Melbourne Recital Centre is a venue for live music in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and welcomes over 200,000 visitors each year. The organisation programs and presents more than 500 concerts and events a year across diverse range of musical genres including classical and chamber, contemporary, pop, folk, rock, electronica, indie, jazz, cabaret and world music. It was opened in 2009, as part of the Melbourne Recital Centre and Melbourne Theatre Company

Southbank Theatre Southbank Theatre is a performing arts venue located in the Southbank region of Melbourne, Victoria. It is the principal home of the Melbourne Theatre Company. The theatre was designed by ARM Architecture (Ashton Raggatt McDougall), and opened ...

complex designed by Ashton Raggat McDougall, and is located on the corner of Southbank Boulevard and Sturt Street in the

Melbourne Arts Precinct The Melbourne Arts Precinct is home to a series of galleries, performing arts venues and spaces located in the Southbank district of Melbourne, Victoria, in Australia. It includes such publicly-funded venues as Arts Centre Melbourne, National ...

, Southbank. It is Melbourne's second largest auditorium for classical music (after Hamer Hall in

Arts Centre Melbourne Arts Centre Melbourne, originally known as the Victorian Arts Centre and briefly called the Arts Centre, is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, located in the central M ...

Facilities

The centre features two auditoria, the Elisabeth Murdoch Hall, and a smaller Salon. The former, a "modified shoe box" shaped music venue, is named after

Dame Elisabeth Murdoch Dame Elisabeth Joy Murdoch, Lady Murdoch (née Greene; 8 February 1909 – 5 December 2012), also known as Elisabeth, Lady Murdoch, was an Australian philanthropist and matriarch of the Murdoch family. She was the widow of Australian news ...

. It has seating for 1000 on two levels and was designed by

Ashton Raggatt McDougall ARM Architecture or Ashton Raggatt McDougall is an architectural firm with offices in Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide, Australia. The firm was founded in 1988 and has completed internationally renowned design work. ARM's founding directors were S ...

with acoustic and theatre consulting by Arup.The Building
– Melbourne Recital Centre website The stage, with optional extension is designed to accommodate up to 45–65 musicians, making it well suited to

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

and other small ensemble music.Elisabeth Murdoch Hall technical specifications
– Melbourne Recital Centre To eliminate noise from the nearby Southbank Boulevard cars and trams, it is surrounded by 250mm of concrete, mounted on 38 steel springs. The interior is lined with Hoop Pine plywood and is designed to give ideal bass response for cello and low brass. The shoebox shape, size and wooden surfaces were designed to provide a reverberation time of 1.6 to 1.8 seconds The Salon can seat 136 people. The lighting, seating and stage can be configured to suit the performance.

Building awards

Melbourne Recital Centre and

MTC Theatre Southbank Theatre is a performing arts venue located in the Southbank region of Melbourne, Victoria. It is the principal home of the Melbourne Theatre Company. The theatre was designed by ARM Architecture (Ashton Raggatt McDougall), and opened i ...

complex won the Moore Stephens National Award for Public Buildings at the Property Council of Australia – the country's highest award for a public building. The complex also won the Victorian Architecture Medal, the William Wardell Award for Public Architecture and the Joseph Reed Award for Urban Design at the

Australian Institute of Architects (United we advance architecture) , predecessor = , merged = , successor = , formation = , extinction = , status = Professional body; members association , headquarters = L1/41 Exhibition St, Melbourne , leader_title = CEO , leader_ ...

State Architecture Awards in 2009.

Awards and nominations

Music Victoria Awards

The Music Victoria Awards are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2006. The award for Best Venue was introduced in 2016. ! , - ,

Music Victoria Awards of 2016 The Music Victoria Awards of 2016 are the 11th Annual Music Victoria Awards and consist of a series of awards, presented on 16 November 2016, during Melbourne Music Week. For the first time this year, the Best Venue award was separated into of ov ...

, Melbourne Recital Centre , Best Venue (Over 500 Capacity) , , rowspan="5", , - , Music Victoria Awards of 2017 , Melbourne Recital Centre , Best Venue (Over 500 Capacity) , , - , Music Victoria Awards of 2018 , Melbourne Recital Centre , Best Venue (Over 500 Capacity) , , - ,

Music Victoria Awards of 2019 The Music Victoria Awards of 2019 are the 14th Annual Music Victoria Awards and consist of a series of awards, presented on 22 November 2019, during Melbourne Music Week. The Award for ''The Best Global Act'' changed its name to ''Best Intercultu ...

, Melbourne Recital Centre , Best Venue (Over 500 Capacity) , , - , Music Victoria Awards of 2020 , Melbourne Recital Centre , Best Venue (Over 500 Capacity) , , - ,

2021 Music Victoria Awards The 2021 Music Victoria Awards were the 16th Annual Music Victoria Awards. The ceremony took place on 9 December 2021 at the Melbourne Recital Centre. The 2021 awards featured a number of changes, including a brand new category for Best Pop Act ...

, Melbourne Recital Centre , Best Venue (Over 500 Capacity) , , , - ,

2022 Music Victoria Awards The 2022 Music Victoria Awards are the 17th Annual Music Victoria Awards. The ceremony is scheduled to take place in December 2022. The list of industry-voted nominees was announced on 27 October 2022 and the public voted nominees announced on ...

, Melbourne Recital Centre , Best Large Venue (Metro) , , , -

References

External links

Melbourne Recital Centre website
{{Authority control Concert halls in Australia Music venues completed in 2009 Music venues in Melbourne Buildings and structures in the City of Melbourne (LGA) Southbank, Victoria