SCOTLAND’S newest concert hall – the first to be built in Edinburgh for a century – will transform the country’s music scene and help attract world-leading acts to the capital, it has been claimed.
If given the green light, the £45 million venue, to be built behind the neoclassical masterpiece Dundas House in St Andrew Square, will seat 1,000 and be completed by the beginning of 2022.
The last major new venue to be built was the Traverse Theatre in the early 1990s. Edinburgh is believed to miss out on many major touring acts because it does not have enough medium-sized venues.
Dubbed the Impact Centre, the concert hall will become the permanent home of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra but will also boast a 200-seat studio and a large entrance hall and foyer.
Chairman of the venture, Sir Ewan Brown – former chair of Creative Scotland and Lloyds TSB Scotland – said a new, mid-sized music venue for the capital has been is long overdue and would be transformational” for its arts scene.
“There has been a perception that this is just for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, but it is for all kinds of music,” he said.
“They will play their concert a week, and they will be using the rehearsal facilities, but it will also be for rock and pop, for Celtic and traditional music, for choral and classical music.
“And unlike the Usher Hall, we will be open all day – it will a community, welcoming space, and we envisage a musical performance in the foyer, everything from buskers to choirs, there will be something there every day.”
He added: “We know there are music promoters who are not coming to the city because there is no mid-sized hall. So we are excited about that.”
Sir Ewan said the project had “all the elements are in place to seize the opportunity to put Edinburgh back on the world stage as a top music destination”.
And he added: “We believe we now have a building designed to attract performers and audiences of all ages, backgrounds and interests, to a bustling, all-day public space where everyone feels welcome, in a building to be proud of.”
The expectation is the Impact Centre will become will be a key component of the Edinburgh International Festival, and could also be used by the Edinburgh International Book Festival, which is based at the other end of George Street, in Charlotte Square.
Trustees of the scheme include Fergus Linehan, director of the Edinburgh International Festival, as well as Karine Polwart, the acclaimed singer songwriter, and James Naughtie, journalist and writer.
Project architect Sir David Chipperfield said: “Seeing Edinburgh at the height of the festivals reinforces just how much the new venue will contribute to the cultural life of the city, during summer and all year round.
“The challenge of creating a modern performance space in the heart of the historic New Town has been stimulating and the quality of public engagement with the process has contributed greatly to the design of this much needed new music venue in Edinburgh.”
The Royal Bank of Scotland has donated the land to the Impact Centre, which will replace an existing office building, on an 120-year- lease.
Around £10m needs to be raised from private sponsorship and other sources to fund the construction of the building, which has also been given £10m from the Dunard Fund.
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