Music Hall reopening after £9million revamp

Aberdeen’s historic and much-loved Music Hall will re-open its doors to the public on December 8.

The occasion will be marked with a day of Stepping In community celebrations, featuring a special appearance from Travis frontman Fran Healy leading the Music Hall community choir in a performance of the iconic song Sing.

The doors will be opened to the public at 9.30am with free entry all day and a packed programme of performances and activities from local communities across the North-east who have been participating in the award winning Stepping Out programme during closure.

Jane Spiers, chief executive of Aberdeen Performing Arts, the charity behind the Music Hall transformation, said:

‘We’re so excited at the prospect of stepping back into the hall and welcoming everyone through the doors.

‘It’s been a labour of love and a complete privilege to play a part in the history of such a national treasure. Stepping In is a celebration of all that makes the Music Hall great – and most of all it’s a celebration of people and communities in the North-east.

‘It’s been a hugely ambitious and complex project and what’s been achieved within total costs of £9m is incredible, thanks to a great team of committed professionals who believed in the project and have always gone the extra mile – our architects BDP, contractor Kier, project management Axiom and the amazing Aberdeen Performing Arts Team.’

The ambitious project has seen the 200 year-old venue undergo extensive excavations below ground to create a new lower ground floor, freeing up space for a new performance studio, new creative learning studio, new café bar, restaurant and re-located box office.

Young ambassadors at Aberdeen Music Hall, ahead of its reopening in December

The works have also included significant excavations and interventions to improve access from street to seat including new lifts and ramps to allow everyone, including people with restricted mobility, to access all levels from basement to balcony for the first time in the building’s history.

The entrance to the Music Hall has been transformed with a floor to ceiling video screen exhibiting digital art.
The Music Hall auditorium has been lovingly restored with new flooring, staging, seating, decoration. Essential repair and maintenance work has included roofing, window, rewiring, replumbing, replastering and upgrades to heating, ventilation and backstage facilities.

Councillor Jenny Laing, Aberdeen City Council co-leader, said: ‘The revamped Music Hall will join the redeveloped Art Gallery and the new £330m TECA complex in playing an integral part supporting the delivery of the city’s ambitious Aberdeen 365 event programme, a year round programme of world class events, festivals and performances which make the city a vibrant and exciting place to visit and experience.’

Celebrations continue on Sunday 9 December with guided tours of the Music Hall in the morning. There is a double celebration that evening as hundreds of local youngsters take to the stage in the 50th anniversary Evening Express Carol Concert.

The formal opening will take place the following weekend with two exclusive concerts in the magnificent surroundings of the newly transformed Music Hall.

On Saturday, 15 December, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra is joined by stellar classical pianist Alice Sara Ott, and internationally renowned conductor Alpesh Chauhan. The programme includes Prokofiev’s Lieutenant Kije Suite, Greig’s beloved Piano Concerto, and Sibelius’ triumphant second symphony. And then on Sunday, 16 December, iconic Scottish band Texas will take to the stage led by charismatic singer Sharleen Spiteri performing some of their best-loved hits.

Aberdeen Music Hall features a ‘stepping in’ screen

The re-opening performances conclude on Thursday 20 December with the much-loved festive celebration from Phil Cunningham’s Christmas Songbook featuring the legendary Scottish musician joined by singers Karen Matheson and Eddi Reader, and instrumentalists John McCusker, Kris Drever, Ian Carr, Kevin Macguire and a special guest brass band.

National Lottery funding of over £700,000 helped make the project happen.
Lucy Casot, head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in Scotland, said: ‘Aberdeen Music Hall has delighted, educated and entertained audiences for decades. Its fascinating history is tightly interwoven with the social history and cultural traditions of Aberdeen.

‘Thanks to players of The National Lottery, this well-loved treasure has been transformed. Its historic beauty shines through while providing a contemporary, cultural experience for visitors of all ages. I am delighted that it will again take its cultural place in the community bringing joy to all those who visit it.’

The Music Hall will remain open throughout December before the first full season gets underway in January 2019.
Tickets for the four re-opening concerts go on sale at 9.30am on Friday 26 October, and are available in person at His Majesty’s Theatre or The Lemon Tree, by phone on 01224 641122, and online at www.aberdeenperformingarts.com.

They are the Evening Express Carol Concert on Sunday 9 December, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra on Saturday 15 December, Texas on Sunday 16 December, Phil Cunningham’s Christmas Songbook on Thursday 20 December and the guided tours on Sunday 9 December at 10am, 11am and noon.

Entry to the Stepping In events on Saturday, December 8 is free and tickets are not required.