WONGAVERY GALLERY OPENING
JUNE 2022
HRH The Duke of Gloucester officially opened the WongAvery Music Gallery for Trinity Hall on the 24th June.
During the dedication ceremony in the Music Gallery, Vice-Master Dr Daniel Tyler and Vice-Chair of the Avery-Tsui Foundation Natasha Wong, addressed the guests, before a dedication given by alumnus Revd Cortland Fransella. The ceremony concluded by the Director of Music Andrew Arthur, who played a piece on the piano in the new space.
Dr Tyler said: “Avery Court has been transformed by the addition of the WongAvery Music Gallery. This state-of-the art musical recital and rehearsal space is a stunning addition to the College. We are grateful to His Royal Highness for formally opening the building.
“We offer our sincere thanks to the Avery-Tsui Foundation for their support. It is wonderful to be in this space at the heart of Trinity Hall and know that it has been built thanks to the love of music and the love of the College on the part of a former student and his family. I am sure it will inspire future generations of students.”
PLANNING PERMISSION GRANTED FOR WONG AVERY GALLERY
MAY 2018
Planning permission has been granted for the construction of a small new music practice and performance space for Trinity Hall, Cambridge. The stone-built music practice and recital space will sit in the centre of Avery Court, on the College’s central Cambridge site, adjacent to several listed buildings including the chapels of both Trinity Hall and Clare College. It will be named the Wong Avery Gallery in recognition of its primary funders, the family of the late Dennis Avery, the College Fellow after whom the Court is named. The addition of the new building will greatly improve the College’s offer for students and staff participating in or studying music and enrich the cultural life of the College as a whole.
It is a simple loadbearing construction made of thin stone columns and beams. It is a composition of cubic forms, with a Greek cross plan-form. Performances will take place in the centre, with audience seating in bay windows at the ends of each arm, the walls of which are lined with shelves to store sheet music. Over the crossing, a glazed lantern brings light into the centre of the building and is lined with acoustic shutters which allow the reverbera- tion time of the space to be finely tuned according to the number of musicians and audience members for each rehearsal or performance. As part of the proposals, the court will be landscaped to designs by Kim Wilkie, with a large paved area surrounded by borders filled with predominantly green shrubs and climbing plants.
The project is due to start on site during the academic year 2018 -19.