Annual Review 2006/07`

Horsecross 06:07 a canter through our year

Our ďŹ rst full year was one of both experimentation and consolidation

pic: Perth Concert Hall

Iain Halliday, Chairman, Horsecross

culture + conferences + community + music + new media + drama

introduction

introduction “Nothing short of astonishing.

I doubt I’ll ever forget it. It’s the second time I’ve been to a Horsecross concert and I felt completely uplifted and proud to live in Perthshire” audience member, Olli Mustonen concert

nothing short

of

astonishing...

2006-07 was the first full year of operation for Horsecross Arts Limited; set up to deliver culture, conferences and community activity in Perth Theatre, Perth Concert Hall and in the wider Perthshire community. It’s been a busy one.

Finalists 2007

Thistle Awards

People

Development category

Audiences are flocking from far and wide. Artists and promoters love our venues and the teams that breathe life into them. Targets are being achieved and even surpassed. The team has settled in and our people simply embody our key value – to go the extra mile.

From loyal theatre-goers to musical minors and rock-god wannabes, audiences are growing. A third of our average audience comes from outside Perthshire, as much as 79% for Scottish exclusives, helping bring visitors to the area and money into the economy. Good news for hotels, cafes, restaurants, taxis and shops.

Over the year we worked to build audiences with Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Perth & Kinross Council, VisitScotland Perth and through the national Scottish Arts Council project Not for the Likes of You. Schemes like Kids Go Free help bring in under 16s and horsecrossregular membership offers discounts and priority booking.

The ambitions of our young and determined organisation are paying off and awards and plaudits have flooded in. At the time of writing we are poised awaiting news of three prestigious national awards for Best New Business, Business Tourism and People Development.

But no resting on our laurels. It’s onwards and upwards!

Our ambitions for the future include: pic: Perth Concert Hall

• a major redevelopment of Perth Theatre to improve access, create a new 250 seated studio space and upgrade and refurbish the historic A listed main auditorium • playing a central role in the redevelopment of the city centre • achieving Investors in People recognition and continuing to put our people first as a way of building up a successful business • developing a year round festival programme – ideas we are looking at include an Americana festival, a celebration of Schubert, young bands and a tribute to traditional composer/musician Gordon Duncan • exploring ways of integrating the music, drama and new media programmes • continuing to develop our education and outreach programme and our work for children and young people.

Watch this space! culture + conferences + community + music + new media + drama

Jane Spiers Chief Executive

classical music

classical music “a fascinating afternoon … plaudits for the Perth team for making it happen”

inspired programming...

Scotsman

The second year of any new venture is always a bit scary, once the honeymoon is over.

Our experience has been the opposite. Classical audiences have not just stayed but grown and it has been a pleasure to see a more mixed crowd emerge.

The Scottish orchestras gave us an exciting season. Highlights included Alina Ibragimova with the BBC SSO and the RSNO with world renowned maestro, Neeme Järvi. All the Scottish orchestra concerts continue to attract large audiences.

We had an impressive Bach Day featuring Concerto Caledonia and presenting a mix of music that stretched from Bach’s Scottish contemporaries to John Cage and Argentinian Tango.

FACTfile: audience profile Local audiences Concerto Caledonia Perth Chamber Orchestra RSNO New Year Viennese Gala Scottish Ensemble

90% 80% 78% 77%

Two Perth exclusives brought an audience from far afield to the concert hall. On the edgier side we welcomed New York’s Bang on a Can All-Stars for a full afternoon of new work, a world premiere by Philip Glass and stunning work for musicians and video. And keeping with the theme of daytime programming, we featured the London Sinfonietta in the delightful ChaplinOperas.

Our lunchtime concerts are another daytime hit. A number were co-presented with BBC Radio 3 for broadcast later in the year.

With their assistance, we included many chamber artists who only usually appear in Scotland at the Edinburgh International Festival – a treat for local audiences.

We worked hard to court international level performers to our new hall. Highlights included the first Scottish appearance for many years by outstanding pianist Mitsuko Uchida, the Tokyo String Quartet, Ashkenazy and the Philharmonia, Olli Mustonen and Elisabeth Leonskaja. All left with excellent experiences behind them, full of praise for our new hall.

Svend Brown Director, Music

FACTfile: cultural targets “wonderful venue ... appreciated being looked after so well.”

London Sinfonietta

“inspired programming” audience member, Bang on a Can culture + conferences + community + music + new media + drama

Performances: music, drama, dance, talks Attendances New media art exhibitions horsecrossregular membership Kids Go Free uptake Subscribers

projected 335 131,000 20 1,500 100 1,000

actual 391 140,677 20 1,600 121 1,200

contemporary music + world-Scottish traditions “I have promoted concerts all over the UK and can safely say that your team are the best”

contemporary music + world-Scottish traditions

fantastic

promoter, Esbjorn Svensson Trio

venue...

