the phil at the friary

THE Royal Liverpool Philharmonic unveiled its new rehearsal space at a historic former Liverpool church.
Youngsters from Faith primary in Everton will also take part in music programmes at the grade II listed St Mary and the Angels - also known as the Friary - in Fox Street, through the Government's In Harmony scheme.
The Friary is a partnership between the RLPO and Archdiocese of Liverpool, and the two-year revamp received more than £500,000 of European funding.
Conductor Vasily Petrenko explained what a difference the new space had made. He said: "It's bsolutely great compared to other places we've been rehearsing. It's been done especially for the orchestra. When we come here it's very easy - there's everything we need.
"The acoustics are very close to those in the Phil."
The 99-year-old St Mary of the Angels was closed in 2001, but has kept much of its Italianate interior.
Bishop Tom Williams said: "We've always valued the building but pastorally it became redundant.
"It's just fantastic it's used for something so positive. I don't think it goes against the original intentions of the building which is to the greater glory of God.Music reaches the soul."

Incidently, Vasily also told me that great as the new facilities were (compared to previous rehearsal spaces such as Bootle Town Hall and the Devonshire House Hotel), he still wanted to make sure the RLPO had enough rehearsal time in the Philharmonic Hall as well.
Vasily was in Spain last week (which as an LFC supporter was very satisfying for him!) and reveals although the Phil's new Shostakovich recording has been lauded in all the Sunday cultural supplements, he himself hasn't heard the finished article yet......