Chetham’s school of music has announced plans for a 420 capacity £7.5million Concert Hall.
The Hall, due for completion in Spring 2017, will be located within Chetham’s new building, next to Victoria Station in the city centre.
The project continues the expansion of the School and will create a rehearsal and performance venue for Chetham’s students, visiting artists and ensembles.
Chetham’s says the venue will be a vibrant national resource, especially for young people, for music-making, recording and broadcasting. For Chetham’s students it will offer them long-awaited and unrivalled resources and will enable the Chetham’s Symphony Orchestra to perform in front of an audience in their own home.
The shells of the Concert Hall, Box Office and Bar have stayed empty since Chetham’s moved into their new building in September 2012. Work to transform these spaces will soon be underway thanks to significant initial support from The Garfield Weston Foundation and the enormous generosity of The Stoller Charitable Trust, allowing the School to realise its vision to create a symphonic-sized performance space with high-quality acoustics for the first time in its 45-year history.
The Stoller Charitable Trust commented: “Chetham’s School of Music has established itself over the centuries as a jewel in the crown of Manchester’s educational and cultural centre, and its exceptional new building cries out for the completion of a world-class Concert Hall. The Stoller Charitable Trust is proud to assist in completing this important venue to enable the very best music-making and performance facilities to become available.”
Stephen Threlfall, Director of Music said: “We are committed to developing and expanding our role in music education and performance, increasing the contribution we make to the musical life of the nation. This is our home, but it’s not just for us. We want to share it with the people of Manchester, musicians from across the country and visitors from around the world.”
