The Lunenburg Academy
For friends outside Lunenburg County, you may not have heard that the Town of Lunenburg is trying to unload ownership of the Lunenburg Academy building. For some time, the Town wanted to pass on what it calls an “unsustainable burden” to another group. There is recently plenty of speculation about what could happen. You might be wondering what impact this might have on the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance (Lamp).
Barbara Hannigan & EQ 2022
Completed in 1895, this remarkable structure, one of a very few large-scale wooden buildings in Canada still surviving from the 19th century served as the community’s public school for over a century before it closed in 2012. Shortly after that, Burt Wathen’s dream of an exemplary academy of music performance was born, and the entire 3rd floor of this stunning building is now Lamp’s home.
Lamp has four large studios that used to be classrooms, a 160-seat recital hall with remarkable acoustics, a music library, three administrative offices and a view of the town and coastline that is to die for. It’s hard not to be inspired by the grandeur of the “castle on the hill”. In any given year, hundreds of emerging artists come to Lamp to receive advanced training through our internationally celebrated faculty, collaborating and performing in roughly 75 concerts a year in our concert hall, presented to audiences of all ages. In addition to the concerts that take place here in the Lunenburg Academy are the many remote free concerts performed in schools and care facilities around the province (though mostly in Lunenburg & Queens Counties) as part of our Outreach Program.
Lamp will be staying in the Academy building for the foreseeable future.
Admittedly, as a registered charity, at times we struggle to pay what by non-profit charitable standards is a lot of rent (by commercial standards is modest), Lamp certainly does its part to contribute to the annual operating expenses of this historic building.
The Town of Lunenburg has said there is "no real threat to the building itself" as the Academy is well protected. The building is registered as both a Provincial Heritage Property and a National Historic Site; it is located within the jurisdiction of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Old Town Lunenburg; the property abuts Old Town Lunenburg Historic District National Historic Site of Canada. Being part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site means that the building is recognized for its outstanding universal value and is protected by international treaties. The Town of Lunenburg, Province of Nova Scotia, and Canada also have their own heritage laws. The Lunenburg Academy and its usage is very well protected, and Lamp’s mission fits within those usage requirements perfectly.
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The town of Lunenburg was founded in the same year by about 1,500 soldiers who settled in the area in an effort by the British to settle Protestants in Nova Scotia and remove the 20 Acadian families that lived in the area at that time. For several thousand years the Mi’kmaq indigenous peoples have lived here.
The site of the Lunenburg Academy building is itself historically important to Lunenburg. In May 2016, a team of students led by Henry Cary, an adjunct professor at Saint Mary’s University found it was quite likely that a star-shaped fort built by the British in 1753 was located about where the Academy building is today.
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The Town has asked the Lunenburg Academy Foundation to examine the possibility of acquiring the Academy. This non-profit group was established in 1981 with the mission of protecting and restoring this National Historic Site. This would be a major responsibility for the Foundation and a decision that needs careful consideration. Lamp would be very pleased if the Foundation was to become the owner of the building.
We agree that it is important that we all do our part to preserve this historic building for future generations. The Lunenburg Academy building has been an integral part of this community for over a century and in the past nine years has provided countless opportunities for Lamp’s emerging artists and world-class faculty. Let’s work together to ensure that this remarkable structure continues to serve as a hub for creativity and artistic expression for years to come.
Most of our fundraising initiatives are focused on bringing artists to Lunenburg to take part in our extraordinary programming through bursaries and fellowships. If you are interested in a more sustaining donation to our core funding to ensure we can stay here in the Lunenburg Academy, please consider making a donation today.