Hamer Hall redevelopment open to the public this Sunday

PREMIER Ted Baillieu inspected works at the new Hamer Hall and was treated to a mini concert - backed by hammers and grinders.

Hamer Hall

BACKED by an orchestra of hammers and angle grinders, and with an audience of only one, cellist Sharon Draper could barely hide her excitement while playing the first "mini-concert" in the new Hamer Hall.

The fact her audience was Ted Baillieu added to the occasion as the Premier ventured behind the barricades to take a rare look at the hidden transformation of one of Melbourne's landmarks this week.

With eight storeys of scaffolding rising from the orchestra pit the development is taking on breathtaking proportions - which Melburnians will be able to experience this Sunday through the Melbourne Open House scheme.

Playing amid the rubble and competing with music from a builder's radio unlikely to have been heard in Hamer Hall before, Ms Draper, a member of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, said it was amazing to step inside the development that so many people tried to glimpse through the barricades every day.

For Mr Baillieu, the chance to see the hall stripped to its shell added to the expectation of the $128 million project, which will be completed midway through next year.

"What a fantastic juxtaposition - the single cello and all of that elevated scaffolding, and knowing that the cello will triumph in the end," he said.

"The public will be fascinated and impressed by the changes.

"The linkage to the river will be very important. There was always a sense of being buried in this building and I don't think that is going to be a problem in the future."

The Hamer Hall redevelopment site will be open to the public from 10am-4pm on Sunday as part of the Melbourne Open House scheme.