a process designed to create a new vision for Humber’s future. Humber Inspired builds on the innovative and groundbreaking work already taking place at Humber and the big, bold ideas shared by the institution’s community as part of the process. Ahead of the official launch of the new vision, Humber Today will be sharing stories of the inspiring work and achievements happening at Humber every day that will enable us to achieve our new vision.