Citizendia

Perth Concert Hall
Perth Concert Hall

The Perth Concert Hall is a concert hall in the centre of Perth, Western Australia. A concert hall is a cultural building which serves as performance venue chiefly for classical instrumental music Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. Situated between St Georges Terrace and Terrace Road, it is located near Government House, the Supreme Court Gardens and the Swan Bells, with a view to the Swan River. St Georges Terrace is the main Street in the city of Perth Western Australia. Government House in Perth is the Official residence of the Governor of Western Australia and was built between 1859 and 1864 Stirling Gardens, also known as Supreme Court Gardens is a small public park in Perth, Western Australia. The Swan Bells ( are a set of eighteen bells hanging in a specially built -high Copper and Glass Campanile in Perth Western Australia Swan River may refer to;Australia Swan River (Western Australia;Canada Swan River Manitoba (Canada

The Perth Concert Hall was constructed between 1971 and 1973 on land that was originally part of the Government Domain. Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. Year 1973 ( MCMLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. It was built by Sabemo (WA) Pty Ltd to a design by architects Jeffrey Howlett and Don Bailey. Jeffrey Howlett ( 1928 - 20 December 2005) was an Australian architect The building was opened in January 1973. Year 1973 ( MCMLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the 1973 Gregorian calendar.

Since its construction, the venue has been in continuous use as a centre for musical performance, and for other events such as school and university graduation ceremonies, business conventions and civic functions.

Contents

History

As early as 1950, the City of Perth secured a site between Stirling Gardens and Government House, occupied by the Department of Agriculture and the Australian Broadcasting Commission for the construction of a new town hall. Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The City of Perth is a Local Government Area in and around the Central business district of Perth, the capital city of Western Australia Stirling Gardens, also known as Supreme Court Gardens is a small public park in Perth, Western Australia. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly abbreviated to the 'ABC' is Australia's national public broadcaster. The proposed site provoked vigorous public debate. Some wanted a riverside site, such as the Esplanade or Barracks Square, while others suggested land at the end of Barrack Street, between Stirling and Beaufort Streets, or the central Perth are between William and Barrack streets along Forrest Place. Forrest Place is a pedestrianised square located within the CBD of Perth Western Australia.

The official opening of the Perth Concert Hall included a midnight to dawn ball attended by almost 1,700 people. The Western Australian Symphony Orchestra was joined by 55 members of the South Australian Symphony Orchestra for the occasion, and the whole event was televised. The West Australian Symphony Orchestra ( WASO) often known as the "Orchestra of the West" is the premier professional orchestra of the state of Western Australia Headlines of ‘A Milestone in the Cultural Life of WA’ greeted the opening. Earlier, John Birman, the Director of the Festival of Perth, had been quoted saying, ‘…it is the first concert hall in Australia since the war and has more than local significance…’. The UWA Perth International Arts Festival is a cultural festival held in Western Australia.

Chronology of development

Architectural design

The building was designed by Howlett and Bailey Architects. Jeffrey Howlett ( 1928 - 20 December 2005) was an Australian architect Jeffrey Howlett and Don Bailey had won a design competition for a Town Hall and auditorium in 1961. Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Their design consisted of two buildings, one containing administrative offices and the other, oval in shape, comprising the 'town hall' or auditorium. The administration offices, called Council House, were built, however financial constraints and doubts regarding the auditorium's acoustic properties meant that construction of the auditorium building was delayed. Council House is a high modernist Skyscraper set in the Supreme Court Gardens of Perth Western Australia. Its design was subsequently re-considered and it was not until the late-1960s that a different plan was approved. This plan was

…to accommodate not more than 2,000 people and to cost no more than $2,000,000 and with the highest priority to be given to its musical uses, i. e. Symphony concerts, choral concerts, organ recitals, etc. , and, in addition, performances of minimum staged ballet, fold dances or musical drama, and also be suitable for other functions such as large Civic receptions, conferences, conventions, public meetings, pagaents, school speech days, pop concerts and folk singers.

