A private lunchtime strings concert at the newly refurbished building near Old Street

IT WAS 20 years ago when the London Symphony Orchestra first moved into St Luke’s near Old Street – a then derelict 18th-century church that had no roof, a collapsing crypt and plants growing through cracks in the walls.

It took seven years to restore the building to a point where the orchestra could play there.

But last week the historic church reopened for a second time, after a 10-month, £8million restoration by architect Levitt Bernstein that includes world-class acoustics and a fully accessible building.

LSO St Luke’s is the base for the orchestra’s education and community programmes, “LSO Discovery”, and will host free lunchtime concerts, musical lectures and BBC Radio 3 concerts when it opens to the public later this month.

Last week, the Tribune had a sneak peek when the newly refurbished Jerwood Hall opened for a private lunchtime strings concert where head of LSO Discovery, Stephanie Hutchinson, described the space as the LSO’s “spiritual home”.

The St Luke’s restoration took 10 months

She said: “LSO St Luke’s has a way of captivating as soon as you walk in. Some of you from our local community have described it as an oasis – a place to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Quite simply, we would not be where we are without this building.”

The Clerkenwell Community Choir, Help On Your Doorstep and teenagers from Central Foundation Boys’ School were also at the opening show, where 10 talented emerging artists from the LSO’s String Experience group played a series of beautiful pieces that were rousing and melancholic, reverberating magnificently under the hall’s acoustic panels.

The first piece was by Dame Ethel Smyth, in a small nod to Islington’s own history.

Dame Ethel was a suffragette who – so the story goes – once conducted her anthem The March of the Women while incarcerated in Holloway Prison, sticking her hand through her cell’s bars with a toothbrush as her baton.

The performers told the audience they spend up to four or five hours practising daily – a reminder that musical prowess is both talent and dedication, and not for the faint hearted.

Ms Hutchinson added: “I can’t impress upon you enough how happy it makes us feel to be back here, to be able to share music making with you.”

LSO St Luke’s will open to the public at the end of October and the next free lunchtime concert is on Friday November 7.