March 14, 2012: Melbourne: Performing Arts Centre
Specialty Group Pty Ltd through its theatre supplies and equipment division, Specialty Theatre Supplies, is proud to announce today the official opening of the new Kantor Family Music and Performing Arts Centre (MPAC) at the Hamilton & Alexandra College, Hamilton, Victoria, Australia. Before a full house of dignitaries, supporters of the school community, staff, students and parents, the Minister for School Education, Early Education and Youth, The Hon. Peter Garrett AM, MP, delivered the 13th biennial Alexandra Oration before pronouncing the Kantor MPAC open.
“Today has been a great culmination of several years of vision” said Hamilton & Alexandra College Principal, Bruce Simons. “We know the importance of music and the performing arts in building confidence and self-esteem. We’re very proud of the facility and what it will providing not only for our students, but the broader community” he continued.
Specialty Theatre Supplies has been involved with this exciting project since the initial design stage and worked closely with the project architect, Greg Kennedy, and the project manager, Peter Irvin through the entire development cycle. This performance space construction project involved both conversion of an existing building to encompass the stage area and construction of a new building to house the seating and control room for the new auditorium.
Specialty Theatre Supplies manufactured and installed all the stage draperies, stage curtain tracks, rotary leg suspensions, and stage rigging including four pile winch line sets, and lighting bars.
Specialty Theatre Supplies’ installed Rotary Leg Suspension Units, sometimes referred to as a swivelling leg bracket systems, which allow for the rotation of the stage leg curtains at any angle which significantly improved the ease of access to the stage. These units also allow the stage to operate in many different modes such as forming a solid “black box” for recital mode. Conversion from one theatre mode to the other is via simple, one-handed operation.
Artists performing at the opening ceremony included the College Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra Victoria Ensemble, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s violinist, Sarah Curro, Opera Australia’s Stacey Alleaume and the Orchestra Victoria Brass Ensemble.
The opening of the new Kantor MPAC at the Hamilton & Alexandra College now positions the school at the forefront of performing arts centres in regional Australia and according to many of the professionals at the opening event, the new facility would easily stand comparison with state-of-the-art performance venues in any capital city.
The importance of providing such facilities to all Australian students was well noted by the Minister in his Oration and the Specialty Group Pty Ltd is both pleased and proud to have played a significant role in achieving the outcome seen and heard today.
On working with Specialty Group, the various participants in the theatre construction project had the following to say: “We’re delighted with Specialty Theatre Supplies and their aspects of the job. Well done everybody” said Greg Kennedy of Greg Kennedy Architects.
“We’ve had a great experience with them”, said Project Manager Peter Irvin, PFI Projects. “They’re a well renowned group, very professional as we’ve come to know them over the years, great to deal with, supplied lots of technical expertise and have got the job done on time and on the money”.
“We’ve worked with a number of partners in this project”, said Bruce Simons. “In the instance of Specialty Theatre Supplies, we’ve been very pleased with the support that we’ve had, and the on-going support. I think it was clearly evident today a lot of thinking, expertise and professionalism goes into making a facility like this a great success. We’re very pleased with the outcome”.
About Specialty Group Pty Ltd: Since 1969, Specialty Group has been providing theatre, stage and cinema equipment and services to the performing arts and cinema exhibition industries in Australia, New Zealand and 28 countries around the world. Specialty Group operates under the Specialty Theatre and Specialty Cinema brand names.
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