Are you a music-lover who wants to own a piece of your region’s history? Central Coast Conservatorium of Music invites you to take a seat – literally – in its refurbished Robert Knox Hall to help secure the future of musical talent on the Coast.
The Conservatorium’s Take a Seat campaign – offering members of the community the opportunity to have their name on a plaque on one of the new 72 permanent seats in the hall – was officially launched on Sunday, 2 April at the first public concert to be held in the renovated Robert Knox Hall.
The Charmian & Friends fundraising concert – arranged by Conservatorium patron and acclaimed violinist Charmian Gadd OAM – featured pianist Phillip Shovk and cellist Georg Pedersen.
“We are inviting supporters to join us in celebrating 40 years of music education on the Coast, and be part of the region’s history, by dedicating one of the new fixed seats in our stunning hall,” Central Coast Conservatorium of Music President, Claire Braund said.
“In this way supporters and donors can be part of the audience in spirit for every concert, recital and performance and have their generosity appropriately acknowledged.”
Guests at the special concert included Member for Gosford Liesl Tesch.
A Place for Everyone
- Dedicate a fixed seat with your name for five years for a donation of $1,000.
- Donors will be invited to renew the seat after five years.
- Alternatively leave your lasting legacy with a permanent plaque, in perpetuity, for a donation of $5,000.
- Donors will be given a choice of seat (demand pending)
Please take this opportunity to play your part in the Central Coast Conservatorium of Music’s history and in its exciting future.
About Robert Knox Hall
Formerly a courtroom in the old Gosford Courthouse and Police Station dating back to 1849, Robert Knox Hall is part of the Central Coast Conservatorium of Music campus at 45 Mann Street, Gosford – the oldest public building on the Central Coast.
Designed by colonial architect Mortimer Lewis the building originally consisted of a courthouse, clerk’s room, magistrate’s room, two cells, a constable’s room and a yard.
Significant alterations, designed by architect James Barnet, were made to the building in the 1880s and included a new courtroom (now Robert Knox Hall). The building was used as a courthouse and police station until the early 1980s.
In 1988 the Central Coast Conservatorium of Music moved into the building, repurposing the courthouse as a performance and rehearsal space. Later, the hall was named after the Central Coast Conservatorium founder, the late Robert ‘Bob’ Knox.
In 2021, with the support of the NSW State Government the hall underwent an exciting refurbishment including the installation of fixed tiered seating, including disability seating, plus the installation of essential A/V and digital equipment.
