The Brecon Arts Festival 2013 commences October 1st and runs through to the 31st. Members of the local community in Brecon have been asked to a a behind-the scenes tour of a new £2m Centre for the Creative Arts at Christ College in Brecon, the ‘Y Neuadd Goffa’.
The Memorial Hall at Christ College will be used for school events, performances, productions, exhibitions and conferences, and the local community has also been invited to an ‘Open House’ on Saturday 12th October 2013 so that they can see how they might use the multi-functional space too.
The school’s original theatre was constructed more than 50 years ago as a memorial to fallen WWII soldiers, but has undergone a major refurbishment to bring it right back up to date. Internal spaces have been rebuilt and reworked, large extensions have been added, new backstage facilities, a new gallery and a studio theatre have also been introduced.
The Neuadd, as it will be known, will accommodate the increasing number of pupils involved in the Creative Arts at Christ College providing them with state-of-the-art performance facilities, for both small and large-scale events and productions. The theatre includes flexible seating and staging, along with hi-tech sound and audio-visual systems.
The scheme has been made possible in part thanks to a £750,000 investment from Lloyds TSB Commercial Banking, and is the first in a series of developments that are proposed as part of Christ College’s 475th Anniversary celebrations, due to culminate in 2016. The development also benefited from generous donations as a result of a campaign spearheaded by the school’s Development Office.
Head of Christ College, Emma Taylor, said that the school’s commitment from the outset was to develop an atmospheric building with a true ‘sense of place’.
“This was behind the concept of The Neuadd and I’m delighted with the end result and very excited by its potential,” she said. “We now have a new auditorium which can accommodate over 400 people for various school events and functions. We’re looking forward to welcoming the local community to our ‘Open House at the Neuadd’ event and to see this new addition to the Brecon landscape.”
Greg Warren, relationship director for Lloyds TSB Commercial, said: “This was a very attractive undertaking for us because it won’t be just pupils who will gain from this major investment. Community groups and businesses will be able to hire out this stunning new facility for a wide variety of purposes and events, making it a real asset for the Brecon community.”
Ace Building Contractors, the main contractor on the refurbishment started work in September 2012 and completed the project at the end of August 2013, which was project managed by Theatretech, the architectural designers,
Mick Way, Theatretech Principal, said: “Working on a project like this allowed us to draw on our experience. The Neuadd is far more flexible, holds more people, is more comfortable for both audience and performers and is better equipped technically. The project had a great contractor in Ace Building Contractors too. Prestigious projects like this are our lifeblood and it has been very important to us to be part of this.”
Brecon Arts Festival takes place from 1st-31st October and is a month long celebration of the Arts, which includes exhibitions, workshops, demonstrations, Open Houses, pottery glassmaking, poetry, theatre, drawing, craft, as Art air and much much more. Please visit.www.artbeatbrecon.org for details.
The Neuadd takes centre stage at Brecon’s Christ College
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