Reporter: Janette Nation
Joan Peggs organized a delightful tour of the Baumann Centre for Pacific Opera, at 925 Balmoral Road, Victoria. The CEO showed us over the building and he and the music administrator, gave an entertaining talk on the Centre, and their respective roles. The music administrator delighted us with a wonderful, solo piano performance.
Joan Peggs had ordered trays of wraps, dips and fruit from Thrifty Foods, so we enjoyed a lunch underneath the carved, acoustical canopy in the Wingate Studio. An enjoyable time was had by all who attended.
About the Baumann Centre
"The Baumann Centre is the culmination of a year's-long search by Pacific Opera Victoria to find a long-term home and to develop an integrated artistic facility that would amalgamate our administration, training, and rehearsal spaces.
In 2013, Pacific Opera Victoria secured a 10-year lease on the two-storey Hall of the Church of St. John the Divine. During 2014, Architect Franc D'Ambrosio oversaw acoustic engineering for the 2,500 sq. ft. Wingate Studio, as well as construction of an office suite, music room, and public entrance. In January of 2015, Pacific Opera Victoria moved into the 7,000 square-foot facility.
Designed as a multi-use space, the Baumann Centre is the main rehearsal space for POV's opera productions, and a venue for our artist training and community engagement and education activities, including exhibits, conferences, lectures, and workshops. As the Centre also features a large commercial kitchen, it is an ideal venue for receptions and special events for POV's patrons and donors.
Because the Baumann Centre provides the only acoustically engineered space in Greater Victoria that is designed explicitly for music making, workshops, and opera rehearsals, it is creating enhanced opportunities for artistic creation, public engagement and artist training, not only for Pacific Opera Victoria, but for other community organizations, including the Greater Victoria Youth Orchestra, the Victoria Children's Choir, and the Greater Victoria Performing Arts Festival, which use the space for their musical programs,
The heart of the Opera Centre is Wingate Studio, 2,500-square foot rehearsal and music making space, named in honour of donor Lydia Wingate. Wingate Studio is not only practical, but beautiful. A stunning acoustic ceiling canopy has been created by Kwagiulth Artist and former opera singer Carey Newman. This magnificent piece of First Nations art helps make the Opera Centre something very special indeed – a place of musical and visual delight, where artists, young people, and the community can explore opera.
The Centre is named in honour of the late Victoria philanthropist Egon Baumann, whose Egon Baumann Music Foundation, chaired by Eric Charman, made a $500,000 gift to name the Centre and to establish the Egon Baumann Fund for Pacific Opera Victoria.
Major funding was provided by the Department of Canadian Heritage Cultural Spaces Fund and the British Columbia Creative Spaces Program. Many other generous donors contributed to the project in order to create this wonderful gift to the community.
Many features in the Centre, including Wingate Studio, are named in honour of donors to the project. All donors to the Opera Centre Naming Campaign are also acknowledged on a special dedicated Donor Wall for Opera Centre donations."
If you would like to make a donation to support Pacific Opera Victoria's ongoing artistic and community programming, including their education programs offered at the Baumann Centre.
- Please call 250.382.1641
- Or donate online
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