The Wellington Town Hall is a grade one listed heritage building which has been closed since 2013 for earthquake strengthening. Photo: Wellington City Council
A new multi-million dollar recording facility is set to make Wellington's Town Hall the centre piece of the country's film industry and classical music scene.
The building will become the only dedicated studio in the country large enough to record the entire New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO).
Filmmakers Sir Peter Jackson and Dame Fran Walsh gifted $2 million to help fit out the building with state of the art recording equipment and rehearsal spaces.
Jackson said sound engineers from London's Abbey Road Studios had given the building's acoustics rave reviews when they recorded the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra there during the making of The Hobbit.
"After they'd spent a couple of weeks analysing the auditorium, the Abbey Road engineers declared Wellington's old Town Hall to be 'one of the best acoustic spaces' they had ever encountered," Jackson said.
"When the Town Hall was built, microphones and tape recorders didn't exist, they hadn't been invented. It was built to be a live performance venue with the sound of every voice and instrument bouncing perfectly from wall to wall. Those clever Victorians sure understood the complex science of acoustic engineering."
NZSO chief executive Peter Biggs said the studio would be a part of a National Music Centre in partnership with the NZSO, Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington's New Zealand School of Music-Te Kōkī, and Wellington City Council.
"The NZSO has a proud history of recording for film, including Hollywood blockbusters. While the recording suite is significant for the NZSO, it will also help raise the profile of Aotearoa New Zealand as a one-stop shop for film making talent, whether it's acting and directing, visual effects or film scoring," Biggs said.
"This is essential for Aotearoa New Zealand to continue to attract international productions and to produce world-class home-grown films and television series."
Earthquake strengthening the Wellington Town Hall is scheduled to be completed in 2025. Photo: RNZ
The Wellington Town Hall has been closed for earthquake strengthening for over a decade.
The cost of strengthening the building had ballooned from $43 million to $182.4m after complications arising from the Kaikōura earthquake and materials and shipping cost blow-outs following the pandemic.
NZSO senior manager of projects Craig Thorne said he was unable to divulge the full cost of the studio due to commercial sensitivities, but said the orchestra and university had a joint fund-raising target of $30m.
The orchestra was appealing to the council to contribute towards the ongoing operation costs of the National Music Centre in the building, he said.
"We think there's tremendous value for all community members to be able to access the building and come in and use the facilities and make the most of the investment that everyone's made," Thorne said.
The orchestra had probably recorded in every available space in the capital while contributing to nearly 50 film scores in recent decades, he said.
He saw the combination of the studio, the building's acoustic environment and a world class orchestra as a key attraction in bringing future film work to Wellington.
"For any producer, coming in to record with the orchestra, having all the facilities available all of the time is what will make our offering distinctly different and very competitive with the established studios throughout the world," Thorne said.
Earthquake strengthening the Wellington Town Hall is scheduled to be completed in 2025 and Thorne said he hoped the studio would be fully operational by early 2026.
"This project represents a huge commitment from our organisation. We've still got a long way to go. [But] the end result will be a fantastic venue, superbly fitted out studio spaces and an orchestra that's busy working in there all of the time."