Drapers’ Hall, in Bayley Lane is opening this Autumn as a venue for music and music education following a £5m restoration project led by Historic Coventry Trust in partnership with Coventry City Council.
An extensive programme of performances has been announced to accompany the opening. This includes:
- Songwriter and broadcaster Tom Robinson
- Swedish violinist Johan Dalene
- Award-winning saxophonist and finalist in the 2016 BBC Young Musician of the Year Jess Gillam
- Stratford-based Orchestra of the Swan, Coventry University’s Orchestra in Residence
- Internationally-known harpist Catrin Finch
- Tuba player and composer Theon Cross
- The Jubilee Quarter
The Grade II* listed Drapers’ Hall
is the finest Regency building in the city and was built in 1832 by the Drapers Guild as a place to entertain Coventry’s high society. The building has been preserved unused by the Council whilst awaiting a new use for over 30 years and is a time capsule of Regency splendour. Historic Coventry Trust have been granted a 250-year lease by the Council and will manage the building as a home for Coventry Music Service and a music and events venue.
The major restoration project has been supported by the Prince’s Foundation as one of seven projects for the Prince of Wales’s 70th birthday. Funding has been provided by the Council through its Cultural Capital programme for UK City of Culture with substantial support from, and funding from, Arts Council England and Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership, via the Government’s Local Growth Fund and the Getting Building Fund.
Further funding has been provided by Garfield Weston Foundation, Wolfson Foundation, Foyle Foundation, the Prince of Wales Charitable Foundation, Swire Charitable Trust, London and Coventry Drapers Guilds, Alan Edward Higgs Charity, 29th May 61 Charitable Trust, Backstage Trust, Architectural Heritage Fund and Allchurches Trust.
The Historic Coventry Trust has appointed Hannah Pierce as Programmer and General Manager of Drapers’ Hall. She said “We are delighted to present this season of shows, supported by the Arts Council, as our inaugural programme. Each performance has been carefully chosen to sit within our new and intimate performance space. These are shows that embody quality, a breadth of musical experience and, most importantly to us, inspire the people of Coventry.”
Hannah will be coming to the November CovSoc meeting to tell us more about the programme.
Tickets for all the shows are available at The Drapers Hall website.