Through 1969, the architectural plans were amended several times. Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. These amendments included beautification and landscaping of the main pedestrian approach from St Georges Terrace and construction of a subway under the Terrace, a pit for a 60-piece orchestra with removable flooring and seating to cover the pit when not in use, and improved access and facilities for disabled people. An orchestra is an instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large with string brass woodwind sections and possibly a percussion section as well The original plans included a restaurant with a seating capacity for 400, but following inspection of similar halls in the eastern states of Australia, it was decided that this was not warranted. It was, therefore, decided to make the restaurant smaller and include a tavern and cocktail bar, allowing patrons a wider choice. A tavern or pot-house is loosely a place of Business where people gather to drink Alcoholic beverages and more than likely also be served Food A cocktail is a style of Mixed drink. Originally a mixture of distilled spirits, Sugar, Water, and Bitters, the word has gradually The car area was named The Wardle Room, after Sir Thomas Wardle.

It was the architects’ intention that the exhibition foyers would be used as a continually changing venue for all types of art (such as painting, tapestry and sculpture exhibitions) rather than as permanent exhibition spaces. Painting (pān'tīng in Art, is the practice of applying Color to a Surface (support base such as e Tapestry is a form of Textile art. It is woven by hand on a vertical Loom. This may have influenced the Perth City Council’s indecision over whether or not to accept artist Sydney Nolan’s offer to permanent loan the City a series of 64 paintings of wildflowers for hanging in the Hall. Sir Sidney Robert Nolan OM, AC (22 April 1917 - 28 November 1992 was one of Australia's best-known painters and Printmakers Nolan was A wildflower (or wild flower) is a Flower that grows wild meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted After considerable public debate over the matter, Nolan withdrew the offer and art dealers and others criticised the short sighted and parochial attitude of the Council in refusing the offer. Ironically, the first exhibition in the foyers featured 54 of Sydney Nolan’s wildflower paintings.

Several consultants were involved in the design of the building, including acoustic consultants, structural engineers, and experts in escalators, stage machinery and lighting. Structural engineers analyze design plan and research structural components and Structural systems Their work takes account mainly of technical economic and environmental An escalator is a Conveyor transport device for transporting people consisting of individual linked steps that move up or down on tracks which keep the treads A fly system is a system of ropes counterweights pulleys and other such tools within a Theatre designed to allow a technical crew to quickly move set pieces lights and microphones Modern stage lighting is a flexible Tool in the production of Theatre, Dance, Opera and other Performance arts D. H. Fraser was responsilble for the structural design and Dr Harold Marshall was the acoustics consultant, in association with Warwick Mehaffey of the ABC. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly abbreviated to the 'ABC' is Australia's national public broadcaster.

Dr Marshall used computer modelling to predict how well people would hear in each of the seats and worked closely with the architects in designing the main auditorium, which according to Jefferey Howlett had to be

…a Great Room, as the Concertgebouw hall in Amsterdam, the Boston Symphony Hall and the Musikvereinsaal in Vienna are great rooms, recognised for their superb acoustic and that is not merely clarity…The great halls have ornate ceilings and other ornamentation. A computer simulation, a computer model or a computational model is a Computer program, or network of computers that attempts to simulate an The Concertgebouw is a concert hall in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Amsterdam (pronounced) is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west Symphony Hall in Boston Massachusetts is widely considered to be one of the two or three finest Concert halls in the world alongside Amsterdam's Concertgebouw Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria. Though the Perth Concert Hall will be a completely modern building, the “fruity” ceilings and decorations of the older halls, which undoubtedly play a part in their acoustics, will be reproduced, in effect, in coffers hanging from the ceiling, in corrugated walls and in the complex double tier of boxes sloping up the side walls. A coffer (or coffering) in Architecture, is a sunken panel in the shape of a square rectangle or Octagon in a Ceiling, Soffit or

The Perth Concert Hall is an example of brutalist architecture, with its solid opaque interior, giant projecting roof, and use of white off-form concrete. The term Brutalist Architecture originates from the French Béton brut, or "raw concrete" a term used by Le Corbusier to describe It forms a counterpoint to the transparent filigree of Council House. Filigree (formerly written filigrann or filigrane; also known as telkari, the name given in Anatolia, meaning "wire work" [1]

