Lighthouse Capital Project News Sept 2015

CAPITAL PROJECT NEWS

SEPTEMBER 15

JOSIE ROURKE LOVES LIGHTHOUSE! PLUS HOME IMPROVEMENTS FOR ORCHESTRA

www.lighthousepoole.co.uk

Welcome Lighthouse owes its very existence to people of vision who not only identified the need for a world class arts centre in Poole, but saw a way to make it happen. Now, some 50 years after the first proposals were discussed we find ourselves drawing inspiration from their foresight as we look to carry it forward.

This summer we took the first steps towards that future with a series of

preparatory works that pave the way for a desperately needed multi-million pound refresh to bring this iconic building up to date. Doing so will secure its position for generations to come as the place the people of Poole and beyond will fall in love with the arts and make the memories that last a lifetime.

With your help the most exciting chapters in the story of Lighthouse are those still to come and this monthly newsletter is our way of keeping you in tune with what’s going on as we make sure today’s Lighthouse is in great shape for tomorrow.

Home improvements As the only concert hall in the South West with a home orchestra, Lighthouse is proud to provide Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra with a symphonic hall for rehearsing, recording and performing concerts.

Elspeth McBain, Chief Executive, Lighthouse

WHAT WE DID THIS SUMMER With the first phase of work to secure its future as a world class arts organisation and venue successfully completed, Lighthouse, Poole’s centre for the arts, is ready to re-open its doors for the autumn season.

“After more than 35 years of delivering an outstanding cultural provision of live performance to Poole and Dorset our ambitions for Lighthouse are high,” says Chief Executive Elspeth McBain. “We are proud to be custodians of this iconic building that offers such an extraordinary resource to our community and we want to look after it well, making sure we can continue to bring some of the best and most creative artists to Poole, presented in a world class venue, with an inspiring and innovative learning and participation programme.”The extensive preparatory works that took place during the annual summer closure have begun to improve the audience experience. You can now see a movie in our cinema without the fear of external noise from other areas. A bespoke, state of the art sound system and new stage lighting in the Concert Hall will ensure that the great artists performing on our refurbished platform

will look and sound exceptional. Improvements to the choir stall seats will not only provide a more comfortable experience for the choirs who regularly perform at Lighthouse, but also for the audiences who can watch orchestras perform at close range at a fraction of the price of the stalls.

Refurbished Front of House lifts will improve access and and a new telephone system for the organisation will improve how we work.

The first dedicated staff room facility will provide our volunteers and staff with a better working environment and reflects the value we place on our team to deliver the broad range of work we offer.

“Most of the first phase changes won’t be seen by our audiences, but they are absolutely vital to the continuing success of this landmark building and what goes on inside it,” adds Elspeth. “We are striving to create a building that works as well as it can do and to make it sustainable for the next 15 years.”

The BSO moved into purpose-built offices just a few months after Lighthouse opened as Poole Arts Centre in 1978 and quickly established the venue as its main concert, recording and rehearsal facility, helping forge the venue’s reputation as a nationally important centre for artistic excellence.

“Over the next three years there is much to look forward to as the Orchestra celebrates its 125th anniversary and Lighthouse marks 40 years as the region’s major cultural provider with a significant capital programme to refresh and enhance our facilities,” says Lighthouse Chief Executive Elspeth McBain.

Improvements to the Concert Hall and Studio theatre, the backstage facilities and function rooms as well as significant investment in new lighting and PA technology will notably improve the performance experiences of artists and audiences alike.

As part of the planned works next year air cooling will be introduced in the Concert Hall to improve conditions for artists and audiences alike and backstage there’ll be a new Green Room, upgraded dressing rooms with new shower and toilet facilities, improved storage and, for the first time, a practice piano installed. The sound, lighting and stage in the Concert Hall have been improved this summer and the choir seating renovated.

“Lighthouse fulfils a unique role within the region so in order to continue to support BSO, as well as attract other world-class artists, our refresh will ensure that we provide performance spaces that are up to date and inspiring for artists and their audiences,” adds Elspeth.

