Opera North launches fundraising campaign for £18m redevelopment project
A new fundraising campaign has been launched by Opera North for a £18m redevelopment project set to take place in 2019-2020.
The campaign, known as Music Works, will see the transformation of the company’s buildings situated in the heart of Leeds on New Briggate.
The redeveloped buildings will comprise: a world-class facility to make opera; a new Education Studio; new rehearsal and performance spaces; double the number of performances in the Howard Assembly Room and a dedicated public entrance to the Howard Assembly Room; and a new restaurant and bar replacing a row of vacant shop units.
The target for the Music Works fundraising campaign is £18m. This will deliver the project, which represents a cost of £15m, and will also create a new fund to enable Opera North to deliver more music and education activity in the future.
Opera North has raised £12.7m to date, achieving 70% of the overall target, including a philanthropic gift of £11.25m from Dr Keith Howard OBE, President of Opera North and founder of Emerald Publishing.
Dr Howard has previously supported the first transformation of the Howard Assembly Room, wider improvements to the Leeds Grand Theatre and the creation of the Emerald Grand Hall, in a renovation project which took place between 2005-2008.
Leeds City Council has also contributed £750,000, together with the lease of the vacant shops on New Briggate, and the balance of the funds raised to date has come from a number of private donors.
There remains a funding gap of £5.3m to close, and Opera North is now looking to national trusts and foundations, the business community and major donors to secure their support, before rolling out opportunities for audiences to play their part in the redevelopment.
Richard Mantle, general director of Opera North, said: “We believe that music works. To inspire us, music works. To connect us, music works. To move us, music works. For our city, for everyone, music works.
“Music Works is about creating a building to make and experience music, but it’s also about creating thrilling, powerful performances and the opportunities for participation that will bring the new spaces to life for many years to come. The project will deliver a building, together with an associated programme of performance and educational activity, of significant value to our city and region.
“We are extraordinarily grateful for the generosity and commitment of everyone who has supported Music Works to date, and in particular to the long-standing support of Dr Keith Howard OBE, whose transformative gift has enabled this project to come so far, bringing these ambitious plans within touching distance. We believe this represents one of the single largest philanthropic gifts ever made by one individual to an arts organisation in the UK and certainly outside of London, and we are indebted to Dr Howard for this extraordinary vote of confidence in the future growth of the company.”
Dr Keith Howard OBE, President of Opera North and founder of Emerald Publishing, added: “My long-held passion for music has been nurtured by Opera North over many years and it is my belief that this project will enable the company to pursue its ambition to bring music to everyone.
“These new world-class facilities will create the perfect environment for artists, participants and audiences to come together and experience the joy that music and music-making can bring. I sincerely hope that others will join me in supporting Music Works, which will create a place benefitting the people of Leeds and beyond well into the future.”
