Residency ends living-room rehearsals

THE piano trio Trioz has been appointed ensemble-in-residence at City Recital Hall in Sydney, a rare partnership between an Australian musical group and a venue.

Though many art galleries employ artists-in-residence, long-term residencies for musicians are unusual.

During the three-year collaboration, City Recital Hall will provide the trio with free rehearsal and performance space.

Each year Trioz will perform a series of monthly lunchtime concerts and five subscription concerts at the hall. Box office profits will be divided between the ensemble and the venue.

Trioz's pianist, Kathryn Selby, says the residency is a model for other venues.

Critics praised the group for its inaugural season last year but it struggled to find affordable venues with good acoustics and quality grand pianos. Until now most rehearsals took place in Selby's living room.

An added incentive for Trioz is the prestige of an association with the City Recital Hall.

"It's a world-class venue, which not only gives us an audience interested in hearing us but also a fair amount of status," Selby says.

The hall's general manager, Bronwyn Edinger, says providing performance space free is a risk but hopes the regular and informal lunchtime concerts will help pull in bigger crowds.

"Together we can get people from the wider community interested in a range of music without having a big financial outlay," she says.

The residency is modelled on similar ventures overseas. The artist-in-residence program at Wigmore Hall in London has launched the careers of the Belcea Quartet and the baroque music ensemble Florilegium. The Lincoln Centre in New York has its Chamber Music Society, a group of 35 musicians who support the venue's visiting artists.

Edinger believes Australia's large venues need to be more active in supporting emerging artists. If Trioz's residency is a success, the City Recital Hall plans to extend the program.

"Having a regular group of artists coming in and out will really animate the building," she says.

"We're not just bricks and mortar. We want to make a contribution to the arts and give new groups a helping hand."

Trioz's first performance as ensemble-in-residence is at City Recital Hall, Angel Place, on February 19.