The auditorium features a specially commissioned 3000-pipe organ surrounded by a 160-person choir gallery and an audience seating capacity of 1,729. The pipe organ is a Musical instrument that produces sound when pressurized air (wind is driven through a series of pipes, controlled by a keyboard For the musical composition see Chorale. A choir, chorale, or chorus is a Musical ensemble of Singers [2] The organ, individually designed, cost $100,000 and was commissioned by Ronald Sharp of Sydney, who was also responsible for the organ at the Sydney Opera House. Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 The Sydney Opera House is located in Sydney New South Wales, Australia The larger pipes for the organ were imported from Holland. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Don Bailey recollects that Ron Sharp was an ‘extraordinarily talented person, largely self-educated, who has to his credit the design and construction of a number of organs, mostly in New South Wales. A nine-foot Steinway orchestral concert grand piano (Model D) was also imported from West Germany for installation in the Hall. The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers West Germany ( Inf German: Westdeutschland or West-Deutschland) was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (

The Concert Hall was the first in Australia to have closed circuit television so that late comers could watch on two screens in the foyer while waiting for an appropriate time to enter. Closed-circuit television ( CCTV) is the use of Video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place limited set of monitors Another screen was in the office of the manager.

The Perth City Council and State Government, as well as the architects and builders, received many compliments on the Hall as it neared completion from visiting experts in the fields of music, architecture and construction.

Operations

The Perth Concert Hall has been described as one of the best fine music acoustics venue in Australia. [3] It has played host to a diverse selection of internationally acclaimed performers including the London Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Israel Philharmonic and contemporary performers BB King, Harry Connick, Jr., kd lang, Melissa Etheridge, Ray Charles, Rowan Atkinson and Billy Connolly. The London Philharmonic Orchestra ( LPO) based in London, is one of the major Orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal The Chicago Symphony Orchestra ( CSO) is an American orchestra based in Chicago Illinois. The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (abbreviation IPO; Hebrew: התזמורת הפילהרמונית הישראלית ha-Tizmoret ha-Filharmonit ha-Yisre'elit B B King (born Riley B King, September 16 1925 is an American Blues Guitarist and Singer-songwriter. Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr (born September 11, 1967) is an American singer, Pianist, Composer, Actor, kd lang, OC (born Kathryn Dawn Lang, November 2, 1961) is a Grammy Award -winning Canadian Singer and Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961, in Leavenworth, Kansas) is an Academy Award -winning and two-time Grammy Award Ray Charles Robinson ( September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) known by his Stage name Ray Charles, was an American Rowan Atkinson (born 6 January 1955 is an English Comedian, actor and writer famous for his title roles in the British television comedies Blackadder Billy Connolly, CBE (born William Connolly Jr on 24 November, 1942) is a Scottish [4]

The majority of concerts by the West Australian Symphony Orchestra are performed at the Perth Concert Hall. The West Australian Symphony Orchestra ( WASO) often known as the "Orchestra of the West" is the premier professional orchestra of the state of Western Australia The venue is also used for their rehearsals.

The venue is also used to host national conventions and exhibitions, award ceremonies and gala dinners. Recent exhibitions include the Steinway piano exhibition in March 2008. In addition, the venue is used for private or corporate functions in areas other than the auditorium, for example in the foyers, bar, and café.

Association with Perth Concert Hall, Scotland

In 2006 Andrew Bolt, General Manager of the Perth Concert Hall, traveled to Perth, Scotland and on September 27 took part in a twinning ceremony and the signing of a document of Mutual Understanding with the Perth Concert Hall in that city. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Perth (Peairt is a town and former Royal burgh in central Scotland. In February 2007, Claire Wilcock of the Perth Concert Hall in Scotland, attended a similar ceremony at the Perth Concert Hall in Western Australia in order to complete the relationship. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. From the joint association the venues are planning cultural and personnel exchanges.

See also

References

  1. ^ AA - Obituary - March/April 2006
  2. ^ Perth Concert Hall Web Site
  3. ^ Perth Concert Hall Web Site
  4. ^ Perth Concert Hall Web Site
A concert hall is a cultural building which serves as performance venue chiefly for classical instrumental music
© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic