The Alpha Institute celebrated its new music technology building, Lennie Hibbert Hall, funded by the Digicel Jamaica Foundation. The new building is named for the late musician Lennie Hibbert who was a graduate of the Alpha Institute and went on to record two albums with the famed Studio One. Hibbert was also an Alpha bandmaster.
The new space will allow the Alpha School of Music to expand its music technology programme. Alpha’s music technology programme bridges the gap between the business of music and the art of recording studio competencies. Through the programme, students develop recording, mixing and post-production skills. Along with the existing recording studio, Lennie Hibbert Hall will include a new music tech room, a music hall with five training rooms, and large meeting spaces.
Jean Lowrie-Chen, chairperson of the Digicel Jamaica Foundation, spoke about this project. “This Lennie Hibbert Hall will immortalise the name of a great Jamaican musician while expanding the offerings of the Alpha Institute, the former Alpha Boys’ School, which is lauded as the creator of ska, the forerunner of reggae,” said Lowrie-Chen.
This is the Digicel Jamaica Foundation’s second project in recent years with the Sisters of Mercy, the founders and continued operators of the Alpha Institute. Previously, the foundation provided funding for renovations to the Alpha School of Music’s main practice space, the Colm Delves Centre. As an investor in STEM, the foundation has supported initiatives to enhance arts education and technology.