The premiere of Ambon at the Hub in Springwood on June 6 not only garnered a glowing review for the performance but also some very positive responses for the venue.
The show, by Wentworth Falls jazz composer and musician, Lloyd Swanton, was inspired by the story of his late uncle, Stuart Swanton, who was part of a force sent to defend Ambon in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) during World War Two.
The show featured Swanton's new suite of musical compositions and the double bassist, who plays with The catholics, was accompanied by a top class group of musicians.
Critic John Shand, writing in The Sydney Morning Herald, said of the show: "Ambon is such an ambitiously large-scale integration of music, spoken word and projected images that this world premiere lasted two-and-a-half hours. If structurally slightly too long, it is an extraordinary achievement in terms of conception, content and realising Swanton's desire to illuminate and commemorate the suffering and resilience of these Australian servicemen."
He was full of praise for the musicians and concluded: "Ambon was a conceptual and compositional triumph, with flawless sound in this new venue."
He later told the Gazette he was as impressed by the Hub's acoustics as by the show itself.
"I had no expectations [about the theatre] and I was stunned," he said.
"I was sitting quite close, about the third or fourth row right in the middle so I can't comment on how the sound was deeper into the auditorium, and the guy doing the sound is a very special sound engineer. And also you've got some of the finest musicians in Australia.
"But putting that to one side, it augurs well for the future."
Mr Shand said how the Hub might work "with completely acoustic music or an unamplified play remains to be seen" but he was generally impressed, considering how often such public buildings are the victim of competing political agendas "and the result is woeful... It was a very good start for a first professional performance."
Mr Swanton said from the stage, he found the acoustics "very warm and clear, and feedback from the audience suggested it was an equally lovely listening experience from all points in the room."
Tim Smith, manager of the Hub, said he had received many positive reports from patrons.
"We had feedback that it was a magnificent concert - with people even stating it's one of the best venues for sound and music they've experienced."
"It's only the beginning. Our full program will appeal to a broad cross-section."
