The disastrous Fairfields Halls have lost the only executive who knew anything about classical music.
Artistic Director Jonathan Higgins has been in the job for under two years. He’s the third incumbent in as many years.
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The root cause is BH Live, based in Bournemouth. They know much about swimming pools, nout about classical music. Higgins was, to be fair, a step in the right direction, as he was actually based at Fairfield Halls in Croydon.
The artistic fare at the venue continues, however, to be dire. Next up are the shows: Pop Princesses, Mary Poppins Returns, The Mersey Beatles, and Elvis. So if tribute acts float your boat, a good time will be had by all. Again, to act here with good grace, there is an organ recital coming up with Marilyn Harper, but such concerts are very few and far between.
The Fairfield Halls has no overarching programming profile. It’s just a hotch-potch of genres and styles, neither attractive to all nor appealing to discrete societal clusters.
As a Croydon resident I was so hopeful when the hall reopened, but now like you I’m very disappointed. Next month Concerto Budapest will be performing, and I’ll be there. But I’d say this is most definitely not a classical music venue now.
Btw the photo is pre refurb…that wavy false ceiling has thankfully gone
What a shame & an ongoing saga from the look of things. I’ve played there several times & seen some spectacular orchestral concerts over the years (the best acoustic in Greater London by a mile). Maybe I should apply- won’t get it- but might be worth the application.
Such a shame. My daughter and I attended a London Mozart Players concert with Anna Lapwood performing solo organ works, narrating Young Person’s Guide and performing the organ part in Saint Saens 3rd Symphony. The hall was only a third full, and it looked like they had closed off the circle part of the for sale. Yet Anna Lapwood can sell out the RAH … Surely poor marketing….
I performed in Fairfield in May this year. We did Mahler 3. Admittedly, it was an amateur orchestra, but one which merited a reviewer from Classical source coming to listen. But the audience was pretty minuscule. I suppose it is the lack of serious programming which accounts for this, as a worthwhile programme is marooned in a sea of dross, so its potential audience doesn’t know it’s there. With an acoustic like that it’s a big waste.
By the way, the stage is rather cramped, for the size of the auditorium, and it’s a pity they couldn’t fix that within the multi million spend.