Sage Gateshead
Encyclopedia
The Sage Gateshead is a centre for musical education, performance and conferences, located in Gateshead
on the south bank of the River Tyne
, in the northeast of England
. It opened in 2004.
The venue is part of the Gateshead Quays
development, which also includes the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art
and the Gateshead Millennium Bridge
.
The centre occupies a curved glass and stainless steel building designed by Foster and Partners
, Buro Happold
(structural engineering), Mott MacDonald
(building services) and Arup
(acoustics), with views of Newcastle and Gateshead Quaysides, the Tyne Bridge
, and the Gateshead Millennium Bridge
.
Planning for the centre began in the early 1990s, when the Northern Sinfonia
orchestra, with encouragement from Northern Arts, began working on plans for a new concert hall. They were soon joined by regional folk music development agency Folkworks
,
which ensured that the needs of the region's traditional music
were taken into consideration; folk music
is well-represented in the Sage's programme of events, alongside classical
, jazz
, acoustic
, indie, country
, world
, electronic and dance
. Practice spaces for professional musicians, students and amateurs were an important part of the provision.
The planning and construction process cost over £70 million, which was raised primarily through National Lottery grants. The contractor was Laing O'Rourke
. The centre has a range of patrons, notably Sage Group
which contributed a large sum of money to have the building named after it. Sage plc has helped support the charitable activities of The Sage Gateshead since its conception. The venue opened over the weekend 17 – 19 December 2004.
The Sage Gateshead is also available as a conference venue: for example it hosted the Labour Party's Spring conference in February 2005. In August 2009, the National Union of Students announced that their 2010 and 2011 National Conferences would be held at the Sage Gateshead.
The Sage Gateshead contains three performance spaces; a 1,700-seater, a 400-seater and a smaller rehearsal and performance hall, the Northern Rock Foundation Hall. The rest of the building was designed around these three spaces to allow for maximum attention to detail in their acoustic properties. Structurally it is three separate buildings, insulated from each other to prevent noise and vibration travelling between them. The gaps between them may be seen as one walks around inside. A special 'spongy' concrete mix was used in the construction, with a higher-than-usual air capacity to improve the acoustic. These three buildings are enclosed (but not touched) by the now-famous glass and steel shell. Hall One was intended as an acoustically perfect space, modelled on the renowned Musikverein in Vienna. Its ceiling panels may be raised and lowered and curtains drawn across the ribbed wooden side walls, changing the sound profile of the room to suit any type of music. Hall Two is a smaller venue, possibly the world's only ten-sided performance space. The building's concourse was designed to be used for informal music-making. Below the concourse level is the Music Education Centre, where workshops, community music courses and day-to-day instrumental teaching takes place.
The building is open to the public throughout the day. Visitors can see rehearsals, soundchecks and workshops in progress. It has five bars, a brasserie
, the "Sir Michael Straker Café", and "The Barbour Room" – a multi-purpose function room which holds around 200 people. There is also "ExploreMusic": a technologically well-equipped musical branch of Gateshead public library, stocking books, and current magazines covering all aspects of music, a CD library with listening posts, and computers with free internet access, subscriptions to music websites, and music software.
There has been popular debate surrounding The Sage Gateshead. There is a broad base of local support for the centre, including cross-party backing from local government
. Conversely, some feel that along with the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art
it represents an invasion of highbrow
culture that is irrelevant to most of the population, and that the money might be better spent on other projects, such as improving Gateshead's residential areas and High Street
. However, the money made available to the project build via Lottery Grants would not have been given for such general improvements to the area. The majority of local people from Gateshead and Newcastle feel as if The Sage Gateshead is very much part of their community and often attend classes and performances in the building as well as using it as a local facility. Many schools have been involved in performances at the Sage.
The building itself has its admirers and detractors. While many people; including locals, hold it to be a fine example of Norman Foster's design, others draw comparisons with a large slug. Gavin Stamp
, writing as "Piloti" in Private Eye
's Nooks and Corners column, suggested that the structure resembles a "shiny condom
".
The Sage Gateshead has won many awards, including the Local Authority Building of the Year in the 2005 British Construction Industry Awards
and the RIBA Award for Inclusive Design.
, a number of influential visiting musicians have performed at the Sage Gateshead, including The Acanto Quartet, Mitsuko Uchida, Angela Hewitt
, Imogen Cooper, Martin Roscoe, Peter Donohoe, Elizabeth Watts, Emma Kirkby, Anthony Rooley, James Brown, George Clinton/Funkadelic, Lesley Garrett, Nancy Sinatra, Shawn Colvin
, Goldfrapp, David Crosby and Graham Nash, The Cinematic Orchestra
, Robert Plant, Morrisey, Bob Geldof
, Van Morrison, Herbie Hancock, John Scofield, Gilberto Gil, Mc Coy Tyner, Grace Jones
, Jen Stevens and The Hiccups and Elbow
.
