Bristol’s Colston Hall is taking its £45m transformation and regeneration campaign to the heart of Westminster next month as it continues to seek top-level support and funding.
Buoyed by Bristol City Council’s draft budget pledge of £10m, confirmed earlier this month, the iconic music venue is staging an event in the Houses of Parliament to raise the profile of the campaign, called Thank You For The Music.
Invited guests will hear how the campaign aims to create a music facility of national importance, particularly for music education and make Bristol the UK capital of young people’s music.
Colston Hall is unique in having the UK’s only music education hub to be based in a professional performance venue.
It is already responsible for delivering the National Plan for Music education to around 10,000 local children in 130 schools a year. Last year 15,000 children were able to enjoy or take part in performances at the hall.
The all-important national launch of Thank You For The Music in the House of Commons will be attended by MPs from across all parties have also given their backing to the campaign and other key figures. Devon-born singer/songwriter Seth Lakeman will perform in su
pport of the campaign while musician Jamie Cullum, who grew up in Bath, is also due to attend.
Business supporters of the campaign were given an update at a breakfast briefing on Monday at Colston Hall were Bristol Cathedral Choir School Jazz Quintet performed as part of Bristol Plays Music education programme, pictured.
Louise Mitchell, pictured below, chief executive of Bristol Music Trust, which runs Colston Hall, said: “Colston Hall’s redevelopment will ensure we have international standard facilities, meaning we can attract the very best performers and become a national asset for the UK’s cultural offering.
“Significant restorative work is needed in the next few years if we are to stay open, but we have an opportunity to do so much more than just a patch-up job. It means creating a significantly better quality, modernised venue for performances, with flexible spaces that are fit for purpose, and a music education outreach programme to inspire and engage our future generations.
“We’re really pleased with how the campaign has taken off, since we launched it four months ago.
“We’ve gained cross party political support and a wealth of support from businesses and local people. The newly proposed £10m from Bristol City Council is a great leap forward in the progress of the campaign, but it’s by no means the end.”
The transformation plans include remodelling the main auditorium, redeveloping the second hall into a versatile venue, opening up the cellars for the first time in 100 years for educational and workshop space and restoring the frontage to its Victorian magnificence.
It will be the last of the main concert halls in the country to have undergone a major redevelopment since the 1980s and plans are for the works to start in the hall’s 150th year in 2017, ready for opening in 2019.
The redevelopment plans will allow Colston Hall to become a National Centre for Music Entertainment, Education and Enterprise. Through its Bristol Plays Music programme, it will deliver a world-class music education programme
that engages with children and adults from all background and abilities
Louise Mitchell added: “Music education is vital to inspire future generations – whether it is participating in music or just enjoying it. It can bring communities together and reach people from all walks of life.”
With the right funding, by 2020 Colston Hall will be offering 5,000 free or affordably priced tickets a year, while the transformed hall will also nurture future musicians through its Creative, Enterprise and Music Education Centre.
Eiron Bailey, Director of Music at Bristol Cathedral Choir School, who headed the youth ensemble, said: “Bristol Plays Music has a unique opportunity to put a concert hall at the centre of directing young people’s music across the city, virtually all young people across the city have access to the hall.”
