The radio station on Sydney’s North Shore has opened a brand new educational hub to nurture new audiences for classical music.

Sydney’s independent classical music and jazz radio station Fine Music 102.5 (formerly 2MBS FM) has officially opened their brand new Learning Centre. The space, adjacent to the studio in St. Leonards, has been specifically designed to nurture new audiences for classical music.

The opening ceremony took place on February 19, with former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke and his wife Blanche d’Alpuget in attendance, as well as Federal Member for North Sydney Trent Zimmerman, who concluded the proceedings by acknowledging the important of music education in Australia. Also present were young musicians such as cellist Benett Tsai, who recently won the 2016 Fine Music Network Young Virtuoso Award.

The keynote speech was delivered by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s 28-year-old Assistant Conductor Toby Thatcher, who spoke of “classical music as an engaging, visceral, confronting experience that is entirely capable of being enjoyed by all ages and demographics alike.”

“When it comes to educating and informing young people, rather than attempting to simplify, with a belief that the issue is over-intellectualisation; rather than reducing the learning curve, with a...