The Tabernacle, Machynlleth
Encyclopedia
The Tabernacle, Machynlleth, is a former Wesleyan
chapel. In the mid-1980s, it was converted from a Wesleyan
chapel into a centre for the performing arts
, opening in 1986. Since then the Museum of Modern Art
has grown up alongside it, with six exhibition spaces.
The Auditorium
of The Tabernacle has excellent acoustics
and Pitch Pine
pews to seat 350 people. Chamber
and choral
music, drama, lecture
s and conferences regularly take place here. A Steinway
grand piano has been purchased; translation booths, recording facilities and a cinema screen have been installed; the oak-beamed Foyer has a bar; and extensive access for the disabled has been made possible by a lift.
The Machynlleth Festival
takes place in the Auditorium in late August every year. During the week eminent performers take part in events ranging from recitals for children to jazz. Special features are the Hallstatt Lecture
on some aspect of Celtic culture
and the Glyndwr Award
for an Outstanding Contribution to the Arts in Wales.
For the rest of the year the centre can be hired for performances, rehearsals and gatherings. Ty Llyfnant houses music teaching rooms and an art studio while the Green Room doubles as a Language Laboratory where Lifelong learning
classes are held.
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
chapel. In the mid-1980s, it was converted from a Wesleyan
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
chapel into a centre for the performing arts
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
, opening in 1986. Since then the Museum of Modern Art
MOMA, Wales
MOMA or Museum of Modern Art adjacent to Y Tabernacl is located in Machynlleth, Powys, Mid Wales.The Tabernacle was converted in the mid-1980s from a Wesleyan chapel into a centre for the performing arts. Since then the Museum of Modern Art has grown up alongside it, with six exhibition spaces.The...
has grown up alongside it, with six exhibition spaces.
The Auditorium
Auditorium
An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances at venues such as theatres. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens.- Etymology :...
of The Tabernacle has excellent acoustics
Acoustics
Acoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of all mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician while someone working in the field of acoustics...
and Pitch Pine
Pitch Pine
The Pitch Pine, Pinus rigida, is a small-to-medium sized pine, native to eastern North America. This species occasionally hybridizes with other pine species such as Loblolly Pine , Shortleaf Pine , and Pond Pine The Pitch Pine, Pinus rigida, is a small-to-medium sized (6-30 meters or 20-100 feet)...
pews to seat 350 people. Chamber
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
and choral
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
music, drama, lecture
Lecture
thumb|A lecture on [[linear algebra]] at the [[Helsinki University of Technology]]A lecture is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history,...
s and conferences regularly take place here. A Steinway
Steinway & Sons
Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway , is an American and German manufacturer of handmade pianos, founded 1853 in Manhattan in New York City by German immigrant Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg...
grand piano has been purchased; translation booths, recording facilities and a cinema screen have been installed; the oak-beamed Foyer has a bar; and extensive access for the disabled has been made possible by a lift.
The Machynlleth Festival
Machynlleth Festival
The Machynlleth Festival takes place in the Auditorium of The Tabernacle, Machynlleth, in late August every year. During the week eminent performers take part in events ranging from recitals for children to jazz...
takes place in the Auditorium in late August every year. During the week eminent performers take part in events ranging from recitals for children to jazz. Special features are the Hallstatt Lecture
Hallstatt Lecture
The Hallstatt Lecture is an hour-long lecture in any European language on some aspect of ancient and modern Celtic culture. It is given at The Tabernacle, Machynlleth in Wales at lunchtime on the Wednesday of each Machynlleth Festival.Past Lecturers:...
on some aspect of Celtic culture
Culture of Wales
Wales has a distinctive culture including its own language, customs, holidays and music.Wales is primarily represented by the symbol of the red Welsh Dragon, but other national emblems include the leek and daffodil. The Welsh words for leeks and daffodils Wales has a distinctive culture including...
and the Glyndwr Award
Glyndwr Award
The Glyndŵr Award is made for an Outstanding Contribution to the Arts in Wales. It is given by the Machynlleth Tabernacle Trust to pre-eminent figures in music, art and literature in rotation...
for an Outstanding Contribution to the Arts in Wales.
For the rest of the year the centre can be hired for performances, rehearsals and gatherings. Ty Llyfnant houses music teaching rooms and an art studio while the Green Room doubles as a Language Laboratory where Lifelong learning
Lifelong learning
Lifelong learning is the continuous building of skills and knowledge throughout the life of an individual. It occurs through experiences encountered in the course of a lifetime...
classes are held.
Further reading
- Michael Fraser: Graham Arnold: A Retrospective/ Ol Syllu (Machynlleth Tabernacle Trust, Machynlleth, 1992) ISBN 0-9519971-0-6
- Icons in Oil: Portraits from the Lambert Collection (Machynlleth Tabernacle Trust, Machynlleth, 1993) ISBN 0-9519971-1-4
- Eric Rowan & Carolyn Stewart: An Elusive Tradition: Art and Society in Wales, 1870 - 1950 (University of Wales Press, Cardiff, 2002) ISBN 0-7083-1769-3
- D Huw Owen: Capeli Cymru (Y Lolfa, Talybont, 2005) ISBN 0-86243-793-8