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The Age
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
‘This is a hall for everyone': The hidden Sydney venue that turned its boardroom into a rave cave
For a marathon six hours last Saturday, the City Recital Hall in the heart of central Sydney reverberated with the beats of more than a dozen musicians belting out electro, indie and funk tunes to a crowd of hundreds. Cult queer party Heaps Gay took over the foyer with a DJ deck, pink fluorescent lights and bare-chested mannequins, seats were yanked out of the cavernous auditorium to make way for a laser-lit dance floor, and the recital hall's usual boardroom was transformed into a heaving rave cave. The day-into-night Sound Escape party – flanked by recent performances from Mississippi disco gospel ensemble Annie and the Caldwells, Maori soul singer Teeks, Norwegian electronic duo Röyksopp, and US alternative pop singer Joan As A Police Woman – was a far cry from the Baroque strains of Vivaldi, Bach and Handel long associated with the Angel Place venue. It's a bold shift that the hall's chief executive, Kate Wickett, hopes is a harbinger of a more diverse and contemporary musical repertoire – and audience – to occupy the venue. Wickett, a former lawyer and consultant who ran Sydney WorldPride 2023, is one year into the job after she was asked to increase the number of performances, broadening the audience beyond classical enthusiasts, expanding the music genres on offer, and amplifying the decades-old institution's role in Sydney's cultural fabric. 'We have world-renowned acoustics, but it's about diversifying the types of music we play here,' Wickett said. 'We love our key presenters the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Musica Viva, Brandenburg Orchestra, Pinchgut Opera. That is one type of music – classical – which is what we were purpose-built for, but it's really about bringing in new audiences to experience the hall.' Wickett's mission to transform the venue faces a raft of challenges. Chief among them is the hall's failure to bounce back after the pandemic crippled live shows: It is only utilised to about half its capacity. Loading Adding to the obstacles are high living costs, which have softened ticket sales, and the fact its primary audience – though loyal – is small and ageing. Also, the hall's location, tucked in the laneways between George and Pitt streets, means it is often overlooked. 'We're a hidden gem, we're just too hidden,' Wickett said. 'For such a brilliant, centrally located hall, and for such a high-quality venue and beautiful asset, to be empty for half of the year is challenging. 'We want to share it; this is a hall for everyone.' To that end, Wickett's team is forging ahead with a shake-up of the venue's program to include more diverse and emerging artists, while staying committed to its classical roots and seeking to maximise the hall's adaptability for events. 'Classical is extremely important to us. But we've been perceived at times as being only for classical and not accessible to different kinds of music, and we're trying to head that off by bringing in a variety of different performers. 'It's about electronic, classical, bands, choral, showcasing the versatility of the hall and the opportunity for us to bring new people in to experience it.' Last year, the venue staged its first 'seats out' performances, removing seats in the stalls to allow the audience to dance to French disco legend Cerrone and Los Angeles hip-hop pioneers the Pharcyde. In contrast, Tangerine Dream and Soccer Mommy performed this week, and coming concerts of Beethoven and Mozart sit alongside acclaimed Kirtan artist Radhika Das. Wickett said her team was bent on drawing crowds that were younger, who might not have visited the hall, and were from diverse cultural backgrounds. 'We are in the centre of Sydney, and it's about bringing people here from all different parts of the city, different diasporas, and activating this precinct so we can become a beacon of music for people, and really good quality music.' Wickett also believes the venue's location smack-bang in the centre of the city, behind the Ivy precinct and between railway stations, means a boost in attendance would also be a boon to surrounding bars, clubs and restaurants. 'It's the concept of all boats rising; if we do well, so do our neighbours.' Wickett says she's also not interested in competing with other cultural institutions, such as the Opera House or Capitol Theatre, saying the various performance venues 'complement each other. We each do different things'. Loading The recital hall has been used for corporate events, and for filming: It played a starring role in the ABC series The Piano and an episode of NCIS: Sydney. The 1238-seat recital hall opened at the base of the 30-storey Angel Place office block in 1999 to meet demand for a new mid-size performance venue. Unlike the Melbourne Recital Centre, which receives several million dollars from the Victorian government each year, the City Recital Hall is a City of Sydney asset – the council holds a 99-year lease for the venue from developer Mirvac – and is run by a non-profit organisation. The upshot is that the recital hall does not receive any ongoing funding from state or federal governments. In March, the City of Sydney decided to provide $1 million in funding each year until 2030 – an increase of $300,000 a year based on the previous five-year agreement with the council. About 85 per cent of the hall's income was generated from ticket sales, bar sales, hire fees and other services in 2023-24. Less than 1 per cent of its income was gleaned from philanthropic donations. Wickett describes the funding arrangement as 'really challenging', and she has been lobbying Chris Minns' government – which has pursued policies to encourage live music and reboot the 24-hour economy – to chip in funds. 'Currently, we rely on funding from the City of Sydney and organic growth, but a real investment in programming, for both local and some international acts, would provide that step change for us to increase utilisation,' she said. Arts, Music and Night-time Economy Minister John Graham said the hall was a 'fantastic venue, in a great location, with some of the best acoustics in Sydney', but the government's primary responsibility was to fund state-run venues and help them recover and thrive after the pandemic. Loading Graham said the government had provided targeted financial support to the recital hall, including COVID recovery funding and sound system upgrades. He also revealed that the recital hall would benefit from a $250,000 Sound NSW grant to upgrade its audiovisual systems and hearing loop. 'High-quality theatres like the City Recital Hall are a vital element of our night-time economy and our cultural life. They can host contemporary and classical music, talks, film and cultural events – which drive business for the surrounding hospitality venues,' Graham said. Despite the challenges, Wickett remains upbeat about the opportunities ahead. She said the hall had been utilised 198 days in the 2024-25 financial year, up from 179 days two years earlier. She also remains convinced of the role the venue can play in fostering the capacity for live music to connect people from various parts of society, especially in fractious times. 'It's so important for a space like this hall to bring people from different backgrounds, or diasporas, or parts of the community, who can come together and have a really connected and joyous experience,' Wickett said.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘This is a hall for everyone': The hidden Sydney venue that turned its boardroom into a rave cave
For a marathon six hours last Saturday, the City Recital Hall in the heart of central Sydney reverberated with the beats of more than a dozen musicians belting out electro, indie and funk tunes to a crowd of hundreds. Cult queer party Heaps Gay took over the foyer with a DJ deck, pink fluorescent lights and bare-chested mannequins, seats were yanked out of the cavernous auditorium to make way for a laser-lit dance floor, and the recital hall's usual boardroom was transformed into a heaving rave cave. The day-into-night Sound Escape party – flanked by recent performances from Mississippi disco gospel ensemble Annie and the Caldwells, Maori soul singer Teeks, Norwegian electronic duo Röyksopp, and US alternative pop singer Joan As A Police Woman – was a far cry from the Baroque strains of Vivaldi, Bach and Handel long associated with the Angel Place venue. It's a bold shift that the hall's chief executive, Kate Wickett, hopes is a harbinger of a more diverse and contemporary musical repertoire – and audience – to occupy the venue. Wickett, a former lawyer and consultant who ran Sydney WorldPride 2023, is one year into the job after she was asked to increase the number of performances, broadening the audience beyond classical enthusiasts, expanding the music genres on offer, and amplifying the decades-old institution's role in Sydney's cultural fabric. 'We have world-renowned acoustics, but it's about diversifying the types of music we play here,' Wickett said. 'We love our key presenters the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Musica Viva, Brandenburg Orchestra, Pinchgut Opera. That is one type of music – classical – which is what we were purpose-built for, but it's really about bringing in new audiences to experience the hall.' Wickett's mission to transform the venue faces a raft of challenges. Chief among them is the hall's failure to bounce back after the pandemic crippled live shows: It is only utilised to about half its capacity. Loading Adding to the obstacles are high living costs, which have softened ticket sales, and the fact its primary audience – though loyal – is small and ageing. Also, the hall's location, tucked in the laneways between George and Pitt streets, means it is often overlooked. 'We're a hidden gem, we're just too hidden,' Wickett said. 'For such a brilliant, centrally located hall, and for such a high-quality venue and beautiful asset, to be empty for half of the year is challenging. 'We want to share it; this is a hall for everyone.' To that end, Wickett's team is forging ahead with a shake-up of the venue's program to include more diverse and emerging artists, while staying committed to its classical roots and seeking to maximise the hall's adaptability for events. 'Classical is extremely important to us. But we've been perceived at times as being only for classical and not accessible to different kinds of music, and we're trying to head that off by bringing in a variety of different performers. 'It's about electronic, classical, bands, choral, showcasing the versatility of the hall and the opportunity for us to bring new people in to experience it.' Last year, the venue staged its first 'seats out' performances, removing seats in the stalls to allow the audience to dance to French disco legend Cerrone and Los Angeles hip-hop pioneers the Pharcyde. In contrast, Tangerine Dream and Soccer Mommy performed this week, and coming concerts of Beethoven and Mozart sit alongside acclaimed Kirtan artist Radhika Das. Wickett said her team was bent on drawing crowds that were younger, who might not have visited the hall, and were from diverse cultural backgrounds. 