Mac Rating: 5.00 | Votes: 1 | Date: 03/07/2026 01:32:00

Alberta built itself twin concert halls for its 50th birthday - identical buildings in Edmonton and Calgary, gifted to the province as a memorial to its pioneers. The Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium at 11455 87 Avenue NW, beside the University of Alberta campus, is the Edmonton half of the pair. The project was a provincial statement: designed by the Alberta Department of Public Works with international acoustic consultants, built between 1955 and 1957 for a combined 12 million dollars, and inaugurated on 28 April 1957 by Premier Ernest Manning - Vermont marble and red brick outside, Italian marble and French walnut panelling within. The hall's acoustics drew comparisons with London's Royal Festival Hall, and its resume includes a genuine rock landmark: Procol Harum recorded their 1971 live album with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra here, the record that turned Conquistador into a worldwide hit. The fan-shaped main theatre now seats 2,538 on three levels - 2,416 when the orchestra pit is in use - behind a 36-metre stage and fly loft, and the building underwent a 91-million-dollar renovation for Alberta's centennial, reopening in September 2005 with rebuilt acoustics, seating and climate control. The residents anchor the calendar: Edmonton Opera since 1963, Alberta Ballet since 1966 and the Ukrainian Shumka Dancers since 2009 share the hall with touring Broadway runs, symphony programs and headline concerts. Practical notes: the Health Sciences/Jubilee LRT station connects directly to the building, parking fills on double-show days, and the steep upper balcony keeps even the cheapest seats acoustically strong - the room was engineered before amplification was assumed. The building is more than its main hall: a chamber auditorium seating 500, a banquet facility, an assembly hall, a club room and a practice stage identical in size to the main stage surround the fan-shaped theatre, and the orchestra pit holds 60 musicians - raised fully, it adds 81 square metres to the stage.