Music Centre of Christchurch, Former convent and chapel music facility in Christchurch, New Zealand
The Music Centre of Christchurch occupied four heritage buildings on Barbadoes Street: the 1882 Francis Petre convent, a 1902 extension, a 1930 girls' hostel and the 1907 chapel by Joseph Munnings, one of the Southern Hemisphere's few Byzantine Revival examples. The chapel served as the main performance space. The three-storey main building was demolished after the February 2011 earthquake.
The centre was established in 1994 in buildings that once housed a religious order and school dating back to 1881. Following the 2011 earthquake, operations relocated to a new facility on Antigua Street.
The chapel, built in 1907, served as the centre's primary performance space. The Christchurch School of Music, one of the tenants, taught about 800 students weekly with 80 teachers at the centre and the adjacent Catholic Cathedral College.
Be aware that the original site on Barbadoes Street no longer operates following earthquake damage. The current facility on Antigua Street is where classes, rehearsals, and performances take place.
The 1907 chapel, designed by Joseph Munnings with Samuel Hurst Seager and Cecil Wood, served as the centre's main performance space. Its Byzantine Revival form is described as one of the only examples of that style in the Southern Hemisphere.
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