Friends demonstrate for concert hall

The Friends of the Performing Arts Precinct staged a demonstration outside of Member for Gosford Ms Marie Andrews' Woy Woy office on May 28, calling for a large-scale concert hall for performing arts on the Central Coast.

Committee member Ms Sheelagh Noonan said the local community wanted and deserved a large-scale concert hall on the Central Coast.

"The lack of an appropriate venue for performing arts on the Central Coast has been obvious to many people for at least a decade, and this includes people on the Peninsula," Ms Noonan said.

"The Friends of the Performing Arts Precinct has membership from across the Coast as well as the Peninsula because the issue effects the whole community.

"The community wants and deserves a concert hall for large scale performances of all types of music.

"This will benefit audiences, performers, businesses, employment and will attract visitors and performers from across Australia.

"Instead of people leaving the area to live elsewhere owing to lack of facilities and jobs, they will be attracted to the opportunities that will be created.

"This is the experience of many cities and towns across Australia.

"The purpose of our weekly concert hall gatherings is to raise awareness of the issue with the three levels of government.

"We want this project to be included in the Federal Government's infrastructure projects happening all across Australia right now."

Fellow committee member Claire O'Connor said other regions in Australia had the privilege of having appropriate performing arts venues and it was time for the Central Coast to have the same.

"Similar regions such as Penrith, Parramatta and Canberra all have excellent venues in which their music groups perform but music lovers of our region pack into small halls with little or no view of the performers on the stage, and decidedly sub-standard acoustics," Ms O'Connor said.

"As a result, many local music-lovers make the trip to Sydney or Newcastle so that they can enjoy the sounds they love in some comfort.

"Our wonderful bands, orchestras and choirs have been struggling with this situation for decades and it is time the Central Coast received its share of the funding that is available for the arts in NSW."

Ms O'Connor said campaign founder and Terrigal sculptor Mr Phocion Voulos was getting overwhelming support from the local community for his fight for a Central Coast concert hall.

"Each Thursday Phocion stands outside Belinda Neal's office to draw the attention of our Federal representative to the fact that nowhere on the coast is there a concert hall," Ms O'Connor said.

"He is regularly joined by, among others, the Friends of the Performing Arts Precinct which is an organisation formed in 2005 with the purpose of having a concert hall, conservatorium and other performance areas constructed to meet the needs of music lovers of all types. "They want a place where everything from pop, folk and country and western to classics, choir, rock and jazz could be enjoyed."

Ms O'Connor said for this reason, some of Mr Voulos' supporters demonstrated outside Ms Andrews' Woy Woy office last week.

"We are pleased with the encouragement given by the locals and hope that many will decide to the help the Central Coast to acquire a beautiful performing arts building by joining The Friends of the Performing Arts Precinct," Ms O'Connor said.

"Our membership is only $10 and can be made by sending name and address to FOPAP, PO Box 1303, Gosford, 2250."

Press release, 29 May 2009 Claire O'Connor, The Friends of the Performing Arts Precinct