Rehearsals are different for the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra (DSO) in its splendid new Hanover Hall headquarters – now, they can hear each other.

DSO General Manager, Philippa Harris, says, “The acoustics are not just good, they are excellent. The musicians can hear themselves and each other. The essence of a rehearsal is to be together – in our previous space we couldn’t hear one another. The artistic standard of our orchestra has gone up since we’ve been here – discerning audience members have noticed the improvement.”

The acoustic quality of Hanover Hall is one of the things people talk about after they have used it, Philippa says of the former Baptist Church which opened in November after a major restoration project.

“The renovation included the installation of acoustic panels. Beforehand, the sound reverb was over four seconds; with expert assistance it’s down to just over one second – just wonderful. We don’t have a high-quality sound system because the DSO is acoustic, we don’t need it.

“This is a rehearsal space for the DSO (we can’t fit an audience in here with us), but a whole lot of other groups are already using Hanover Hall as a performance venue – the Dunedin Youth Orchestra, brass bands, choirs, the New Zealand String Quartet – and there is already a Fringe Festival event booked for 2019. We see its use will grow and grow. There is a desperate need for this kind of venue in Dunedin.”

Philanthropists Cally McWha and Lloyd Williams (both DSO members) bought the dilapidated church, repairing the slate roof, re-plastering and painting the ceiling, and installing heating and lighting, then accommodating the orchestra on a generous long-term lease. The DSO fitted out the space with help from a further 186 donors who gave $106,000, plus $250,000 from 12 funding organisations. The acoustic panelling cost about a third of the sum raised.

“We received a lot of expert assistance and advice ‘in kind’, too. If you added in the cost of that, people donated something around half a million dollars I would think. It’s truly extraordinary,” Philippa adds.

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