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Camden News - by SIMON WROE
Published: 12 June 2008

From left: Katrin Andersson, Lesley Jacob and Julia Whitburn, who all live nearby, get a feel for the new Kings Place development

Champagne toast to Kings concert venue

Neighbours delighted by ‘absolutely brilliant’ plans

IT’S still a few months before Kings Place, London’s first new concert hall in 26 years, opens. But good sounds are already coming from the premises.
Music lovers and local residents are counting the days down until the launch after they were treated to a sneak peek of the 10-storey offices and arts development in York Way, King’s Cross, on Thursday.
Nearly 200 people enjoyed champagne and canapes in the steel and limestone atrium. A harpist provided a taste of what concert-goers can expect in the coming months.
The real gasps of admiration were reserved for Hall One, the 420-seat auditorium which will host the cream of the classical music world when it opens in October.
Lesley Jacob, a neighbour, said: “We’ve been watching the building with interest for years. The fact that they’re having resident orchestras is absolutely brilliant. Who needs the West End? We will definitely be here.”
The buzz has been growing steadily around Kings Place.
Concert tickets will be a third of the price of the West End and site developer Peter Millican, a classical music enthusiast, will personally oversee the running of the building.
Jeremy Dixon, a partner with the architects of Kings Place, Dixon Jones, said the project had no precedent in England.
“It’s a unique building,” he said. “You don’t get in the front door of most office buildings. [Peter] has a personal idea of the office being an inclusive building and he will be at the core of the management. Developers want to make money, but Peter has a vested interest in making it work.”
One hundred short concerts will open Kings Place in October.
Nearby resident Julia Whitburn said: “They’ve been very clever with the short concerts. It could be the way forward for classical audiences.”

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