opening of hope university's capstone building
I was one of those who attended the official opening of Hope University's new Capstone arts buiding last night.
The evening was centred around a concert in its new Hope Theatre which is a very smart new space.
Alas, the university's new £110,000 Steinway grand didn't make an appearance (you'll have to wait for Joanna Macgregor's concert this week for that) although a harpsichord did - after some last-minute repairs apparently - and a small organ borrowed from the Metropolitan Cathedral.
The building and theatre were formally opened by "Professor Petrenko" (I knew he'd been "Doctored" twice but being made a Professor has obviously passed me by) who of course managed to get in a cheeky reference to his hope it was just the first of the new concert halls to be built in Liverpool.
If anyone has a spare £120m knocking around, PLEASE put Vasily out of his misery and build him a new Walt Disney Concert Hall place down on the waterfront!!
The choir of Hope students under the conducting baton of Philip Duffy put in a very creditable performance, and the small orchestra contained a number of recognisable faces from the ranks of the RLPO.
Incidently, while Mr Petrenko is off tomorrow on tour with the Phil to Switzerland, you can still see his other half in action. Evgenia Petrenko makes her Liverpool conducting debut at the Hope Theatre with her singing group on Thursday.
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Catherine Jones is the Liverpool Echo Arts Editor, and she'll bring you the news, reviews, recommendations and gossip from one of the most vibrant arts and culture scenes in the UK
I am just home from seeing Roger McGough - fantastic. I loved the new venue, but must protest loudly on behalf of all with mobility problems - no handrail as you go down the stairs! How does anyone manage to build in the 21stC without taking disability into account? It must be that old myth that all disabled people are in wheelchairs. However, Roger's readings more than made up for the inconvenience and I did get to enter through the "Artists" door!
Evgenia Petrenko has a choir at Liverpool Uni too, called E Voices and they are giving a performance on Wednesday 1pm in the Leggate theatre.
re. coughing at Phil - there have been two national reviews mentioning the effect on coughing of the Phil acoustic - if that is correct, the Phil should really take some steps to persuade people to muffle or stifle their coughing.