'We are in the centre of Sydney, and it's about bringing people here from all different parts of the city, different diasporas, and activating this precinct so we can become a beacon of music for people, and really good quality music.' Wickett also believes the venue's location smack-bang in the centre of the city, behind the Ivy precinct and between railway stations, means a boost in attendance would also be a boon to surrounding bars, clubs and restaurants. 'It's the concept of all boats rising; if we do well, so do our neighbours.' Wickett says she's also not interested in competing with other cultural institutions, such as the Opera House or Capitol Theatre, saying the various performance venues 'complement each other. We each do different things'. Loading The recital hall has been used for corporate events, and for filming: It played a starring role in the ABC series The Piano and an episode of NCIS: Sydney. The 1238-seat recital hall opened at the base of the 30-storey Angel Place office block in 1999 to meet demand for a new mid-size performance venue. Unlike the Melbourne Recital Centre, which receives several million dollars from the Victorian government each year, the City Recital Hall is a City of Sydney asset – the council holds a 99-year lease for the venue from developer Mirvac – and is run by a non-profit organisation. The upshot is that the recital hall does not receive any ongoing funding from state or federal governments. In March, the City of Sydney decided to provide $1 million in funding each year until 2030 – an increase of $300,000 a year based on the previous five-year agreement with the council. About 85 per cent of the hall's income was generated from ticket sales, bar sales, hire fees and other services in 2023-24. Less than 1 per cent of its income was gleaned from philanthropic donations. Wickett describes the funding arrangement as 'really challenging', and she has been lobbying Chris Minns' government – which has pursued policies to encourage live music and reboot the 24-hour economy – to chip in funds. 'Currently, we rely on funding from the City of Sydney and organic growth, but a real investment in programming, for both local and some international acts, would provide that step change for us to increase utilisation,' she said. Arts, Music and Night-time Economy Minister John Graham said the hall was a 'fantastic venue, in a great location, with some of the best acoustics in Sydney', but the government's primary responsibility was to fund state-run venues and help them recover and thrive after the pandemic. Loading Graham said the government had provided targeted financial support to the recital hall, including COVID recovery funding and sound system upgrades. He also revealed that the recital hall would benefit from a $250,000 Sound NSW grant to upgrade its audiovisual systems and hearing loop. 'High-quality theatres like the City Recital Hall are a vital element of our night-time economy and our cultural life. They can host contemporary and classical music, talks, film and cultural events – which drive business for the surrounding hospitality venues,' Graham said. Despite the challenges, Wickett remains upbeat about the opportunities ahead. She said the hall had been utilised 198 days in the 2024-25 financial year, up from 179 days two years earlier. She also remains convinced of the role the venue can play in fostering the capacity for live music to connect people from various parts of society, especially in fractious times. 'It's so important for a space like this hall to bring people from different backgrounds, or diasporas, or parts of the community, who can come together and have a really connected and joyous experience,' Wickett said.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Church hopes live music will put venue 'on the map'
A church which doubles as a music venue to help pay its bills is hosting a new series of concerts which it hopes will put it on the map. St Peter's Church in Parkstone often plays host to tribute acts and DJs but a new partnership will see it host some "very special" gigs by international artists. Church rector, the Reverend Mike Trotman, said the concert series - In the Nave - would be "carefully navigated". "We don't want anything too sweary," he said. "We need to tap in to what makes this a unique and special place." The rector, who describes himself as a music lover, said he began exploring the idea of hosting concerts after hearing about Mr Kyps, a popular music venue in Parr Street which closed in 2018. "There's a real appetite for live music," he said. "I genuinely think we are doing something very special." The concerts, for up to 400 people, are being organised by music management firm Warm. Founder Ali Tillet said he wanted to "put the venue on the map for amazing artists to come and play year in, year out". The first gig will feature Annie and the Caldwells, a soul band from Mississippi, signed to David Byrne's LukaBop record label. "It's great to have them coming," said Mr Tillet. "They will definitely bring the energy to the church because they are from a church background in America as well." Mr Tillet said he was "hugely excited" about the project. "If we can get the artists I'm potentially going to have in the next 18 months to come and play, they will be moments that, if you are able to get tickets to those shows, you will remember it for a long time." You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Radiohead reimagined with classical twist in home city Moshpits and pulpits as minster hosts metal gig St Peter's Parkstone In the Knave Annie and the Caldwells
