“The Scottish Chamber Orchestra is spearheading a bid to create a permanent new home,” writes Brian Ferguson in Wednesday’s (11/16) Scotsman (Edinburgh). “The 1,000-capacity venue, earmarked for a gap site behind the Royal Bank of Scotland’s historic head office, would be available for the Edinburgh International Festival each summer. The venue will be also be designed to make it suitable for rock, pop, electronica, jazz, folk and chamber concerts, as well as dance events…. The SCO has joined forces with a new charitable trust, IMPACT Scotland, to draw up the plans for the ‘world-class arts centre,’ which it hopes to unveil by 2020…. The SCO said the new building [should] complement, rather than compete with, the city-owned and operated [2,200-seat] Usher Hall. However, the plans for the new venue will inevitably raise new concerns about the future of the Queen’s Hall, in the south side, which is used extensively by the SCO and the EIF.” SCO chairman Colin Buchan said, “This project provides a fantastic opportunity for the SCO to provide … a much-needed mid-sized performance venue…. It will also enable the SCO to reach out in ways that have not been possible in the past.”
Posted November 18, 2016
