Historic Holy Trinity Church is offering free performance space to musicians, artists and groups in the run up to 2017, Hull’s year as the UK’s City of Culture.
Aimed at acoustic performers, the church is offering artists and groups the opportunity to perform in front of an audience and hone their skills.
Whether a solo artist, a small band or a poet, performers will be able to develop their repertoire, experiment with new material, or build up a performance portfolio by recording the event.
Already host to numerous events, including the annual Hull Real Ale and Cider Festival, Holy Trinity’s reputation as a unique and atmospheric venue continues to grow, with the magnificent 700-year-old church rapidly becoming a must-visit destination in Hull.
The church has hosted performances by music students and professional touring artists and companies during the refurbishment of Middleton Hall at the university, while Holy Trinity has a schedule of evening professional concert performances throughout the spring and summer. Details are available at www.holytrinityhull.com/events
The first of the free performances took place on Saturday, April 23, with an afternoon of Shakespearean merriment in verse and song, performed by students from the University of Hull to mark the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death.
The Vicar of Holy Trinity, the Reverend Canon Dr Neal Barnes, said: “This is a great opportunity to support aspiring local artists to develop their skills and find new audiences, while welcoming people into our amazing building
“Because the concerts are free, we hope this will encourage people to come along who do not always find it easy to experience the arts.”
The scheduled performances are available to book on Friday and Saturday afternoons from 1.30pm and are free of charge. Audience members may choose to make a donation, which will go to the performer.
Cellist Donna-Lea Millar and pianist Beth Nicholson who are among the confirmed performers said: “It’s difficult to find a place to perform, so this is just perfect.
“Playing somewhere like Holy Trinity Church is as exciting as doing the performance. It’s so atmospheric.”
The church will help publicise performances through the church’s website and provide refreshments for visitors before and after the events. Practice spaces may also be available beforehand.
To find out more information or have an informal chat about how to book an afternoon performance slot, please contact Holy Trinity’s Education and Operations Co-ordinator Jane Owen at jane@holytrinityhull.com.
Work is well advanced on Holy Trinity’s £4.5m development project, which will enable the church to replace outdated and inadequate facilities, become much more accessible to the community and host a wider range of cultural and social events.
It will also create new income streams to secure a long-term sustainable future for the church as a spectacular, vibrant and welcoming place of worship and community use.