Our first full year was a mix of settling into a groove of what worked in the 6 months since launch and trying out new things. By the end of it we had a much stronger understanding of our audiences that will stand us in good stead for the long haul.

FACTfile: audience profile Audiences from outwith Perth Switchfoot Bang on a Can Allstars Esbjorn Svensson Trio

79% 78% 67%

The first few months of the Spring programme were dominated by our Home + Away series of unique world-Scottish traditions. Galician band Mutenrohi opened for Wolfstone. Salsa Celtica teamed up with Moishe’s Bagel and Session A9 supported Irish Altan.

Other memorable performances came from the Australian Pink Floyd Show, Peatbog Faeries and The Dhol Foundation, Bonnie Prince Billy and Harem Scarem, The Zutons, Dylan Moran, Jeff Healey, Bert Jansch, King Creosote, Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham, Buena Vista Social Club, Kate Rusby, Eddi Reader, Ocean Colour Scene, Kris Kristofferson and Swedish jazz Esbjorn Svensson Trio.

It’s great to see completely new (young) faces emerge, all perfectly capable of finding out what’s on and crossing the threshold when there’s something that presses their buttons like The Zutons or Dylan Moran. It proves how important programming is for us. The rock-pop programme brought us a sell-out acoustic set from David Gray and a capacity standing crowd for Idlewild.

“Fantastic venue. I’ll definitely send all our acts to you in the future” tour manager, Dylan Moran

Our first full year also saw us present our first musical in Perth Concert Hall, Buddy;The Buddy Holly Story pulling in audiences from far and wide and bringing visitors for the first time to Perthshire. We like mixing it up in this way, so audiences get used to seeing musical theatre, comedy and concerts in both our venues and feel equally at home in both. We’ll be keeping them on their toes in the same way next year.

Andy Shearer Director, Music

pic: Altan

“The kind of evening I had hoped we would get when they announced they were going to build Perth Concert Hall – great music, enthusiastic crowd, friendly, helpful staff.”

Idlewild fan

culture + conferences + community + music + new media + drama

romoter, Esbjorn Svensson Trio

drama

drama “there is strength and quality in every area and the company played well as an ensemble”

worth travelling

Scottish Arts Council on Volpone

to see...

At Perth Theatre we continued our quest to keep our grande dame of Scottish theatre buzzing.

The Autumn-Spring season kicked off with packed houses and broad audiences for visiting shows Two, Ladies Day and Rikki & Me. Overall, sales were slightly up on the previous season.

“For those who like their drama boldly funny… this production is well worth travelling to see” Metro on Humble Boy

Award winning theatre Best Actor, 2007 CATS Awards: Sandy Grierson For Perth Theatre/ Communicado’s Fergus Lamont

“one of the finest productions of the year” CATS Awards judging panel on Fergus Lamont

Our first in-house production, Jekyll and Hyde, signalled change and a more ambitious approach. Big, bold and challenging, the play was developed

by Associate Artist, Graham McLaren, working alongside writer David Edgar on his adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic.

Cinderella, our traditional family panto was a roaring success, and a questionnaire backed up our belief that panto still has a place for modern audiences.

The Little Foxes and Humble Boy, directed by Ian Grieve, were warmly received. Fergus Lamont, our co-production with Communicado was nominated for 2 national critics’ awards and toured to great acclaim.

The final visiting show Tunes of Glory was an altogether different Scottish experience and a Scottish exclusive.

Outwith the subscription season, we presented a range of visiting shows including Elizabeth Gordon Quinn and Wolves in the Wall from the new National Theatre of Scotland.

However it is our own productions that give us our character and we want to become well known for our unique style. We believe the way to go is producing high quality home productions and co-productions, making the most of the unique mix of expertise in the organisation, across music, drama and new media. This will help us create our hallmark.

FACTfile: Perth Theatre pic: Humble Boy

460 seat Edwardian auditorium: 460 seats Perth Studio Theatre: 100 seats Perth Youth Theatre: 150 members Redrooms cafe bar: 100 covers

Our practice of operating a ‘subscription season’ has meant that we present 7 plays running for two-and-a-half weeks each from Autumn-Spring. This pattern evolved to fit audiences that were prepared to buy for the season upfront. Nowadays, fewer people are able to or want to commit to their social life months ahead and finding plays that can sustain this length of run tends can restrict programming choices and limits the mix of audiences we attract. Discussions began at board level to reshape subscription for 07-8 to free us up to programme more diverse work, present shows over shorter runs, and ultimately broaden audiences.

