The local music school was set up in 2014 and expanded into Jersey four years ago, and founder and director Tyler Edmonds said that he was looking at how he could expand the business further.
‘We were planning to expand again into the UK but it was a difficult process,’ he said.
‘My brother-in-law lives in Dubai and when I was visiting him was when the idea sparked.’
SOPM Dubai will launch with the same core ethos that has proven successful in Guernsey and Jersey.
The school operates on the belief that music education should offer three key pillars – opportunity, community, and confidence. Its Dubai campus will mirror the offering currently available in the Channel Islands.
‘This is a massive moment for us, but it is really a validation of the model we have built right here in the Channel Islands,’ Mr Edmonds.
‘We started in Guernsey, proved that our modern approach works, and successfully expanded into Jersey.
To now take that experience and plant it in a global hub like Dubai is incredibly exciting.’
SOPM Dubai’s flagship campus will be at Expo City, a new development in Dubai South.
‘Expo City is a destination. It is a place where people go to experience the future, and that aligns perfectly with how we view music education.
‘This is a flagship space that our students in Guernsey, Jersey, and Dubai can all be proud of,’ said Mr Edmonds.
The new school will have a large group teaching studio, pro-level teaching studios and production suites.
A key feature of the new Dubai campus is its integration with the Channel Islands schools through SOPMTV, the school’s internal broadcast network.
Screens located in the communal areas of the Guernsey, Jersey, and Dubai campuses will play a synchronised stream of content. This allows students in the Channel Islands to watch performances and projects from the UAE, and vice versa.
It acts as a digital window connecting the schools, ensuring that students feel part of a single international community rather than isolated campuses.
SOPM has two new employees in Dubai ready for when the campus opens in April.
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