Abbey Road Institute LA to open in Sunset Gower Studios in October 2026

We are delighted to announce that Rafa Sardina will be opening Abbey Road Institute Los Angeles inside the iconic Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood. Our new LA campus will be led by the 19-time GRAMMY and LATIN GRAMMY winner and will launch in October 2026.

Sunset Gower Studios: Hollywood’s Historic Studio Lot

Located at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street in Hollywood, Sunset Gower Studios is one of the city’s most iconic working production lots. Established in 1912 and later home to Columbia Pictures during Hollywood’s Golden Age, the studio hosted landmark films such as It Happened One Night and Mr Smith Goes to Washington. 

This historic studio complex provides a professional, industry-driven environment where students can experience firsthand premier music production and engineering practices within an active studio setting, with access to the legendary United Recording for selected classes and activities. From legendary artists like Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and Ray Charles to modern icons such as Green Day, Radiohead, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers, United Recording has played host to generations of music legends. Each of the four studios within United Recording is equipped with renowned consoles that, for decades, have captured melodies responsible for over a billion records sold worldwide.

The Abbey Road Institute Los Angeles Diploma in Music Production and Sound Recording provides students the opportunity to learn and practice hands-on in a real-world studio environment at Sunset Gower Studios, directly connecting their education to the standards and expectations required for successful careers in the industry. Through structured access to United Recording, students further benefit from exposure to world-class recording facilities and high-level studio workflows.

Rafa Sardina at the helm of the new ARI LA campus

Rafa Sardina, whose extensive list of award-winning collaborations includes work with Stevie Wonder, Rosalia, Elvis Costello, Alejandro Sanz, Dr. Dre, Camila Cabello, Placido Domingo, D’Angelo, and Lady Gaga, has designed the new campus and studio complex to provide Abbey Road Institute students with a professional experience unique to Los Angeles. The Los Angeles campus will feature Abbey Road Institute’s renowned curriculum, along with a distinguished faculty comprising top LA-based producers, engineers, and musicians, including Alan Meyerson, Barry Rudolph, John Boylan, Vanessa Garde, and many more.

Abbey Road Institute offers an intensive, immersive education for aspiring music producers and engineers in a small, focused learning environment. The program emphasises hands-on, apprenticeship-style training to equip graduates with the skills necessary to thrive in the fast-paced music industry and forge their own career paths.

When asked about the new campus and its programs, Sardina shared: “Abbey Road Institute Los Angeles is the culmination of a long-held dream. I want to share the invaluable professional experiences of my closest musical colleagues and myself with outstanding new generations of mixers, producers, and other music and music business professionals. I can’t wait to welcome our first students and witness the beginning of their exciting career journeys.”

Abbey Road Institute CEO, Luca Barassi, echoed this enthusiasm about the opening of the Los Angeles campus, stating: “We are thrilled to be working with Rafa and his team as we continue expanding our educational footprint in the U.S. Rafa has a strong affinity for how we teach, and an ambition to pass on his expertise to the next generation. Establishing our second U.S. campus in Los Angeles —a creative, dynamic, and globally influential city— will provide students with an immersive experience at the heart of a thriving international music scene.”

As a member of the Abbey Road Institute board, Sally Davies, Managing Director of Abbey Road Studios®, emphasises the impact of the Institute’s graduates: “We are incredibly proud of the success of Abbey Road Institute graduates. Some of them have earned multiple GRAMMY and Billboard awards, along with numerous GRAMMY and LATIN GRAMMY nominations. Bringing Abbey Road Institute’s world-class education to Los Angeles will provide aspiring producers and engineers with the training they need to make a strong entrance into the music industry.”

For more information about Abbey Road Institute Los Angeles, visit the dedicated ARI LA website.

If you’d like to speak with our team about licensing Abbey Road Institute in your city and want to find out more about how to do this, contact us at licensing@abbeyroadinstitute.com