St Stephen's hits the right notes

A new £3m music centre that will be used by more than 600 young Hull musicians each week will open on October 1.
Passing motorists and pedestrians will no doubt have noticed the Albemarle Music Centre (pictured right) rising from the ground off Ferensway.

It is being built for the city by the developers of the St Stephen's scheme to replace the original Albemarle Music Centre which was demolished to make way for the £200 million shopping, hotel and leisure complex.
The new music centre will accommodate a performance venue with seating for 250 people, and rehearsal and teaching rooms for 15 Hull musical ensembles ranging from youth orchestras and brass bands to jazz groups and choirs.
Hull Philharmonic Orchestra will use the centre for rehearsals and some of the finest young musicians from across the Humber region will go there for specialist music tuition.
And it will also be used as office accommodation for Hull City Council's Music Service which provides schools-based music lessons for 3,000 children across the city.
"The centre will be a real focus for musical activity and education," says Chris Maynard, head of the Hull Music Service.
"The architecture is very important – it will be a very spacious and airy building and a place where young musicians will really want to go and spend time learning music.
"We expect more than 600 young musicians from Hull schools will use the centre on a weekly basis."
The centre, which will have a lift and full disabled access, will also be used by community groups and people with special needs and learning difficulties.

Royal opera returns

Question: when does Hull's Queen Victoria Square become London's Covent Garden?
Answer: when the sights and sounds of performances from the Royal Opera House are beamed live through the Big Screen.
Starting with Swan Lake on May 31, arts lovers will be able to enjoy world class opera and ballet for free when Queen Victoria Square is turned into an open-air concert venue.
It's the third year running that live performances from the Royal Opera House will be beamed onto the Big Screen.
Hull City Council's Events Team will provide seating for the event which is sponsored by BID Co.
A performance of Don Giovanni will follow on Wednesday June 13, and the programme will end with Tosca on Tuesday July 3
BID manager Ken Baldwin said: "We are delighted to support this year's Royal Opera House series. The events help us to achieve our goal of creating cultural and vibrant early evening economy in the city centre."
People are invited to bring a picnic, and refreshments will be on sale. There will also be live warm-up sessions in Queen Victoria Square prior to the live screenings, which are also taking place at screens in other cities from Aberdeen to London.
For more information visit www.roh.org or www.hullcc.gov.uk or call 300300.

CD Success

A Songs of Slavery CD featuring more than 150 local singers aged between 10 and 70 has almost sold out.
The 19–track CD was produced as a not-for-profit community project to help people learn more about the fight to abolish slavery.
It includes pupils from Sutton Park Primary, Isaac Newton School, Wilberforce College, Hull Community Voices, the Cottingham Chorus and the Beverley Community Choir.
"We are delighted with the public's response to the CD," said organiser Ann Berriman.
"The hard work in leading so many singers through the rehearsals and recordings has been more than worth it." The CD, priced £5, is on sale at the Tourist Information Centre.

Festival cancelled

The company behind the Freedom Rocks Festival, which was due to be held on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th June in East Park, has announced its cancellation.
Emma Krijen-Kemp from Freewill Events said: "A chain of events has created certain delays and it is not possible to rectify this situation in the necessary time frame."
Everyone who has bought a ticket will receive a full refund by contacting directly the ticket agent who supplied their tickets.
There are lots of other events to celebrate Wilberforce 2007, and you can find more about them here www.wilberforce2007.com or ring 300300 and ask for Wilberforce events.