August 24, 2006

Construction

Private partner sought for Montreal Concert Hall

IRWIN RAPOPORT

correspondent

MONTREAL

Montreal is next in line to receive a concert hall dedicated to the performance of classical music following Toronto’s recent inauguration of its new opera house, the Four Seasons Centre.

With a budget of $105 million, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (MSO) will have a 1,900-seat concert hall to call home, a construction project that will be built via a public-private partnership (P3).

The MSO currently performs at the downtown Place des Arts. The new concert hall will be close by, at the Esplanade de Place des Arts.

The 15,000-square-metre structure will incorporate a stage to accommodate 200 singers and 120 musicians.

“Thanks to its outstanding acoustics, this new hall will endow the orchestra with a venue where it can fully showcase the range of its exceptional sound resources,” said Marie-Josee Desrochers, MSO’s director for marketing and communications.

QUEBEC MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND COMMUNICATIONS

Montreal’s new concert hall is expected to be built on the parking lot, labelled above as number 4.

“The orchestra’s management is confident the public-private partnership project will finally permit the realization of the hall, which will breath new life and vision into the future development of the MSO.”

A team of experienced acousticians, led by Russell Johnson from Artec Inc., will plan the ideal parameters to produce the finest array of orchestral sounds, as well as designs for the stage and interior aesthetics.

Also involved in the project is DCI, with expertise in the design of major cultural projects.

“The concert hall responds to the complete needs expressed by the MSO,” said Veronik Aubry, press secretary to the minister of culture and communications. “The governing structure of the project foresees a committee of clients composed of the Place des Arts Society and of the MSO. The committee will advise the project director on all aspects of the project.”

Calls for proposals for the concert hall design will be published next spring and the search for a private partner will begin late next fall. A contract between the government and the private partner will be signed in the winter of 2008. The MSO is expected to occupy the concert hall in late 2011.

The public partner will be responsible for management of the cultural program and long-term ownership, while the private sector will be responsible for design, construction and annual maintenance and upkeep of the building.

The ministry is working the L’Agence des partenariats public-prive du Quebec, the government agency set up by the Premier Jean Charest to develop P3s in Quebec.

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