CONCERT-GOERS should notice a clearer sound next time they visit the Wiltshire Music Centre after 13 steel-framed panels were installed in to enhance the acoustics.

The 2.7m high panels have been installed to absorb reverberations in the 300-seat concert hall in Bradford on Avon, which hosts more than 80 concerts a year.

Keith Nimmo, artistic director at the centre, said: "The installation of the acoustic panels is the biggest change at the centre since we opened.

"It is a wonderful concert hall, the best at its scale within at least 50 miles but we recognised there was a problem with the sound levels of some of the music we want to present."

The Esmee Fairbairn Found-ation paid more than £13,000 to pay for the new panels the biggest investment in the Centre since it opened in 1998. There have been comments from musicians in the past that the auditorium's acoustics needed to be controlled, which in turn would mean the centre could attract more high profile musicians to perform in future.

Mr Nimmo said: "The impact of the panels is particularly important in our education and community work with young people as their tastes often focus more on DJ-ing, music technology or rock music, which all require amplification.

"A more flexible acoustic will provide them with an even higher quality space in which to perform and celebrate their achievements.

"The centre was originally built to encourage and support the young musicians of the area and we always aim to develop that vision as far as we possibly can."