Pender Harbour School of Music

The Performance Centre (also known as the Music School) occupies a building originally constructed in 1952 for the B.C. Forestry Service. In the 1980s, when these regional sites were being phased out, local people saw the potential in the site and pursued negotiations which resulted in the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) taking ownership in 1986.

The largest of these buildings was leased to the newly formed Pender Harbour Music Society for use as a teaching facility and concert venue. A core group of local musicians began to give free music lessons to children and adults, and, over time, a community band, community choir, and a pipe band evolved.

In 1987 Capilano College used this building as a satellite for its music program, offering credit courses in harmony, theory, history of rock and roll, improvisation in all instruments and choral technique. The Music Society offered a regular concert series every year, featuring local artists as well as performers from Vancouver and farther a field.

In February 1994, during a major fund- raising effort, the addition and renovations were begun on the day that the Shostakovich String Quartet from Moscow played in Madeira Park in the Community Hall. The first concert in the completed hall was held in October 1994, a gala with Mr. Egerton, Gordon Wilson (the sitting MLA) and other notables attending. The hall has professionally engineered accoustics as well as professional lighting and sound equipment. Etched glass sculpture created in 1987 for the Music Society by David Mont-Petit who now lives in the Kootenays catches visitors attention at the entry to the performance space. Thanks to a generous (and anonymous) donation, a new Yamaha C7 grand piano now graces our stage.