St David's Hall

St David's Hall
Neuadd Dewi Sant (Welsh)
St. David's Hall logo
St David's Hall by night, in 2014, showing the remodelled façade and the base of Cardiff's BBC Big Screen.
St David's Hall by night, in 2014, showing the remodelled façade and the base of Cardiff's BBC Big Screen.
General information
StatusClosed due to the discovery of RAAC
TypeConcert hall
Architectural style
Brutalist
LocationThe Hayes, The Hayes, Cardiff, CF10 1AH, Wales
Coordinates51°28′49″N 03°10′36″W / 51.48028°N 3.17667°W / 51.48028; -3.17667
Construction started
1977
Completed
1982
Inaugurated30 August 1982; 44 years ago (1982-08-30)
Closed2022
Cost£12m
OwnerCardiff County Council
Technical details
Floor count7
Design and construction
Architecture firm
Seymour Harris Partnership
Structural engineer
Ove Arup and Partners
Main contractorJohn Laing & Son
Other information
Seating capacity1,500
Number of rooms24
Website
St. David's Hall
Listed Building – Grade II
Official name
St David's Hall
DesignatedInterim Protection
Reference no.87914

St David's Hall (Welsh: Neuadd Dewi Sant) is a performing arts and conference venue in the heart of Cardiff, Wales. It is the official National Concert Hall and Conference Centre of Wales known for hosting the annual Welsh Proms and the biennial BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition.

As well as classical music it also plays host to jazz, soul, pop, rock, dance, children's, rhythm and blues, musicals and other forms of world music, as well as light entertainment artists. The foyers in the centre are open and have regular free performances from music groups. The foyers, balconies and bar areas are also used to host art exhibitions.

Events

The interior of St David's Hall in 2023

Major events held at the Hall include the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition held every two years and the Welsh Proms held annually. Prizes for the Welsh Artist of the Year are awarded at the venue every June, followed by an exhibition of the winners and shortlisted works.

St David's Hall is continually developing its variety of shows. It re-branded the L3 Lounge venue, which has a partly seated capacity of 350 and is mainly used for daytime concerts, the Roots Unearthed folk series and Blas* – A Taste of the Fresh Welsh Sound.

BBC NOW

BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales (BBC NOW) is the orchestra-in-residence at St David's Hall, performing regularly between September and June each year. Almost all of the orchestra's concerts at St David's Hall are recorded for live or deferred broadcast on BBC Radio 3, and there are dedicated recording facilities within the concert hall to facilitate broadcasts.

History

The entrance to St David's Hall in 2007
The upper floors with St. David's shopping centre on the ground floor

Planning and construction

Interior of St David's Hall in the 1980s

Credit is given to the Conservative leader of Cardiff City Council, Ron Watkiss, for bringing St David's Hall to fruition. A bronze bust of him is on display in the foyer of the building.

Architects Seymour Harris Partnership had the task of fitting a major 2,000-seat, acoustically perfect auditorium, with surrounding dressing rooms, bars, foyers, a restaurant, offices and spacious concourse into a cramped city centre space. The space available was so cramped that they had to fit the complex into and on top of an already planned and partly built St. David's Shopping Centre. As a result, they had to use every inch of space available and the building has an unusual shape. The main contractor was John Laing & Son.

It held its first concert on 11 September 1982. It was officially opened over five months after the first concert on 15 February 1983 by the Queen Mother, followed by a concert by the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra conducted by Owain Arwel Hughes. Hughes and Watkiss later brought the Welsh Proms to the venue.

The angular grey concrete that makes up nearly the whole visible exterior and some interior foyers looks unmistakably 1970s/1980s modernist new build; the architectural magazine Building Design described the hall's style as "complex late brutalism".

Plaques and statues

In 1983 to commemorate the Queen Mother officially opening the Hall a plaque was installed in the reception. In 1987 a bronze bust of Diana Princess of Wales was also unveiled to commemorate her visit to Cardiff.

Grade II listing

The hall has Interim Protection by Cadw as a Grade II listed building under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 and amended by the Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2016. As a consequence it's an offence to damage the hall or alter it in any way without prior consent.

Partnership with AMG

In June 2023 it was announced that Academy Music Group (AMG) would take over running of the venue on a 45 year lease. The agreement includes maintenance of the building, which involves significant initial cost for AMG following discovery of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in the building's roof.

2023 closure

In September 2023 the hall was closed due to the discovery of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in its roof. The closure was originally planned to last 18 months to allow for the replacement of the roof. However, following delays, it is expected to reopen in the Summer of 2027. The cost of a replacement roof and wider refurbishment of the hall is estimated to be about £50 million and will be paid for by AMG as part of a conditional 45-year lease. By March 2026, scaffolding had been installed to protect the organ, with work on replacing the roof panels underway and further plans now in place to upgrade the backstage facilities.

