St George’s Bristol officially launches ‘Building a Sound Future’ project

St George’s Bristol has launched the public phase of ‘Building a Sound Future’, which is a £5.5 million development project to build a new extension to the world class music venue.

St George’s celebrated the launch with an eye catching musical event/performance from the roof of the Grade II* listed former church.

Acclaimed violinist and leader of Aurora Orchestra, Thomas Gould performed the well known and rousing Hungarian folk tune Csárdás by Vittorio Monti.

At the same time, to celebrate the launch of the public appeal and reach out to new visitors, the event was accompanied by a balloon release with free tickets for concerts at the venue attached to each balloon.

The St George’s Bristol ‘Building a Sound Future’ appeal was kick started by an initial pledge of £1.95 million from the Arts Council England and reached the halfway point towards the end of 2014 following grants of £300,000 from the Garfield Weston Foundation and £50,000 from the J.Paul Getty Jr. Charitable Trust.

A recent generous donation from Sir Seigmund Warburg takes the total to £2.75 million raised.

Suzanne Rolt, director, St George’s Bristol comments: “We already have a world class hall loved by artists and audiences, but we’ve run out of the space to accommodate the thousands of people who come through our doors each year.

“Our project is about creating an inspiring new space with the world class facilities we need to ensure everyone has a great experience when they come here.

“We are delighted with the support we have already received from the Arts Council England and our new funding partners”.

The ‘Building a Sound Future’ appeal will deliver the first extension to St George’s since it was designed by Sir Robert Smirke (architect of the British Museum) and built in 1823.

The new contemporary glass and stone extension by award winning architects, Patel Taylor will greatly improve facilities and provide full access to the venue for the first time.