Joep Pelt

Beauforthuis is a small theatre and concert hall in the village of Austerlitz, in the Dutch province of Utrecht, occupying a Gothic church that dates to 1861. The building sits among the surrounding forests of the Utrechtse Heuvelrug, a setting that gives it a noticeably different character from the typical urban music venue. When plans to demolish the old church were abandoned, it found a new purpose: from 1984 it served for a few years as a music academy, and in 1987 the charitable Stichting de Beaufort took over management. Regular concerts and theatre performances began in 1989, and the venue has held a municipal monument designation since then. The main hall, the converted church room, is what sets Beauforthuis apart acoustically. Its proportions and original materials produce a warm, clear sound that has attracted attention well beyond the Netherlands, including from audio engineers who have recorded the room's acoustic properties as reference material. A major renovation in 2008 and 2009 added a glass cube extension to the building, which allowed the former pastor's house to be repurposed as a theatre café, and the main hall itself was thoroughly renovated again in 2014. Terraces surround the building on multiple sides. The programming spans live music and theatre, with the intimate scale of the converted church keeping audiences close to the performers. The combination of a carefully maintained acoustic space, a forested location a short distance from Amersfoort, and a programme that draws both local artists and established musicians gives the venue a distinctive identity among the smaller cultural stages in the Utrecht region.