Duchess of Edinburgh opens state-of-the-art facility for military musicians at Sandhurst

The Duchess of Edinburgh Hall, a purpose-built facility at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst designed for The Royal Corps of Army Music, has been officially opened by its namesake.

Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, who has served as the Colonel-in-Chief of the corps since 2007, visited the site to mark the occasion.

The facility houses the Band of the Coldstream Guards and the Army Engagement Ensemble, designed specifically for rehearsals and performances, with features that cater to the needs of military musicians.

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Major Justin Teggarty, Director of Music and Officer Commanding the Band of the Coldstream Guards, described it as a benchmark for future military infrastructure.

"It is probably the best band facility that we've got in the Army and something for the other infrastructure projects to work towards," he said.

"If you look at the size, the space we've got in here allows the sound to spread further away. All the mitigations are in place, from the baffles to the carpet to the drapes around the walls to the specially designed walls, the soundproofing we've got. It affects the sound in a way that it sounds neat and sounds compact."

Musician Sophie Stones, a recent recruit to the band, reflected on meeting the Duchess during her first week, saying: "She asked me questions of my opinions on the band block.

"It's obviously amazing and, you know, really good opportunities to have 24-hour access. Especially as a new musician here, knowing that it's not going to be competitive… I've always got an opportunity to have a practice room – there's a few to pick from."

The hall's rehearsal space has already proven useful for the musician as she prepares for her first Changing the Guard ceremony.

"I'll be doing Changing the Guard – my first guard will be next week, once I've got my uniform. So I've used the rehearsal space to learn the marches."

The music facility is part of the Defence Estate Optimisation portfolio, a £5.1bn programme aimed at modernising infrastructure across the Armed Forces.