The Perth Concert Hall is a

concert hall A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage (theatre), stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention ...

located in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. Owned by the City of Perth, the concert hall is the main venue of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, and also hosts a number of other events and performances. The building itself is located in the Perth central business district, adjacent to the Supreme Court Gardens and Government House. It has two

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

s: facing north over St Georges Terrace, and facing south over the Swan River. The concert hall was constructed on land granted to the City of Perth by the

Government of Western Australia The Government of Western Australia is the States and territories of Australia, Australian state democratic administrative authority of Western Australia. It is also commonly referred to as the WA Government or the Western Australian Governmen ...

, and opened on

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet and raising of the Flag of Great Britain, Union Flag of Great Britain by Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove, a ...

(26 January), 1973. Designed by Howlett & Bailey, the building is constructed in the Brutalist style, making heavy use of white off-form

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

and a solid opaque interior. The main auditorium of the hall seats 1,729 people, as well as a 160-person choir gallery and a 3,000

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

. Acoustically, the venue is considered one of the best in Australia, with the design overseen by the New Zealand acoustician Harold Marshall.

History

In 1950, the

granted the City of Perth land between Stirling Gardens and Government House. Howlett & Bailey designed an administrative building and an auditorium, however due to financial constraints, only the former was built,

Council House A council house, corporation house or council flat is a form of British Public housing in the United Kingdom, public housing built by Local government in the United Kingdom, local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing ...

opening in 1963. In 1968 Howlett & Bailey was appointed to design a concert hall with construction by Transfield commencing in 1971. It was officially opened on 26 January 1973 by the Governor General Paul Hasluck, with

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Gough Whitlam also in attendance. In January 2015 the West Australian Symphony Orchestra become the venue manager of the hall, taking over from AEG Ogden that had managed it since March 1999. In April 2018, the City of Perth approved a upgrade for the concert hall. A $52-million redevelopment of the concert hall was announced in 2020 as part of the Perth City Deal project, with the Government of Western Australia contributing $36.4 million, the federal government $12 million and the City of Perth $4 million. In March 2022, With Architecture Studio and Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) were appointed lead architects for the redevelopment. In March 2023, the state government announced an additional $98 million towards the project, bringing the total funding to $150 million. The redevelopment

Architectural design

The building was designed by Howlett & Bailey. Jeffrey Howlett and Donald Bailey had won a design competition for a town hall and auditorium in 1961. Their design consisted of two buildings, one containing administrative offices and the other, oval in shape, comprising the "town hall" or auditorium. The administration offices, called

, were built, however financial constraints and doubts regarding the auditorium's acoustic properties meant that construction of the auditorium building was delayed. Its design was subsequently re-considered and it was not until the late-1960s that a different plan was approved. This plan was: Through 1969, the architectural plans were amended several times. These amendments included beautification and landscaping of the main pedestrian approach from St Georges Terrace and construction of a subway under the Terrace, a pit for a 60-piece

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

with removable flooring and seating to cover the pit when not in use, and improved access and facilities for disabled people. The original plans included a restaurant with a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

for 400, but following inspection of similar halls in the eastern states of Australia, it was decided that this was not warranted. It was, therefore, decided to make the restaurant smaller and include a tavern and

cocktail A cocktail is a mixed drink, usually alcoholic beverage, alcoholic. Most commonly, a cocktail is a combination of one or more liquor, spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as juices, flavored syrups, tonic water, Shrub (drink), shrubs, and ...

bar, allowing patrons a wider choice. The bar area was named ''Wardle Room'', after Thomas Wardle. It was the architects' intention that the exhibition foyers would be used as a continually changing venue for all types of art (such as

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

, tapestry and

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

exhibitions) rather than as permanent exhibition spaces. This may have influenced the Perth City Council's indecision over whether or not to accept artist Sidney Nolan's offer to permanently loan the city a series of 64 paintings of

wildflower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, rather than being intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is any different from the native plant, eve ...

s for hanging in the hall. After considerable public debate over the matter, Nolan withdrew the offer and art dealers and others criticised the short sighted and parochial attitude of the council in refusing the offer. Ironically, the first exhibition in the foyers featured 54 of Nolan's wildflower paintings. Several consultants were involved in the design of the building, including acoustic consultants, structural engineers, and experts in

escalator An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a Electric motor, motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the st ...

s, stage machinery and

lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight. ...

. Fraser was responsible for the structural design and Marshall was the acoustics consultant, in association with Warwick Mehaffey of the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

. Marshall used computer modelling to predict how well people would hear in each of the seats and worked closely with the architects in designing the main auditorium, which according to Howlett had to be, The Perth Concert Hall is an example of

brutalist architecture Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by Minimalism (art), minimalist constructions th ...

, with its solid opaque interior, giant projecting roof, and use of white off-form concrete. It forms a counterpoint to the transparent filigree of Council House.AA – Obituary – March/April 2006
The auditorium features a specially commissioned 3,000

surrounded by a 160-person

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

gallery and an audience

of 1,729.Perth Concert Hall Web Site
The organ, individually designed, cost $100,000 and was commissioned by Ronald Sharp of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, who was also responsible for the organ at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

. The larger pipes for the organ were imported from the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. Bailey recollects that Sharp was an "extraordinarily talented person, largely self-educated, who has to his credit the design and construction of a number of organs, mostly in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

." A Steinway orchestral concert

grand piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

(Model D) was also imported from

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

for installation in the Hall. The concert call was the first in Australia to have a show relay installed so that latecomers could watch on two screens in the foyer while waiting for an appropriate time to enter. Another screen is located at the stage door. The City of Perth and the Government of Western Australia, as well as the architects and builders, received many compliments on the hall as it neared completion from visiting experts in the fields of music, architecture and construction.

Operations

The Perth Concert Hall has been described as one of the best fine music acoustics venues in Australia. It has played host to a diverse selection of internationally acclaimed performers including the London Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Israel Philharmonic and contemporary performers B.B. King, Sting, k.d. lang, Harry Connick Jr., Melissa Etheridge, Ray Charles, Rowan Atkinson and Billy Connolly. The majority of concerts by the West Australian Symphony Orchestra are performed at the Perth Concert Hall. The venue is also used for their rehearsals. The venue is also used to host national conventions and exhibitions, award ceremonies and gala dinners. Recent exhibitions include the Steinway piano exhibition in March 2008. In addition, the venue is used for private or corporate functions in areas other than the auditorium, for example in the foyers, bar and café.

Association with Perth Concert Hall, Scotland

On 27 September 2006 the Perth Concert Hall participated in a twinning ceremony and the signing of Mutual Understanding with the Perth Concert Hall, Scotland. As a result of this twinning the Concert Hall now flies the St Andrews Flag at the front of the venue to commemorate the twinning.

History

Architectural design

Operations

Association with Perth Concert Hall, Scotland

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading