The Knox Performance Centre is opening its doors tonight (Thursday), welcoming world-renowned pianist Angela Hewitt.
“I last came to Prince George 33-years-ago and performed here in, I think it was Vanier Hall,” Hewitt said.
“It’s wonderful to be back and to see this new venue which is really perfect for a piano recital and for chamber music, and I think it’s wonderful what they’ve done. It’s a very intimate space with a lovely sound.”
Hewitt added she’s played in many of the greatest concert halls in the world, she’s always happy to come and perform in smaller communities.
“It’s something I’ve always done, and sometimes you even get a much warmer welcome in a place like Prince George than when you’re playing at Carnegie Hall in New York,” she said.
Hewitt will have the honour of being the first to perform at the Knox Performance Centre.
“Since Trinity United came into existence in 2018, we’ve had this desire to continue to serve Prince George in as many different ways as we can,” said Reverend Bob Fillier, Trinity United Church’s Lead Minister.
“The conversation around what do we do with our downtown campus, what are the things that are missing in the city, what are our community partners saying they would like more of, what are we able to do, and it all kind of came together in a whole bunch of partnerships and relationships and conversations to form the Knox Performance Centre.”
Fillier noted the performance centre fills a gap in the city for a mid-sized performance venue.
“It’s not an 800-plus professional performance theatre in the sense of for dramas, larger productions,” he explained.
“For the mid-size two-to-three hundred seats or people in a space that’s affordable for artists, that artists are going to love performing in, people are going to love coming and experiencing those performances, then it definitely gives folks another choice that fills a gap that’s existed for a while in Prince George.”
Fillier added there’s still a desire and a need from the arts community in Prince George for a performance centre that seats around 800-1,000.
“It’s not an ‘either-or’, it’s really a ‘both-and’,” he said.
“We need spaces like the Knox Performance Centre and something like a larger professional theatre.”
Fillier added the performance centre is pretty much lined up for the next 12 months.
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