14/12/2022
The Kristin Linklater Voice Centre at Housegarth is to close.
The Directors of the Centre regrettably have to announce the closure of the Centre and its facilities at Housegarth, Quoyloo. The Centre will cease its teaching activities with immediate effect.
The impact of Covid, restrictions on international travelling, and the worldwide economic recession have led to a severe reduction in the number of participants able to travel to Orkney for courses. While attempts to diversify the use of the Centre have been attempted there has been an insufficient number of bookings secured. At the same time, the cost of running the Centre has risen steadily to the point where it has become unviable as a business.
The Directors and the Centre's loyal staff have done their best over the last few months to reduce costs and keep the Centre open in view of the valuable training it offers. But with great sadness, they have had to admit that the prospects of its finances recovering in the immediate future are limited. Everything will be done to ensure employees are treated with fairness and with respect to their employment rights.
We will arrange to contact the workshop leaders due to attend in 2023 and those connected with planned academic and institutional residencies as soon as possible in the coming days. We would have liked to have done so prior to this announcement yet the number of meetings required to be held meant that this was not an equitable option.
A further announcement will be made as plans for the future of the house at Housegarth and its residential and teaching facilities become clearer.
We do hope that the preservation of Kristin’s legacy and the continuation of her work will still be able to continue through the efforts of the Kristin Linklater Voice Foundation.
The Centre may be contacted via [email protected] if required and we wish to thank everyone who has supported or attended the Centre since Kristin opened its doors in 2014.
Hamish Linklater, Magnus Linklater