In tandem with changes to the programme, we have begun working on a building proposal to redevelop the theatre to improve access and refurbish the auditorium and the studio. Exciting times.

Ian Grieve Director, Theatre

culture + conferences + community + music + new media + drama

Graham McLaren Associate Artist

new media art

new media art “One of Perth Concert hall’s biggest attractions is Threshold artspace – the innovative exhibition space in the glass-fronted foyer of the hall” Auditoria

innovative

space...

Threshold artspace is now firmly on the map of contemporary art in the UK and internationally.

We’re on the radar of national and international specialist press and feature in the bi-monthly Artupdate map covering galleries in London and Scotland.

In just a short time, we have managed to acquire 60 works for our permanent collection, presented 100 local and international artists, and attracted funding from the Scottish Arts Council for commissions and residencies.

Highlights of the 2006/7 new media art programme included: Sparkle: we transformed the foyer of the hall at Christmas with our festive exhibition – and second themed exhibition – Sparkle. This included a mesmerising piece Sonorous Forms by young artist and musician Catherine-Ann Lee and Ross Cairns’ Random Snow Generator.

Fresh NY: an exhibition curated in tandem with our Bang on a Can AllStars concert and featuring the work of some of New York’s most exciting emerging digital artists. Featured 10 newly re-mastered works, kindly donated by the New York based international artists for the Threshold collection. Guest curated by Anne Barlow, ex pat, artistic director of Art in General Gallery, New York.

Time: our third themed exhibition featured 3 new commissions for The Wave and Welcome areas. David Hay’s Faces of Perth was the culmination of 6 month long community project in partnership with Perthshire Photographic Society.

pic: Masque, John Butler

On the Threshold Stage we showed a year round series of artists works based around computer games and sound toys featuring the work of artists Sam Hill, Beverley Hood and Mare Tralla. We ran a programme of talks and workshops throughout the year including the popular Curator’s Tours planned to coincide with lunchtime concerts.

Iliyana Nedkova Director, New Media

FACTfile: Threshold artspace Threshold Wave = 22 screens Threshold Stage = 2 projection walls Threshold Welcome = entrance soundscapes Threshold Flush = screens in toilets

culture + conferences + community + music + new media + drama

community + outreach

community + outreach “The project was one of the best things I have ever done musically”

amazing

participant, Great Rock n Roll Swindle

opportunity...

Our community team had a busy year running a huge range of projects for local people aged 0-85. And halfway through the year, our big Birthday Bash gave us a great opportunity to showcase some of this work. It was rewarding to be recognised for this effort at the 2006 Tayside Business Awards, winning the Business in the Community award.

Music development projects The Great Rock n’ Roll Swindle – 6 month project for 5 young bands to work with Music at the Brewhouse to develop and perform their own material; The Big Sing + Horsecross Voices – community singing sessions; Mini Music Makers + Musical Minors – sessions for under 5s; In the Mood – older people share music, poetry and stories.

Winner: Business in the Community, Tayside Business Awards

Drama development projects Heartbreak Superstore – Perth College students and Sounds of Progress music and drama production; Murder on the Menu – people with mental ill health and learning difficulties act their socks off; Pass the Nuts – Tayside Carers Support Project focused on mental health issues; Music and Drama Collective – worked with Perthshire Adult Resource Centres production; St Columba’s High School – 22 week project for pupils at risk of exclusion.

pic: Rock n Roll Swindle project

Perth Youth Theatre 145 young people age 12-25 attended 108 workshops; PYT Young Playwrights – this new group developed and performed scripts; Trainee Youth Theatre Directors – 4 traineeships; PYT in the Community – working with local groups in rural Perth; Festival of Youth Theatre – exchange for 10 youth theatres from across Scotland Kids and Families Summer Shorts – workshops from circus skills to stage make up; Workshoprs and events – all the best writers, storytellers and illustrators headed for Perth, including Mairi Hedderwick with Katie Morag, Aileen Paterson with Maisie the Morningside kitten, Korky Paul, Jill Dow, Jill Webster and Vivian French.

“What a marvellous performance.”

“An amazing opportunity”

culture + conferences + community + music + new media + drama

FACTfile: community + outreach attendances PYT audience member PYT Trainee Director

activity Birthday Bash Family Perth Youth Theatre Community Schools drama workshops Total

target 3,000 1,000 5,400 1,965 635 12,000

actual 4,000 1,171 5,400 4,431 176 15,178

conferencing and events

conferencing and events

absolutely

brilliant...

