Ivanhoe Heritage Arts and Music Walk
Ivanhoe Heritage Arts and Music Walk
Ivanhoe has long been associated with the arts. The Heidelberg Choral Society celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2020 and the Heidelberg Artists School had enjoyed painting here from the 1880s.
Summary
Ivanhoe has long been associated with the arts. The Heidelberg Choral Society celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2020 and the Heidelberg Artists School had enjoyed painting here from the 1880s.
Description
Heidelberg Choral Society had various names before 1937 - the Heidelberg City Choir, and the Heidelberg and Ivanhoe Choral Society/District Musical Society. By 1920 the Heidelberg and Ivanhoe Musical Society, under choirmaster and conductor Alfred Pallett had 100 members. Heidelberg Choir rehearsed at Scots Church in Burgundy St Heidelberg and sang in Melbourne city locations, at the Exhibition Buildings, Assembly Hall or the Melbourne Town Hall. They also competed very successfully in choral festivals in Bendigo and Ballarat.
From 1926 the Heidelberg and District Musical Society was heard in sacred music sessions on 3LO radio on Sunday nights.
With the building of the new Heidelberg/Ivanhoe Town Hall in 1937, local musical performances and art shows became popular. In 1939 the Heidelberg City Choir joined the famous soprano Marjorie Lawrence (1907-1979) in the Heidelberg Town Hall. Marjorie was born at Deans Marsh near Lorne, and singing from a young age, went on to study in Europe from 1928. In 1941 the Heidelberg City Choir was conducted by Hector Crawford and extended its performances to the popular ’Merrie England’ comic operetta.
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra also performed in Ivanhoe in 1940 in a concert organised by the ABC, and was received with great enthusiasm. The Heidelberg branch of the National Theatre Movement was now actively producing Australian plays and the annual Heidelberg Eisteddfod started in the 1950s. By then musical tastes were expanding to Big Band concerts and dances at the Town Hall.
The arts extended to ballet in the early 1960s with the Victorian Ballet Guild holding classes in the Knox Presbyterian Hall in Noel St Ivanhoe (now Ivanhoe Girls Grammar School). Girls and boys trained by Miss Laurel Martyn with this school could progress to professional ballet careers, as Laurel had done herself. The Choir sang here as well.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the Heidelberg Choral Society sang in the St John’s Anglican Church, Heidelberg, sometimes with the Greensborough based Diamond Valley Choral Society.
The Heidelberg Choral Society now rehearse in Evans Hall, adjacent to St George’s Anglican Church in East Ivanhoe where they hold concerts. The Church was designed by Australian architect Robin Boyd and Fred Romberg and opened in 1964. It is near an old haunt of the ‘Heidelberg School’ artists, Charterisville, off Warncliffe Rd.
The Heidelberg Choral Society often perform now in the IGGS Performing Arts Centre, or in the Ivanhoe Centre/Town Hall. In 2019 they were invited to Carnegie Hall New York, and in 2023 premiered a new oratorio ‘Origins of the Universe, of Life, of Species, of Humanity’. Written by two of its own choristers, this work featured 100 singers of the Heidelberg Choral Society plus orchestra and soloists, conducted by Heidelberg’s Musical Director Peter Bandy, at the premier performance in the Melbourne Recital Centre, complete with video elaboration.
598 Views
Points of Interest
1. Ivanhoe/Heidelberg Town Hall
In 1937 the Ivanhoe Town Hall opened for use by local musicians, and artists - everything from choirs, orchestras, debutante balls, art shows, and elocution and calisthenics displays ensued.
2. Davey's (1922) and Pivot (1938) buildings on the Ivanhoe corner
Along Waterdale Rd is the HATCH Art Space in Ivanhoe Parade, where the Heidelberg Choral Society sang, and the Davey's ballroom which was used by the Choir and for deportment and eurythmics classes.
3. Ivanhoe Baptist Church
The Baptist Church was built in 1926 at 1 Livingstone St, always a busy corner. The steeply pitched roof and copper clad spire are features. The Heidelberg Choral Society sang here occasionally.
4. Nellie Ibbott Reserve
This park remembers Nellie Ibbott, the first female Mayor in Victoria, who served the Ivanhoe community during WWII.
5. Beautiful houses in Ivanhoe
As you walk you notice some lovely houses which have been in the Ivanhoe area for many decades, and other blocks which have been redeveloped for well-designed apartments, all close to the railway.
6. Darebin Parklands
The area attracted Tom Roberts and the other Heidelberg School of Artists who painted on the river flats of the Yarra river and Darebin Ck. Before European settlement Wurundjeri people lived here.
7. Indigenous Spiritual Healing Trail
The Wurundjeri people enjoyed the resources of the river flats and the clear bubbling creeks. Explore the area further on the Darebin Parklands loop walk or follow the Spiritual Healing Trail.
8. Mary Immaculate Catholic Church
This Church and School were active from the 1920s as the population grew around this area. There were 32 students from Prep to Grade six at first. The Church was rebuilt at the start of the 1960s.
9. Old Post Office and Ivanhoe Hotel
The Post Office and Ivanhoe Hotel were both built very early before 1875, on what is now Upper Heidelberg Rd. They have both since been rebuilt. A primary school was located here too in the 1880s
10. Ivanhoe Uniting Church Seddon St
This Church was used for Heidelberg Choral Society performances. The building dates from 1925 and has lovely stained-glass windows. The Heidelberg Historical Society meets here each month.
11. Former Knox Presbyterian Church (built 1927) in Noel St
This Church became a part of Ivanhoe Girls Grammar School in 1997. Two beautiful stained glass memorial windows are at the front. The Heidelberg Choral Society sang here, and it was used for ballet.
12. Ivanhoe Girls Grammar School (IGGS) Performing Arts Centre
The Heidelberg Choral Society now rehearses in Evans Hall adjacent to St George's Church in East Ivanhoe. Now they often sing in the IGGS Centre, however in 100 years they have staged over 400 shows.
13. Ivanhoe Library and Cultural Hub
Built in 1965 the Library building was renovated in 2021 and is now known for its collection of local and family history. It has several gallery spaces, which often feature First Nation's artwork.
14. Heidelberg Choral Society now
The Choir has regular concerts locally and around Melbourne, and still has dozens of enthusiastic singers. While now competing with digital media and tv, its popularity has certainly endured.
Features
Public Transport
Public toilets
Historical interest
Art and culture
Park / Garden