It’s personal Led by award winning architects Design Engine, headed by Rod Graham, with project management from the Sweett Group, a stellar design team has been assembled to deliver the £5.3 million refurbishment of Lighthouse.

“Having been personally involved in the previous phase of capital works I know the benefits that this investment will bring to the visitor and performance experience,” says project manager Chris Timlin.

The team also includes Andy Hayles, co-founder and managing director of problem-solving theatre consultancy Charcoalblue whose RIBA Stirling Prize winning restoration

of the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool and the Royal Shakespeare Company’s award-winning HQ in Stratford, earned him a place in The Stage UK Theatre Top 100 Power List this year.

“I spent my formative years in Parkstone and Poole, attending Branksome Heath infant school while my Dad served as a curate at St John’s Church on Ashley Road,” he says. “I used to sail on Poole Park boating lake with my Dad and my brother, and shopped with my Mum in the Dolphin Centre – I particularly remember playing on the wooden dolphins and whales in the shopping centre aisles.

“I’m haunted by a hazy memory of a Peter Pan so my interest in theatre can be traced back to that time as well!

Why I Love Lighthouse Lighthouse is a space where the extraordinary happens weekly… every week for the past 30 years I’ve come to the Lighthouse to spend time exploring, discovering and creating some of the most glorious artistic accomplishments of civilisation.

A symphony concert may reach into the past for its music, but then in the present it reaches deep into the soul of a person, communicating and expressing human emotions and experiences for which there are no words.

Such is another ‘normal’ day at Lighthouse.

David Daly, Principal Double Bass, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Front – Rod Graham, Architect, Design Engine; Elspeth McBain, Chief Executive, Lighthouse; Pete Wilson, Head Of Finance, Lighthouse.

Back – Louise Conroy, Senior Consultant, Sustainable Acoustics; Peter Rogers, Managing Director, Sustainable Acoustics; Chris Timlin, Project Director, Sweett Group; Steve Maishman, Senior Mechanical Engineer, RHB Partnership; Martyn Balson, General Manager, Lighthouse; Aidan Irving, Assistant Cost Consultant, Sweett Group; Michael Cochran, Electrical Engineer, RHB Partnership; Jake Sutton, Technical Manager, (Lighthouse)

Our Appeal We are about to launch the Love Lighthouse appeal.

We are now just £400,000 from the £5.5million needed to refresh Poole’s iconic centre for the arts.

To achieve our final target we are about to launch the Love Lighthouse appeal to the public.

To date we have been raising money in the ‘private phase’ of our capital appeal. We have been very successful in attracting significant support from bodies such as Arts Council England and the Borough of Poole, as well as from grant making trusts and generous philanthropists. So far they have contributed just over £5million towards our appeal target.

To complete the fundraising to pay for this exciting refresh we are about to enter the public phase.

Between now and June 2016 the Love Lighthouse public fundraising appeal will ask our customers and local people to support us to raise the funds we still need.

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We will launch the appeal on 8 October at Lighthouse with a unique and unmissable event. We are delighted that Josie Rourke, Artistic Director of The Donmar Warehouse will talk about her internationally acclaimed production of Coriolanus, followed by an encore screening of the play. Both the specially invited and public audience will experience a wonderful evening with one of the UK theatre’s brightest stars and we hope that it will encourage those present to make significant donations to the appeal.

Please get involved

We shall also be communicating regularly with all of our customers to ask for their support, as well as asking for a donation to the appeal campaign when people book tickets. Coupled with other exciting events we have planned we really hope our local community and very loyal audience will Love Lighthouse and help us reach our target.

If you’d like to learn more, please visit:

lovelighthouse.co.uk

october launch

£400k appeal target

By making a donation you can play an important part in ensuring Lighthouse remains a world class venue right here in Poole.

ONLINE

lovelighthouse.co.uk PHONE

01202 781306 SEND A TEXT MESSAGE

LIGH12 £5 to 70070