Call for new concert hall in Shrewsbury
Friday 23rd April 2010, 10:24AM BST.
Arts bosses in Shrewsbury have called for a new concert hall to be built in the town so it can become a regional hub for live music events.
Speaking at the launch of the Shrewsbury Summer Season, John Moore, steering group chairman for the event, said he believed a concert hall would be ideally placed in the county town which had already proved it could support a theatre.
Mr Moore said: “This year right at the heart of the summer season is Theatre Severn.
“The biggest fear when it was built was that it would see the end of the summer season. That would have been a massive retrogressive step. The theatre is an extraordinary success story.”
Mr Moore then gave an example of Perth, a town in Scotland, which he said was a similar size to Shrewsbury. He said a theatre had been built in the town and that based on its success a concert hall had been built a few years later.
“Perth had a very good theatre and we’ve got a theatre too. Then it was suggested Perth could also do with a concert hall.
“I’d love to see the same happen here. Musically this town is as alive as it is theatrically, we make music where we can but what we’d love is a concert hall.”
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I believe this is a fantastic idea. As a local musician I would have only one reservation/request. The concert hall must be financially accessible for the various fine inviduals ensembles, choirs, bands and orchestras that the county boasts. It would be one thing having a state of the art concert hall in the county’s capital but another thing when the various professional and amateur organisations cannot break even after paying the fees for hire etc!
Food for thought and fingers crossed!!
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more money on culture!! what about the factories that are closing down!
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‘Arts Bosses’…Well I’d like to kick one or two of them up their index linked pensioned arts thats for sure. Arts Bosses..pah
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Excellent idea. Now there will be somewhere indoors for us to enjoy some 80′s has beens’ during inclement weather.
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This is an excellent idea. Shrewsbury 25 to 30 years ago had a thriving menu of big names that inspired and supported local musicians and fans. More recently, the Jazz & Roots club brought in incredible talent from around the world. Even the [old] Music Hall programmed in
fairly big names, such as Travis, and Chumbawumba, at one time.
The case for live music has been proved already.
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Another joke, no chance of this happening and if it does, anything ‘modern’ i.e. post 1989 won’t be allowed to play there anyway (not that they’d want to of course). Incidently, The Blockheads were supposed to be playing at the Buttermarket (or whatever it’s called these days) last friday but the new management cancelled them – no explanation. So don’t expect that poor excuse for a venue to be supporting live music anytime soon. Embarrassing.
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