Two of Australia’s leading chamber musicians, cellist Georg Pedersen and concert pianist Phillip Shovk, will return to Central Coast Conservatorium of Music in Gosford on April 2 for a special Charmian & Friends concert to mark the reopening of the renovated Robert Knox Hall.
The fundraising event is the brainchild of Central Coast Conservatorium of Music patron, acclaimed Australian violinist Charmian Gadd, and will be the first concert held in the new-look auditorium which has undergone a makeover as part of the Conservatorium’s recent upgrades.
The two will perform Beethoven’s Cello Sonata no. 2 in G Minor, Chopin’s Cello Sonata in G Major and Brahms Cello Sonata no. 2 in F Major.
Gadd said she was looking forward to making the Charmian and Friends concert series, previously held at Greenway Chapel in Green Point, a regular fixture in the newly-renovated hall.
“We are grateful for the good years of music making that enriched our years at Greenway, but as the Chapel is now no longer available for our weekend offerings, let’s start a new chapter in Robert Knox Hall,” she said.
“The Con is looking quite different – welcoming and warm in its retained stone and basic structure.
“Audience members would do well to leave a little extra time to arrive and have a look around.
“Robert Knox was quite a complex and interesting figure, designing golf courses, playing and making violins.
“He was teaching in Gosford and looking for somewhere to start a music school when the old courthouse fell vacant.
“According to his own tale he more or less simply occupied the building and persuaded the powers-that-used-to-be in those days to turn it into a Conservatorium.
“It has gone from that point to where it is today with the help of a lot of great people to whom we owe such a lot.”
Light refreshments will be served in the interval in the historic courtyard at the Con – a former police station and courthouse.
Money from ticket sales will go towards the Conservatorium’s successful scholarship program.
The event will also see the launch of the Con’s Take a Seat campaign, giving supporters the opportunity to own a piece of Central Coast history by “buying” one of the new fixed seats in the refurbished Robert Knox Hall.
Donors will have a special and limited opportunity to have their name on a plaque on one of the new 72 permanent seats.
Phillip Shovk and Georg Pedersen in concert will be held at 2.30pm on Sunday, April 2.
Tickets are available at www.trybooking.com/CGSBN.
Source:
Media release, Mar 27
Central Coast Conservatorium