Welcome to City Recital Hall

Our Vision

To make City Recital Hall a performing arts centre renowned for its inclusive contemporary and classical music programming, elevated audience experiences, and world-class acoustic.

Our Values

Connection 

Live music connects people 

Imagination 

Creativity produces better performances

Excellence 

Reputation is built through excellence

Sustainability 

Sustainability is the key to lasting impact              

 

Our Story

City Recital Hall opened over twenty-five years ago, designed to answer Sydney's need for a mid-sized venue that could offer the acoustics required for exceptional music performance.

The aim was to have a venue that could maintain the intimacy between artist and audience, but large enough to be commercially viable for concert producers.

In the 1990s, a private-public partnership between the City of Sydney and AMP was formed, which would see the ground floors of a new corporate tower right in the centre of the city dedicated to realising this vision.

City Recital Hall was officially opened on 30 October 1999. It was the first purpose-built music venue to be established in Sydney since the Sydney Opera House in 1973.

In 2015 City Recital Hall Limited was established as a not-for-profit organisation to run the venue on the City of Sydney's behalf. The Hall remains a City of Sydney venue, on a long-term lease from the current venue owners Mirvac.

City Recital Hall is renowned for its classical programming, with the Hall the CBD home of five Key Presenting Partners - Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Musica Viva Australia, Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Pinchgut Opera.

In recent years, the Hall has earned a new legion of fans thanks to a rapid increase in contemporary music programming, from jazz, to rock, indie, cabaret and world music. In 2023 the option to remove the seating on level one became available, allowing the Hall to begin hosting electronic and dance events.

In 2024 a major refurbishment of the foyers, bars and amenities was completed, resulting in several interior architecture award nominations. The same year, the sound system of the venue was replaced with the d&b Soundscape, cementing the venue as one of the most acoustically exceptional live entertainment venues in Australia.

Today events at City Recital Hall are a mix of classical excellence delivered by the Key Presenting Partners, the CRH Presents contemporary music program curated by the Hall and often delivered in partnership with external promoters, and external hirer productions which range from talks, to film and music. The Hall is also home to a diverse range of private hires, including corporate events, memorials and film shoots.