Congress Main Venues at the Hofplein
The Main venues of IVC 2018 consists of a pair of facilities located around the Benthemplein square in Rotterdam: The Hofpleintheater and the Gereformeerde Kerk Vrijgemaakt, a church building located right next door.
This venue is located very near the Rotterdam city centre, less than 10 minutes relaxed walk from Rotterdam Central Station. All daytime congress events take place within these two buildings.
The Hofpleintheater features a professional theatre hall with 500 seats, in addition to five smaller studio’s. The main stage offers sufficient space for ensembles of varying sizes, up to small chamber orchestra. A concert-class grand piano is available.
The main foyer includes a permanently staffed bar, with ample space for exhibitors (luthiers/vendor tables), and social interaction. The IVC2018 Service counter is conveniently located in this foyer.
The Gereformeerde Kerk Vrijgemaakt (GKV for short) is located only a few steps away from the Hofpleintheater entrance. If features a church hall with an organ, a piano, dual-head beamer facilities, and more. On the 1st floor, there are a number of small rooms and offices available for practice sessions.
Evening Concert Venues
The Evening Concerts are held on different locations, the most important one being De Doelen concert halls. This complex is located a 15-minute walk away from the Congress Main venue at Hofplein. There are actually several different concert halls within this facility, offering top class acoustics and infrastructure for performers and audiences alike. The two largest among them are used for IVC2018 Evening concerts:
The Doelen Grote Zaal (Main hall), with a total capacity of 2200 seats, is the home of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. In the Netherlands, it is second only to the famous Concertgebouw Amsterdam in terms of yearly visitor counts. In this hall we will experience the (Saturday) evening concert of Lawrence Power with the Bochumer Symphoniker orchestra.
The Doelen Jurriaanse Zaal, with a capacity of 600+ seats, is frequently used for chamber music recitals, and in particular hosts the regular Tuesday-evening series of the Rotterdam Chamber Music Society (Kamermuziekvereeniging Rotterdam). The IVC2018 opening night evening concert with Doelenkwartet will be held here, as will the evening concerts with Nobuko Imai, Atar Arad, Tim Ridout (Thursday) and Kim Kashkashian (Friday)..
Located in the Blaak district (at a 10 minutes’ walk from the Hofpleintheater), the Sint Laurenskerk (Saint Lawrence Church) is the oldest building in Rotterdam, and a site of historical significance. Next to its religious function, the church is frequently used for big concerts. The nationally renowned church choir Laurenscantorij is resident in this church, as is a beautiful carillon in its tower. The Wednesday evening concert with Lawrence (!) Power will be held in this church.
Congress Late-Night Venue: Sociëteit Matrix
For the Late-night events we have been fortunate to enlist the partnership of Sociëteit Matrix, a cozy music club at only 5 minutes’ walk from De Doelen. Here our host, mr. Yaşar Saka and his wife provide excellent acoustic facilities plus a bar with drinks and snacks until the wee hours .
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