Historic Sydney building flagged for Australian Brandenburg Orchestra

The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra is among the classical music groups that would make a home at the Registrar General’s Building.

The Registrar General's Building in Sydney.

A heritage building in central Sydney could become a new home for classical music, as the NSW government considers plans to redevelop the Registrar General’s Building as a “Symphony Centre”.

Groups including the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and the Sydney Youth Orchestra would be resident at the new ­facility, the latest in a recent growth spurt of cultural venues in the harbour city.

The Symphony Centre, if ­approved, would possibly include a concert venue for public performances, rehearsal spaces, offices and storage areas.

An early concept design for the Registrar General's Building in Sydney, redeveloped as a cultural venue.

A meeting convened by Arts Minister Don Harwin in 2019 and involving the heads of local music organisations identified the need for affordable and available venues suitable for classical music, in addition to the Opera House and the City Recital Hall.

The Registrar General’s Building, also known as the Land Titles Office, near the top of Macquarie Street, had been earmarked for possible redevelopment as a decorative arts museum, with exhibits from the Powerhouse Museum.

When the government later committed to maintaining the Powerhouse Museum at Ultimo, in addition to constructing a new museum at Parramatta, options for the Registrar General’s Building shifted to the Symphony Centre concept.

The sandstone building was designed by NSW government architect Walter Liberty Vernon, who also designed the nearby Art Gallery of NSW, the State ­Library and other civic buildings.

If plans go ahead, the Symphony Centre would be part of a cultural precinct that also includes the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the Sydney Opera House.

The ABO recently moved to headquarters in Mascot, but for several years has made a case to develop a Centre for Baroque Excellence that would specialise in the performance of music from the 18th century.

While the ABO would be the anchor resident at the Symphony Centre, other users could include the Omega Ensemble and period ensemble ARCO.

The state government is investing in several culture projects in Sydney, including the Sydney Modern art gallery, the new museum at Parramatta and the Walsh Bay arts precinct that will include new homes for the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Bell Shakespeare.