In our first full year of business, our dynamic conference team attracted regional, national and international conferences and business meetings to Perth. In this mix we have attracted new business, won back business, secured repeat business and helped to make Perth a business focused city with a competitive edge.

FACTfile: Perth Concert Hall Gannochy auditorium: 1200 seats Norie-Miller Studio: 120 seats break out rooms Threshold new media art exhibition space cafe bar with wifi

New business: Scottish Construction Forum annual conference, Tourism Innovation Conference, Open Science Conference on Global Change in Mountain Regions, SustAcces, Coastlink, EuroDesk UK National Seminar.

Repeat business: Royal British Legion, EIS, Scottish Construction Forum, CRNS, Restorative Justice Forum, Stagecoach, S2S Social Enterprise, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Caring for Kids Annual Dinner Dance, British Association of Social Workers, Scottish Natural Heritage.

Recaptured business: Scottish Conservative Party Conference, SNP Conference, STUC Women’s Conference, STUC Annual Congress.

Finalists 2007

Thistle Awards

Business Tourism category

A big selling point is the chameleon-like quality of the hall. A smart building, the auditorium can transform to suit every occasion – from conference to dinner dance, snooker arena to fashion catwalk. It’s a bit glam too, with a glassy, sassy foyer boasting our unique new media artspace and café bar.

And of course our USP is that we’re an arts and community venue, so there’s a vibrancy and buzz about the place that adds to an away day.

On the back of our success, we are up for a national Thistles award for Business Tourism. Our achievements are boosting the local economy and contributing to the desire for Perth to be recognised as one of Europe’s most dynamic small cities by 2010. And we believe our status as a major conference destination will add to Perth’s case to be recognised as a city.

Michaela Ruff Conference and Events Manager

FACTfile: conferences “Everyone was absolutely brilliant and nothing was too much trouble for anyone.” organiser, NHS 24 conference

culture + conferences + community + music + new media + drama

Targets Conference days Conference delegates Business seminars and meetings Events and functions Net Income

projected 125 14,000 250 15 £110,000

actual 187 22,000 134 79 £168,464

about us

about us

vibrancy and buzz

Horsecross Arts Limited formally came into being in April 2006 when Perth Repertory Theatre Limited took over running Perth Concert Hall. We are managed by a Board that meets quarterly.

The Board is made up of a Chair, Vice-Chair and up to 12 members along with 3 councillors from Perth & Kinross Council.

The Board appoints the Chief Executive to run day to day operations with responsibility for finance, employment and the programme. The whole team work within an ethos known as The Horsecross Way.

Around a third of our funding comes from the Scottish Arts Council and Perth & Kinross Council. Just under half our money comes from earned income from ticket sales and venue hire. The balance comes from sponsors, trusts and other fundraising activity. For example, The Gannochy Trust are funding the artistic programme at the Concert Hall and Theatre as part of a three year agreement. Huge thanks to all our supporters this year including: Scottish Arts Council | Perth & Kinross Council | The Gannochy Trust Esmée Fairbairn Foundation | Norwich Union Insurance | Arts and Business Event Scotland

Feedback

We positively encourage feedback from our customers and keep an eye out for the local and national press to see how we’re being received. We carry out surveys of audiences and monitor comments and complaints to further measure success.

Scottish Design Awards

Best Building for Public Use (commended)

Chief Police Officers

Secured by Design award

Critics’ Award for Theatre in Scotland

Best Male Performance (Liam Brennan) Tales from Hollywood

Arts & Business Scotland

Arts & Communities: partnership with Norwich Union (commended)

Building Design Partnership

Best Designed Place

Thistle Awards

Business Tourism winner People Development finalist

RICS

Community Benefit (highly commended)

pic: Perth Amatuer Operatics at Perth Theatre

Very positive feedback also comes in the form of national awards, organised by a whole range of industry sectors and national agencies. We’re delighted to have attracted a number of awards for our efforts to date.

Critics’ Award for Theatre in Scotland Best Male Performance (Sandy Grierson) Fergus Lamont Building Service Awards

Project of the Year – for concert hall engineers Buro Happold

Tayside Business Awards

Business in the Community 2006

culture + conferences + community + music + new media + drama

FACTďŹ le: The Horsecross Way culture + conferences + community to create a buzz – in our venues, Perthshire and Scotland to keep raising the bar to inspire entertain and delight to help Perth prosper to go the extra mile

pic: Perth Theatre

front cover: Perth Youth Theatre

Business Mission Vision Value

Perth Concert Hall Mill Street Perth PH1 5HZ Perth Theatre 185 High Street Perth PH1 5UW

0845 612 6320 www.horsecross.co.uk