Organ

The concert organ of St. David's Hall was completed by Peter Collins in 1982, at a cost of £168,000. This would be the largest organ he ever built. The wooden case was designed by Ralph Downes. Due to problems with the action, J. W. Walker & Sons replaced the action and console, a great embarrassment at the time considering the cost of the organ. The organ has 3 manuals, and German-style continental registrations.

The main auditorium of St. David's Hall is regularly host to organ events, including lunchtime concerts. Recitals on the organ have been performed by performers such as Catherine Ennis, Olivier Latry, Anne Marsden Thomas, Ghislaine Reece-Trapp, and Margaret Phillips. St. David's Hall has also hosted the 2019 Royal College of Organists OrganFest.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "RAAC concrete issues close Cardiff's St David's Hall". BBC News. 7 September 2023.
  2. 1 2 "St David's Hall: A Brief History". Stdavidshallcardiff.couk. Archived from the original on 30 October 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Reeves, Robin (12 October 1982). "Companies and Markets: St David's Hall Cardiff". Financial Times. London, England.
  4. 1 2 "Conference Rooms Capacities" (PDF). St. David's Hall Cardiff. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  5. 1 2 Cadw. "St David's Hall (Grade II) (87914)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  6. ↑ "THE WELSH PROMS". THE WELSH PROMS. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  7. ↑ "About Cardiff Singer". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  8. ↑ "Welsh Artist of Year: Fleece painter Paul Emmanuel". BBC News. 6 June 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  9. ↑ "National Concert Hall tears up its roots with search for tomorrow's Cool Cymru Set". Welsh Icons News. 17 September 2009.
  10. ↑ "BBC - BBC National Orchestra of Wales announces its 2018/19 Season - Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  11. ↑ "St David's Hall, Cardiff - St David's Hall Venue & Room Hire". www.stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  12. ↑ "Bust of Ron Watkiss, St David's Hall". Historypoints.org. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  13. ↑ Ritchie, p. 166
  14. ↑ "Cardiff Schools". Archived from the original on 29 September 2007.
  15. ↑ Hughes, Owain Arwel (2012), Owain Arwel Hughes: My Life in Music, University of Wales Press, pp. 115–116, ISBN 978-0-7083-2531-5
  16. ↑ Hatherley, Owen (6 November 2009). "Cardiff: Baudrillard at the Eisteddfod". bdonline.co.uk. Building Design. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  17. ↑ "The unseen photos of St David's Hall as it opened exactly 40 years ago". www.walesonline.co.uk. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2026.
  18. ↑ "Bust of Princess Diana, St David's Hall - History Points". mail.historypoints.org. Retrieved 11 October 2026.
  19. 1 2 "Plans announced to name Cardiff St David's Hall as listed building". Wales Online. 5 April 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  20. ↑ "Council reveals details of St David's Hall deal that will see it leased to music group". Wales Online. 07 June 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2026. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. 1 2 Seymour, Tom; McGivern, Hannah (9 November 2023). "Raac and ruin: museums search for unsafe concrete—but can they afford repairs?". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  22. ↑ Owens, David (5 March 2026). "First look inside St David's Hall as work continues ahead of reopening". Nation.Cymru. Retrieved 11 October 2026.
  23. ↑ "Cardiff: Concert hall takeover threatened by £50m Raac cost". BBC News. 26 October 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  24. ↑ Owens, David (5 March 2026). "First look inside St David's Hall as work continues ahead of reopening". Nation Cymru. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  25. 1 2 3 "The National Pipe Organ Register - NPOR". npor.org.uk. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  26. ↑ IAO, Alan T. for. "Home Page". OrganFest19. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  27. 1 2 "St David's Hall, Cardiff". Mander Organs. 9 May 2007. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  28. ↑ Moult, Daniel (2 February 2016). "Peter Collins (1941 – 2015)". Rhinegold. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  29. 1 2 "BBCNOW/Atherton, St David's Hall, Cardiff". the Guardian. 10 December 2002. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  30. ↑ Calendar, The Events. "Lunchtime Concert St David's Hall, Cardiff – Paul Carr". Paul Carr Organist Recitalist. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  31. ↑ Wales), St David's Hall (Cardiff (2016). Catherine Ennis, Organ: Tuesday 22 March 2016 1pm. St David's Hall.
  32. 1 2 3 "Lunchtime Concerts at St David's Hall". Cardiff Times. 16 August 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  33. ↑ "Viscount Organs Organfest BIOS, the IAO RCO". www.viscountorgans.wales. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  34. ↑ "RCO Courses, Classes and Events: OrganFest 2019". www.rco.org.uk. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  35. ↑ "OrganFest 2019". MUSIC:ED. Retrieved 30 July 2020.

Sources