[UK] Hands Off 2007 - Venue

But it does lend itself to an outdoor performance in a pastoral setting...

"BLOT on the Landscape"

:-)

The venue side of Hands Off continues to be interesting.

Passing Clouds.

My intended visit to PC to meet the PC people along with Diana was cancelled. Apparently they have Fire Regs issues that meant Diana had to take Songbird elsewhere this time. I don't want to jump to any silly conclusions - they're a new venture and doubtless need to iron out a few wrinkles. It's not a big concern. But it might mean that crashing there overnight might not be quite the option I first thought.

I've been finding out a little about the area (http://www.upmystreet.com/local/my-neighbours/l/E8+4AA.html). It appears to be one of those bipolar areas with low income and high education - which explains why it has a healthy art-music scene but looks run-down. It does mean local Hostels are off the agenda - they'll certainly be occupied at least in part by those contributing to it's twice the average UK crime rate - which has been confirmed by anecdotal evidence from a local occupant.

The nearest hotel (according to upmystreet.com - see above link), just over half a mile away, the Elena (http://www.elenahotel.net/), is a B&B with 33 rooms and a restaurant downstairs. The website isn't big on details but it looks like your basic, clean, family-run place and generally OK. At least worthwhile my paying it a visit when I get to Passing Clouds.

The next closest, the Konuralp, does not feel the need to have a website, and is run by Mr Konuralp of Konuralp Investments Inc. My instincts from having worked at the Department of Social Security for too long are telling me he has a lot of local custom from people in urgent need of accommodation with the DSS or Social Services footing the bill. But this is just guesswork, and I would not want to do them a disservice by suggesting it is actually the case without knowing for certain.

The third closest, a mile away is a Holiday Inn Express, asking 75 pounds per night, and unlikely to be interested in bargaining for preferential rates.

So, interesting.

Meanwhile, Mrs Charlton has been progressing Plan C.

Plan C, I can now reveal, is The Purcell School (http://www.purcell-school.org/) near Watford. On the strength of a couple of phone calls and an email they have told us that there are three weekend dates in July and August available (in that other enquirers have yet to come back to them re: those dates), we are due to visit them next week, and apparently I am the talk of the Staff Common Room, with some members of staff interested in attending the Symposium. Very encouraging.

I don't yet know if there will be sufficient accommodation, or the cost, or the size of their rooms, but hopefully that will become known quite soon.

(I'll be sticking my theremin in the boot of my car when we go visit, just in case, and am listening to Purcell's Cold Genius as I type this. Huzzah for iTunes and thank you for your unintentional yet timely assistance (http://www.thereminworld.com/forum.asp?cmd=p&T=2077&F=733) omhoge!)

Purcell School - one of the 'rivals' as I know them personally from my old school ;-) (the other 'rival' was St. Mary's School)

Good choice, but from what I remember, they're very small, but should be big enough to accomodate our relatively small gathering (relative to a symphony orchestra). They're a good venue (from what I remember from the dim and distant past).

I'm sure that they'd enjoy to hear/have a go at a theremin. I remember when Celia Sheen came to visit us, the tutors turned into kids at Christmas!

Have fun,

MC

I went to a Steinway sale at that very same school. It's a rather nice hall, and as the establishment has had lots of money pumped into recently, the musical facilities are top-notch.

Well, I visited Purcell School, and they are large enough for our requirements, and it is indeed a very nice hall. Seats about 200. We would have access to loads of smaller rooms too, for breakout sessions, and for private tuition etc.

They do not provide access to the electronic equipment - computers, recording/sound processing gear - which is understandable.

The accommodation is standard boarding school - rooms are mostly shared, holding between one and four people. Certainly not 5 star, but very serviceable.

I am waiting for a definitive statement of the number and distribution of beds, and on the cost, as they are being reviewed at the moment, but the current cost is 30 pounds per night for bed, breakfast and evening meal - pretty much like the Masonic School. When challenged they seemed very certain next year's costs would not be as much as £40. As with the Masonic School there was no suggestion of other costs, but, having been bitten once my letter to them after the visit was very specific in asking for confirmation of this.

It is easy to get to by car - just off the M1. People arriving by train may want to hire a cab, or we might be able to set up a ferry service.

And most significantly, they have offered us a definite date.

[b]The weekend from Friday the 27th of July 2007.[/b]

Put it in your diary!

It occurs to me that most of the attendees will have long journey times to and from the event. Therefore I have told them we will start Friday afternoon and end Monday morning.

The schedule of activities will be the same as planned for the Masonic School, with the addition of a Survivors' Party on Sunday evening. This will allow people with shorter journey times to slip away after the concert on Sunday without feeling they are missing anything crucial, but mean that those who will be travelling further afield won't need to sort out their own accommodation for the Sunday night.

Once I have definitive costs we'll talk about that over in the Finances thread, but for the time being I think we can safely place an upper limit of £150 per person for the whole event.

Clearly this choice of venue does not offer the same opportunities for hosting a Theremin Festival as Passing Clouds, but my thinking is that, if the Sunday Concert is the cracking success we all want it to be, then perhaps in 2008, rather than holding another Symposium, we could arrange a Festival as described above.

You should go to my school.

A theatre and a big hall. And our music cells (practice rooms)

I revisited Purcell School today, taking my etherwave and practice amp. This is what I learned...

Assuming a more generous spacing between theremins than this successful line-up of ten thereminists (with thanks to omhoge for posting it on another thread)

[img]http://www.spin.com/features/ithappenedlastnight/images/2007/05/070529_pravda_04.jpg[/img]

the auditorium can accommodate three theremins in a straight line on the main stage, or five in a W formation. A further sixteen can fit around the perimeter of the auditorium and if needs be the gallery will take six without reducing audience space significantly.

There are half a dozen mains sockets scattered around the hall. I did not check the gallery. Oops.

The hall is acoustically dull - very little reverb. :-(

For the ensemble piece small practice amps will be easily capable of producing appropriate volume levels.

So, mostly very good. :-)

The only down part was that we had planned for Lydia Kavina to be present to add her expertise to my assessment of the room, and to start planning a running order and so on. Unfortunately a nasty pile-up on the M40 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/6707847.stm) left her gridlocked.

Sorry, Lydia.

I have a basic reverb unit that goes wherever the PA goes for venues like that. It only has presets (about 99), but there's usually one that will fit the bill to sweeten the sound a little.
Recordings through the desk will be done dry so a high quality reverb can be added at mixdown.

The ensemble piece will be a bit more challenging to record if people need to be spread around the hall, but certainly not impossible.

Is there any sort of a support group for festival organizers?
I cannot believe all you are going through with this event. An inspiring example of perseverance Gordon. Hope all the attendees bow and kiss your ring or spare you any extra grief at the very least.

J_D - OK, cool.

omhoge - neither can I! Trouble is, from time to time I get an idea into my head, and I start looking around to see who can implement it, and it usually turns out to be me.

I definitely need a support group, comprised of healthy, energetic young people - so that next time I announce "I've got an idea," they can reply "OK, we'll do that," while they put their dresses back on.

And the symposium is going to be a dignified affair - I won't stand for obsequious behaviour - if I catch anyone kissing my ring I shall beat them off immediately.