Familieconcert: Astrokat - SeaSession

The Muziekcentrum van de Omroep, usually shortened to MCO, sits on the Heuvellaan in Hilversum and grew out of the oldest radio studio in the Netherlands. The VARA had that studio built in 1932, and the complex developed around it over the following decades. Further studios were added in the 1950s, 1960s and 1990s, so the building more or less records the rise of Hilversum as a broadcasting town. Today the address trades under the name Heuvellaan Hilversum, though it was long known simply as the Muziekcentrum van de Omroep and is still referred to that way. The MCO works first of all as a rehearsal and recording base. The Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, the Groot Omroepkoor and the Metropole Orkest all rehearse in its studios, usually behind closed doors. The orchestra's own rehearsal and recording room, Studio 5, covers 850 square meters and was one of the postwar additions to the original building. The complex has been a noted recording location for Dutch orchestras for decades. Studio 1 houses the monumental Pierre Palla concert organ, and the oldest studio has been in line for renovation, with a subsidy from the Province of North Holland supporting that work and a substantial contribution toward restoring and installing the organ. Alongside this working life, the MCO opens its doors for concerts, with a focus on classical music from past and present played by leading musicians. Local press has remarked that the place is livelier than anyone expected. Besides the ensembles that rehearse here, the building is home to Globe, a centre for art and culture, and it has a music cafe called Elling where visitors can get a snack and a drink. It is a venue where the studio character of the building remains plainly visible, rather than one designed for concerts from the start.