The oldest predecessor of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam was founded in 1884 as the Amsterdamsch Conservatorium, four years before the completion of the Concertgebouw. In 1920 a competing musicacademy was established in Amsterdam by a society called 'Muzieklyceum'. The Bachzaal, used by the Amsterdamsch Conservatorium, was completed in 1931. In 1976, the Amsterdamsch Conservatorium, Conservatory of the Muzieklyceum Society, and the Haarlems Muzieklyceum merged to form the Sweelinck Conservatorium. This "new" academy of music moved to the former savings bank building in the Van Baerlestraat in 1985. In 1994 the Sweelinck Conservatorium merged with Hilversums Conservatorium to form the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. From 1998 its training programmes took place in their facilities in Van Baerlestraat and the Nieuwe Vaart. In 2008 the school moved to Oosterdokseiland.
Building
Since April 21, 2008, the Conservatorium van Amsterdam has its home in a new building at the Oosterdokseiland, near Amsterdam Central Station. The new building is centrally located in a cultural area, including the 'Muziekgebouw' with three concert halls for classical music and jazz, and the public library. Other faculties of the Amsterdam University of the Arts are within walking distance. This new complex is designed and equipped to current standards. Students can organize solo or ensemble concerts, create interesting projects with other music students or students from other art disciplines. They also make their own posters and flyers, sell tickets, or record their concerts in one of the concert halls and broadcast them on the internet radio at the CvA website. The design, by Dutch architect Frits van Dongen, is based on the 'Engawa model', the Japanese way of building, where the corridors are situated next to the outer walls of the building and the concert halls, classrooms and study rooms, within. Large windows in the front transmits sufficient daylight into the rooms. This building method is intended to enable students to study without being disturbed, while corridors keep noises out. The new building contains three units. At ground level there are four halls:
Bernard Haitinkzaal, a large hall with 450 seats
Amsterdam Blue Note, a hall for jazz and pop concerts, which seats 200
Sweelinckzaal, a recital hall with 120 seats
Theaterzaal, which seats 50
The Bernard Haitinkzaal and Sweelinckzaal have windows which transmit daylight, which is exceptional for a concert hall. All halls have recording equipment, so that each concert or playing exam can be recorded. There is also a foyer and a canteen at ground level. At the next level there are four floors with lesson and classrooms and on top of these there are two floors with the library, a lecture hall and study rooms. Acoustic planning was by Akoestisch bureau Peutz, who researched the acoustic requirements of the lesson and study rooms and concert halls.