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
on the south bank of the River Tyne
River Tyne
The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...
, in the northeast of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It opened in 2004.
The venue is part of the Gateshead Quays
Quayside
The Quayside is an area along the banks of the River Tyne in Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead in the North East of England, United Kingdom....
development, which also includes the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art
The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art is an international centre for contemporary art located on the south bank of the River Tyne alongside the Gateshead Millennium Bridge in Gateshead, North East England, United Kingdom...
and the Gateshead Millennium Bridge
Gateshead Millennium Bridge
The Gateshead Millennium Bridge is a pedestrian and cyclist tilt bridge spanning the River Tyne in England between Gateshead's Quays arts quarter on the south bank, and the Quayside of Newcastle upon Tyne on the north bank. The award-winning structure was conceived and designed by architects...
.
Origins
Foster and Partners
Foster + Partners is an architectural firm based in London. The practice is led by its founder and Chairman, Norman Foster, and has constructed many high-profile glass-and-steel buildings....
, Buro Happold
Buro Happold
Buro Happold is a professional services firm providing engineering consultancy, design, planning, project management and consulting services for all aspects of buildings, infrastructure and the environment, with its head office in Bath, Somerset...
(structural engineering), Mott MacDonald
Mott MacDonald
The Mott MacDonald Group is an employee-owned company management, engineering and development consultancy serving the public and private sectors world-wide...
(building services) and Arup
Arup
Arup is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom which provides engineering, design, planning, project management and consulting services for all aspects of the built environment. The firm is present in Africa, the Americas, Australasia, East Asia, Europe and the...
(acoustics), with views of Newcastle and Gateshead Quaysides, the Tyne Bridge
Tyne Bridge
The Tyne Bridge is a through arch bridge over the River Tyne in North East England, linking Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead. It was designed by the engineering firm Mott, Hay and Anderson, who later designed the Forth Road Bridge, and was built by Dorman Long and Co. of Middlesbrough. At the time...
, and the Gateshead Millennium Bridge
Gateshead Millennium Bridge
The Gateshead Millennium Bridge is a pedestrian and cyclist tilt bridge spanning the River Tyne in England between Gateshead's Quays arts quarter on the south bank, and the Quayside of Newcastle upon Tyne on the north bank. The award-winning structure was conceived and designed by architects...
.
Planning for the centre began in the early 1990s, when the Northern Sinfonia
Northern Sinfonia
The Northern Sinfonia is a British chamber orchestra, based initially in Newcastle upon Tyne, and currently in Gateshead. For the first 46 years of its history, the orchestra gave the bulk of its concerts at the City Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne. Since 2004, the orchestra has been resident at The...
orchestra, with encouragement from Northern Arts, began working on plans for a new concert hall. They were soon joined by regional folk music development agency Folkworks
Folkworks
Folkworks is a non-profit organisation based at The Sage Gateshead and a part of the North Music Trust. It runs many workshops, summer schools and festivals to promote and encourage the furtherance of folk music. It was begun in 1988 by Alistair Anderson and Ros Rigby and became part of the North...
,
which ensured that the needs of the region's traditional music
Music of Northumbria
Here Northumbria is taken to mean Northumberland, the northernmost county of England, and County Durham. The region possesses a distinctive style of folk music with a strong and continuing tradition...
were taken into consideration; folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
is well-represented in the Sage's programme of events, alongside classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, acoustic
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
, indie, country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, world
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
, electronic and dance
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
. Practice spaces for professional musicians, students and amateurs were an important part of the provision.
The planning and construction process cost over £70 million, which was raised primarily through National Lottery grants. The contractor was Laing O'Rourke
Laing O'Rourke
Laing O'Rourke is a multinational construction company headquartered in Dartford, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1978....
. The centre has a range of patrons, notably Sage Group
Sage Group
The Sage Group plc , commonly known as Sage, is a global enterprise software company headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. It is the world's third-largest supplier of enterprise resource planning software , the largest supplier to small businesses, and has 6.1 million customers...
which contributed a large sum of money to have the building named after it. Sage plc has helped support the charitable activities of The Sage Gateshead since its conception. The venue opened over the weekend 17 – 19 December 2004.
The Sage Gateshead is also available as a conference venue: for example it hosted the Labour Party's Spring conference in February 2005. In August 2009, the National Union of Students announced that their 2010 and 2011 National Conferences would be held at the Sage Gateshead.
The building
The building is open to the public throughout the day. Visitors can see rehearsals, soundchecks and workshops in progress. It has five bars, a brasserie
Brasserie
In France and the Francophone world, a brasserie is a type of French restaurant with a relaxed, upscale setting, which serves single dishes and other meals. The word 'brasserie' is also French for "brewery" and, by extension, "the brewing business"...
, the "Sir Michael Straker Café", and "The Barbour Room" – a multi-purpose function room which holds around 200 people. There is also "ExploreMusic": a technologically well-equipped musical branch of Gateshead public library, stocking books, and current magazines covering all aspects of music, a CD library with listening posts, and computers with free internet access, subscriptions to music websites, and music software.
Opinion
Local government
Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...
. Conversely, some feel that along with the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art
The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art is an international centre for contemporary art located on the south bank of the River Tyne alongside the Gateshead Millennium Bridge in Gateshead, North East England, United Kingdom...
it represents an invasion of highbrow
Highbrow
Used colloquially as a noun or adjective, highbrow is synonymous with intellectual; as an adjective, it also means elite, and generally carries a connotation of high culture. The word draws its metonymy from the pseudoscience of phrenology, and was originally simply a physical descriptor...
culture that is irrelevant to most of the population, and that the money might be better spent on other projects, such as improving Gateshead's residential areas and High Street
High Street
High Street, or the High Street, is a metonym for the generic name of the primary business street of towns or cities, especially in the United Kingdom. It is usually a focal point for shops and retailers in city centres, and is most often used in reference to retailing...
. However, the money made available to the project build via Lottery Grants would not have been given for such general improvements to the area. The majority of local people from Gateshead and Newcastle feel as if The Sage Gateshead is very much part of their community and often attend classes and performances in the building as well as using it as a local facility. Many schools have been involved in performances at the Sage.
The building itself has its admirers and detractors. While many people; including locals, hold it to be a fine example of Norman Foster's design, others draw comparisons with a large slug. Gavin Stamp
Gavin Stamp
Gavin Stamp is a British writer and architectural historian. He is a trustee of the Twentieth Century Society, a registered charity which promotes the appreciation of modern architecture and the conservation of Britain’s architectural heritage...
, writing as "Piloti" in Private Eye
Private Eye
Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
's Nooks and Corners column, suggested that the structure resembles a "shiny condom
Condom
A condom is a barrier device most commonly used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy and spreading sexually transmitted diseases . It is put on a man's erect penis and physically blocks ejaculated semen from entering the body of a sexual partner...
".
The Sage Gateshead has won many awards, including the Local Authority Building of the Year in the 2005 British Construction Industry Awards
British Construction Industry Awards
The British Construction Industry Awards were launched by the New Civil Engineer magazine and Thomas Telford Ltd - both owned by the Institution of Civil Engineers - in 1998....
and the RIBA Award for Inclusive Design.
Appearing Performers
As well as performances by the Sage's chamber orchestra Northern SinfoniaNorthern Sinfonia
The Northern Sinfonia is a British chamber orchestra, based initially in Newcastle upon Tyne, and currently in Gateshead. For the first 46 years of its history, the orchestra gave the bulk of its concerts at the City Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne. Since 2004, the orchestra has been resident at The...
, a number of influential visiting musicians have performed at the Sage Gateshead, including The Acanto Quartet, Mitsuko Uchida, Angela Hewitt
Angela Hewitt
Angela Hewitt, OC, OBE is a Canadian classical pianist. She holds British nationality through her father, Godfrey, who was the organist and choirmaster at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa, Ontario for almost fifty years.-Career:...
, Imogen Cooper, Martin Roscoe, Peter Donohoe, Elizabeth Watts, Emma Kirkby, Anthony Rooley, James Brown, George Clinton/Funkadelic, Lesley Garrett, Nancy Sinatra, Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin is an American singer-songwriter and musician.-Childhood and early career:Colvin was born in Vermillion, South Dakota. Her formative years were spent in the town of Carbondale, Illinois, where she attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She learned to play guitar at the age...
, Goldfrapp, David Crosby and Graham Nash, The Cinematic Orchestra
The Cinematic Orchestra
The Cinematic Orchestra is a British jazz and electronic outfit, created in 1997 by Jason Swinscoe. The band is signed to Ninja Tune independent record label. In addition to Swinscoe, the band includes PC former DJ Food member on turntables, Luke Flowers , Tom Chant , Nick Ramm , Stuart McCallum ...
, Robert Plant, Morrisey, Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
, Van Morrison, Herbie Hancock, John Scofield, Gilberto Gil, Mc Coy Tyner, Grace Jones
Grace Jones
Grace Jones is a Jamaican-American singer, model and actress.Jones secured a record deal with Island Records in 1977, which resulted in a string of dance-club hits. In the late 1970s, she adapted the emerging electronic music style and adopted a severe, androgynous look with square-cut hair and...
, Jen Stevens and The Hiccups and Elbow
Elbow (band)
Elbow are an English rock band. They have played together since 1990 and recorded five studio albums, the most recent of which is Build a Rocket Boys!, released in March 2011...
.