Today (21 June) at the new state of the art 1,200 seat Perth Concert Hall, Horsecross announced its first exciting season (Sep:Dec) for Perth Theatre and Perth Concert Hall, including music, drama, new media, comedy, family events and more.

"We aim to develop a reputation for a great artistic programme and a family friendly approach," said Jane Spiers, Chief Executive. "The first season features Michael Nyman, Sir Willard White, the Average White Band, Nils Lofgren, Capercaille, Blind Boys of Alabama, Kate Adie, Vusi Mahlasela, Kyung-Wha Chung, Shakin Stevens, theatre classics Macbeth and Great Expectations, a family panto, children's dance, storytelling and drumming workshops and comedian Al Murray. We think it's fair to say there's something for everyone there."

The programme offers great value for money; with a kids go free launch promotion and tickets for concerts from as little as £5 and £8 for world class theatre. Audiences are being invited to take up horsecrossregular membership to enjoy even more discounts on tickets and food. Membership is only £10 for adults and £5 for children each year and also offers early notice on hot tickets, information on new acts booked a priority booking service. Horsecross has a high profile 'trial event' this week when HM Queen Elizabeth visits the concert hall (23 June) to see work in progress and be guest of honour for the first performance in the auditorium, featuring local children of the schools' youth orchestra and Perth Youth Theatre. 500 local children will join The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh in the audience for this private performance.

Provost Bob Scott, who will co-host the Queen's visit said: "I have no doubt that the new Concert Hall will be a significant feature in the cultural landscape of Perth and Kinross and in the wider Scottish arts community. This has been an immense and ambitious project and I congratulate everyone involved for their contributions to its success. I am sure that the Horsecross team will go from strength to strength in establishing and consolidating a worthy reputation for this prestigious venue." The concert hall opens in September with 2 launch weekends that showcase the Horsecross style - community participation, adventurous programming, unique commissions and world class artists. The launch weekends and family programme have been supported by Norwich Union. The sponsorship attracted New Partners funding from Arts & Business.

"Norwich Union has been delighted to invest £1m in the construction of this magnificent Concert Hall and we are continuing to invest in the artistic programme," said Patrick Snowball, Chief Executive. "We are pleased to announce today that we are offering Horsecrossregular membership to all our employees and we are already discussing with Horsecross how staff can be involved in the community programme on a volunteer basis." "The support, enthusiasm and very real connection between Horsecross and Norwich Union has been remarkable," said Iain Halliday, chair of Horsecross. "This partnership is much more than a cheque handover and we hope we can continue to work together in a significant way for many years to come."

The doors of Perth Concert Hall will be thrown open to the public on Saturday 10 September for a 2-day fiesta called Come Away In. FREE for all to enjoy it will be non-stop from 10am-5pm each day with drumming, singing, music, theatre, clowning and street entertainment. Light Fantastic, a large-scale searchlight project also launches on the 10th and runs for a week, blasting light into Autumn skies from the roof of the concert hall.

Midweek, on 14 September legendary artist, Janek Schaefer launches the Threshold new media space with a new commission. Threshold is a pioneering art space, an inventive playground for digital art, film, photography, sound and images, with a bank of 22 Screens in the foyer, an interactive audio-visual doorway, giant projection wall and sound boxes in the floor.

The official launch comes the following week, with 3 signature events: 

•  Fri 16 Sep: RSNO 100-strong orchestra conducted by Garry Walker featuring Craig Armstrong commission; scoring films by artists Dalziel & Scullion. 
• Sat 17 Sep: Pearls of the Tay featuring international percussion guru Trilok Gurtu as musical director for a night of world-traditional music from an international ensemble and around 80 of Perthshire's best. 
• Sun 18 Sep: Belle & Sebastian, Scotland's cult contemporary classics.

The weekend is designed to show off creative programming and the building's best features. Each night will be attended by scores of VIPs.

The new season at Perth Theatre launches on Tuesday 21 September with Loot by Joe Orton. Creative Directors (Theatre), Graham McLaren and Ian Grieve, aim to put Perth at the forefront of producing theatre in the UK. There is an international flavour to 7-play season, with a tantalising treat of old masters, modern classics, and new writing from Joe Orton, Shakespeare, Dickens, Vaclav Havel, Christopher Hampton, John Mighton and Racine. There will also be a traditional family panto - Sleepng Beauty starring 'dame' Jimmy Chisholm. 

Tickets go on sale on Saturday 25 June 2005  www.horsecross.co.uk