Musical performance at mothballed cathedral is a post-earthquake first

Monday, 9 December 2024

Christ Church Cathedral will resonate with the sound of a brass band - the first musical performance inside the damaged building since the Canterbury earthquakes.

Musical instruments will be played inside the damaged Christ Church Cathedral for the first time since the Canterbury earthquakes.

Woolston Brass - a group founded in 1891 - will perform a short private concert in the mothballed building on Monday, December 16, followed by a public event in Cathedral Square to raise money for the Christchurch City Mission.

The cathedral concert will be livestreamed on the social media pages of Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Limited (CCRL), the charitable company managing the cathedral’s rebuild.

Christ Church Cathedral has been mothballed due to funding issues.

Following the 15-minute performance inside the building, the 30-strong band will move outside for the open air public performance, where a collection will be taken.

Woolston Brass general manager Todd Turner said they did not hesitate when CCRL invited them to play inside the building.

“Woolston Brass are of the same vintage as the cathedral. We have missed it. The cathedral has lots of memories for us and so many amazing musicians have played there.”

Woolston Brass will perform the first musical performance inside the damaged Christ Church Cathedral since the Canterbury earthquakes. (File photo)

Turner said band members were “so sad” the reinstatement project had paused, but were happy to show support for the cathedral and raise money for an important local charity.

Woolston Brass was founded in 1891 and is the “same vintage” as Christ Church Cathedral, its general manager Todd Turner says. (File photo of members of the Woolston Brass Band gathered on the roof of the old Press building, Christchurch, June 1915.)

“We and CCRL are two charities joining forces for another, the City Mission, at Christmas.”

The cathedral restoration project was mothballed in August after it failed to plug an $85 million funding gap. The CCRL said it had no choice but to do so without government support.

Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Ltd chairperson Mark Stewart says work is ongoing to find a way to fully restore the building. (File photo of Stewart inside the Cardboard Cathedral.)

The Anglican Church remained committed to the reinstatement of the building, a CCRL statement said, and while construction was paused, work to find solutions to complete the project was ongoing.

Funding conversations were being kept “alive” with the Government, Christchurch City Council and donors, CCRL chairperson Mark Stewart said.

“We will continue to protect our city’s heritage, our taonga. As well as a spiritual place, our cathedral is a symbol of human and social accomplishment. A thread that connects generations. That is what motivates our endeavour.”

Woolston Brass’s Christ Church Cathedral concert can be viewed on the CCRL’s Instagram and Facebook pages from 6.45pm on Monday, December 16, with the concert moving outside into Cathedral Square at 7pm.