Our view on the future of the Assembly Rooms

Until 2014, the Assembly Rooms was one of our regular venues. The venue’s seated capacity was ideal for our audience and a great performance space for an orchestra of our size. We were a resident orchestra and gave multiple performances each year.

For Sinfonia Viva, the loss of the Assembly Rooms presented a challenge: how do we maintain a concert series for our audiences without a concert hall?

In time, the answer was to adapt and work in partnership with other venues across the city, including our flourishing partnerships with both Derby Cathedral and Derby Museums.

Over the last four years we have significantly increased our audiences across all elements of our programme in Derby. This includes our new Melodic Moments series at the Museum of Making, which is particularly suited to people living with dementia and other life-limiting conditions alongside their carers, collaborations with Derby Cathedral Choir, and new schools and community projects.

It may be that this was the natural journey that Sinfonia Viva would have taken, regardless of whether the Assembly Rooms had remained open. However, the requirement to change and adapt has enabled us to evolve, building stronger connections with our audiences and with partners across the City.

In 2026, we do not consider the refurbishment of the Assembly Rooms as the best option for Derby City Centre and its cultural scene. Derby is already fortunate to have a wealth of amazing cultural spaces, providing our communities with access to exceptional theatre, cinema, photography, art, dance and music.

The imminent transformation of the Market Square starts a new chapter for Derby and will revitalise the city centre. This investment in making the City a more welcoming place to live, work, and visit, can only have a positive impact upon the cultural organisations in the city. It will help to increase visitor numbers and ticket buyers, and create advocates for the incredible cultural scene we have here.

Since the closure of the Assembly Rooms twelve years ago, we have demonstrated that we are flexible and able to adapt to any performance space, and we have become a more creative and collaborative organisation.

The Assembly Rooms will remain a cherished part of our history, but today we welcome the Council’s plans to develop this site, returning the Market Square into a vibrant and welcoming part of the City.