BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
Can’t find a suitable concert venue for your next gig? Make one.
That’s what Nick Slaney is up to this year, hosting a 2016 concert series with a vision to expand the music scene of Melbourne’s inner northwest.
The pianist was on the hunt for affordable venues with good acoustics, and he found St. George’s Anglican Church in Travancore. It had everything he needed – except a concert piano. So he’s showcasing emerging and professional musicians in this year’s series in a bid to create performance opportunities and raise funds for the new instrument.
Nick tells us why the venue is an important one, and how he’s going about setting it up to be a hub of musical performance.
You’ve said you’re looking to create a musical hub in a place where there isn’t one already. How do you go about doing something like this from scratch, and creating a venue people will become familiar with and enjoy returning to?
In the process of organising the series, there has been a huge amount of interest in concert life at St. George’s – both from people wanting to perform, and interested audience members. We’ve designed the concert series to appeal to a wide audience, and we hope to see people who are new to classical music sitting alongside those who have been concertgoers for years. We have tried to keep ticket prices reasonable, and hope to provide first-rate performances in a beautiful acoustic setting – but with no pretentiousness!
Why do you feel it’s important to bring more quality classical music into Melbourne’s inner northwest? Do you worry the reason it hasn’t already grown is because there isn’t much of an audience in this area? And how do you go about working through this?
Over the past few years as this project has gradually come into focus, I have given several recitals at the church which have helped me to gauge the level of interest. People from the local area are very enthusiastic about music concerts in the church! We are aiming to bring classical music into an area where previously nothing similar had been available. By doing so, we aim to bring classical music to new and established ears. By making music like this accessible, people will experience something they may not have otherwise, and then hopefully come back for more.
Why does this venue serve this purpose well?
I was initially attracted to St. George’s because of the wonderful acoustics, which combined with the beautiful architecture to create an intimate space. When you’re in the church, there is such stillness you feel as if you could be in the middle of the country. The hall seats around 100 people, so it’s big enough to hold concerts, but small enough that there is a powerful intimacy. This kind of concert setting works wonderfully with chamber music, where every audience member is close enough to be part of the musical experience. Lastly, there is the piano itself: it has a rich, mellow sound which is perfectly for lyrical passages, alongside plenty of thunder to fill the church.
Tell us a little about the church’s history of performance.
Music is a feature in the church through the weekly service, which features the organ as well as Taize chant. Other musical activities include performances by local groups such as the Newmarket Brass Band and jazz band the Oddbods. Teachers hire the hall for instrumental tuition on a regular basis. Regular concerts at the church seem to have gained more steam over the past few years as we have geared up for this fundraising concert series.
How are you going about raising funds for the grand piano?
While the concert series is the main fundraising activity, we have been fortunate enough to receive council grants and private donations, as well as holding fundraising concerts at a variety of venues. We have already raised a few thousand dollars, and will look to launch a crowdfunding campaign later on in the series.
How will this project benefit young musicians?
For young musicians, music students and emerging performers, hosting concerts is initially a difficult, and often costly, venture. Many of the suitable halls have hire fees which are difficult for a musician to make back in ticket sales. One of the main goals in setting up the series was to create a concert venue suitable for emerging musicians (and equally for established professionals), which can provide an affordable platform for musicians to gain experience in performance, marketing, audience building and other necessary skills. The 2017 series is already in the works, so we are fairly confident that the momentum will continue for a while yet!
To check out the 2016 concert series, click here. The next concert on January 31 sees Nick Slaney (piano) team up with Simon Gangotena (viola) to present works by Chopin, Dale, Schubert, and Kriesler.
Image supplied. Pictured: St. George’s Music Series co-founders Nick Slaney and Leonie Thompson with Reverend Duncan Reid.
