After three whirlwind weeks of packing, moving and setting up, Mitchell Conservatorium [MitCon] have spent this week settling into their new home at 130 Havannah Street.
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MitCon staff and students commenced operations at the new site on Monday, with a grand opening for the venue yet to be determined [it was meant to be last Friday, but was postponed due to inclement weather].
MitCon executive director Graham Sattler said the new site will prove the perfect match for an ever-expanding music institution.
"It's been a crazy three weeks getting everything ready, but our staff and the local community have been incredibly supportive assisting with the move," Dr Sattler said.
"We can't wait to start building this venue up as our new home."
MitCon was recommended by property owners John Holland Rail as as the ideal tenant for the premises, and were approved by Transport for NSW to occupy the building on a community lease.
The new site once housed the Bathurst Railway District Engineers offices and, more recently, headspace Bathurst.
With 20 per cent more room available in comparison to MitCon's previous site of 43 years in the west wing of Bathurst Court House, Dr Sattler said the new site provides ample room to grow.
"The new site has opened us up to consider programs we haven't been able to run in the past, as well as give our teachers greater flexibility with larger studios," he said.
"We're very excited to be speaking with Bathurst's Wiradyuri elders regarding the development of cultural programs, and there's now a dedicated space for digital music production, which we launched earlier this year."
Dr Sattler said the new site will also complement existing programs.
"We have these beautiful outdoor spaces to implement for various classes [such as the Early Childhood Music Program] without the need to worry about outside individuals occupying the same space," he said.
"In the past, we've been seen principally as an institution for classical music, and this new venue will help us diversify our image and, excitingly, further connect with the broader music community in the Central West."
MitCon is the newest entity to join the growing Bathurst railway precinct, which also includes Tremain's Mill [and associated businesses], The Victoria, Bathurst Rail Museum and Crago Mill.
"We can't wait to reactivate this important piece of the precinct for the community, and with the entire site on one level, it will be accessible for everyone," Dr Sattler said.
"We're going to be great neighbours, and we know already there's some fantastic neighbours among us."
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Sam Bolt
"I'm not in the business of telling people what to do. I'm much more in the business of describing things, situations and stuff like that and leaving them out there, and you can make up your minds about them." -Nick Cave
"I'm not in the business of telling people what to do. I'm much more in the business of describing things, situations and stuff like that and leaving them out there, and you can make up your minds about them." -Nick Cave
