STAR Music Room

The Society for Taber Arts & Recreation (STAR) is creating a performing arts community centre in Taber, Alberta, where we will be hosting plays, concerts, recitals, music classes, dance classes, choir lessons, comedy shows, and much more.

Taber is a rural area in Southern Alberta that otherwise doesn’t have much to offer in performing arts. STAR on 54th is our way to bring the arts to our small corner of Alberta, which in turn will create a better sense of community and belonging.

The renovations have been split into three (3) phases. Phase 1: a 24-hour gym. It was completed February 2024 and is open to the public already. Phase two (2) consists of a Gymnasium, Dance Studio, VIP room, Music Studio and Meeting Room, and is nearing completion.  Phase 2 renovations are nearing completion and we anticipate opening mid-November. Phase 3 will be the performing arts theatre / second run movie theatre, with green rooms, a concession, ticket booth, dressing rooms, costume rooms and more storage rooms. 

The funding from Field Law will go only to our music studio. Currently, STAR only has a piano for the music room that came with the building. To furnish the music studio, we’ve reached out to Long and McQuade in Lethbridge for a quote for instruments, amplifiers, microphones and the appropriate cords/ equipment. The furnishing of the building does not have funding, as our funding to-date has been solely geared towards renovations. The funding from the Field Law Grant will cover the instruments and equipment: - Guitars (electric and acoustic) - Bass Guitar (electric) - Drums (electric) + stool + sticks - Tambourine - Harmonica - Headsets - Microphones - Amplifiers - Cords / equipment for all instruments - Guitar hangers for the wall - Other accessories as requested by Long and McQuade like capos, music books, guitar strings, pics, etc. The entirety of the project for the Music Room will be less than $15,000.00 to complete the entire room.

The overall facility need was identified in a third-party report done by the Town in 2017 and we've been working toward this goal ever since. The focal point of this particular grant application of music studio equipment was identified through board discussions of what we'll require to open as a fully functional facility. We anticipate that we will be able to rent out the music studio for private lessons, host choir lessons in there, and utilize the instruments for the stage during concerts, plays and recitals. Currently, in Taber, if someone wanted to rent a space to host a music lesson, that space would be an empty room. Having the instruments there (at no extra cost to the renter) will allow people of all ages to potentially try / learn an instrument without having to purchase one first. Both the Town and MD of Taber are invested in this project and we anticipate the entirety of the town residents and majority of the MD residents will benefit from STAR which will impact approximately 15-20,000 people.