The Story of Stoller: Unveiling the wonder of Manchester’s modern music venue

From breathtaking interior design to revolutionary acoustic construction and more, The Stoller Hall has captivated live music-lovers for almost seven years with shows from a wide array of world-renowned musical talent in the heart of Manchester. We went down to the award-winning contemporary music venue, situated in Chetham’s School of Music, to discover more about the trailblazing concert space charting a course into the future of live performance.

Built for around £8.7m, over £7.5m of which was donated by philanthropist and titular benefactor Sir Norman Stoller, and officially opened by Prince Edward in 2017, the stunning city centre venue embodies the boundless versatility of modern, pioneering music with unobtrusive yet groundbreaking design features which saw it named one of the best new buildings in the UK by RIBA.

Forming the nucleus of the Stoller Hall, the bright, spacious Oglesby Atrium welcomes visitors with purposeful angles and innovative configuration which separates the day-to-day operations of the venue from the Chetham’s classrooms overhead. Along its walls, the Jeremy Haworth Gallery showcases artwork by a variety of talented creators and students, open to explore before live performances and during intervals. Currently, the gallery features pieces by Fine Arts students from the University of Salford, whose work reflects the creative depth of musical diversity by drawing inspiration from the rhythms and syncopations of 20th-century jazz to the eclectic, vivid expressiveness of genres from around the world including flamenco, qawwali, gospel, klezmer and others.

Opposite the Jeremy Haworth Gallery, the Carole Nash Hall offers an intimate, highly adaptable space for up to 170 guests, with an open, level floor, dimmable lighting and a flexible seating arrangement providing the perfect environment for smaller-scale performances, presentations and breakout sessions.

Across the atrium, the principal concert hall features some of the most inventive contemporary venue design in the country, from an adjustable stage – able to extend from 8.5m to 12.5m to accommodate ensemble orchestras of any size – to accessible seating across three levels with an elevated gantry for unrivalled in-the-round performances. In a truly unique structural revelation, the hall also features discreet under-floor seating which emerges via a hydraulics system for larger audiences.

Alongside state-of-the-art lighting and large-scale video projection facilities, The Stoller Hall boasts a world-class acoustic set-up designed by global sustainable development consultancy Arup. Flanked by cutting-edge wood paneling in both performance spaces to create a variable sonic atmosphere which perfectly compliments a diverse range of events including jazz, conferences and orchestral rehearsals, the hall was devised as an immensely complex ‘box-in-box’ construction to isolate noise from city centre traffic, nearby public transport networks and neighbouring classrooms, ensuring total silence for a peerless musical experience.

From its embryonic design stages to its completion, The Stoller Hall has emphatically prioritised accessibility for audience members of all requirements, with wheelchair ramps throughout the venue, accessible parking spots around the area and dedicated Access Scheme, which provides wheelchair spaces in the concert halls and free spaces for personal assistants.

For more information and a full schedule of events and concerts at The Stoller Hall, visit the website.