View of Pollack Hall stage

Pollack Hall

Descendants and extended family of Maurice Pollack joined Dean Brenda Ravenscroft of the Schulich School of Music to inaugurate a new Pollack Hall sign.

On October 27, 2018 descendants and extended family of Maurice Pollack joined Dean Brenda Ravenscroft of the Schulich School of Music to inaugurate a new Pollack Hall sign in front of the Strathcona Music Building. McGill salutes the Maurice Pollack Foundation for making the project happen.
 

Pollack Hall, located in McGill's Strathcona Music Building, is the Schulich School of Music's largest performance venue. Inaugurated in 1975, it is named after Maurice Pollack and supported by the Pollack Foundation.

The 600 seat hall has a green room, a large lobby and an adjoining lounge sometimes used for receptions. Approximately 400 concerts, lectures and other events are held annually in the hall.

Directions

Pollack Hall and the Box Office are directly inside the main entrance of McGill University's Strathcona Music Building, in downtown Montreal.

Location

  • 555 Sherbrooke Street West (rue Sherbrooke Ouest), between University Street (rue University) and Aylmer Street (rue Aylmer).
  • There is a statue of Queen Victoria on the front steps of the building. 

By metro or bus

  • McGill metro (green line): Take the University St. (rue University) exit. Walk north, up the small hill, one block to Sherbrooke St. Cross Sherbrooke St. and turn right.
  • Bus 24 (Sherbrooke) stops in front of Strathcona Music Building.

Parking

We do not have on-site parking for the public. On-street metered parking is available in the downtown core. For information about on-site parking permits, visit the McGill Parking website, or call 514-398-4559.

Accessibility

For hall accessibility information, please visit our Accessibility in Our Halls and Facilities page.

Technical specs

Stage plan

Seating

Box Office and ticketing

  • Complete ticket sales service accepting Visa, MasterCard and debit cards (no cash).
  • The Box Office is open from September to April. Option for 24/7 ticket sales online.

Parking/Loading dock

  • On-street parking with meters is available. Contact our Production Office (514-398-8993) for loading dock parking information.

Greenroom

  • Large room available for musicians to warm up, with bathroom facilities.
  • Upright piano for warm-up.

Catering and receptions

  • Contact our Production Office (514-398-8993) for information. To serve alcohol, a liquor permit must be obtained from the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux Québec (RAJC).

Coatcheck

  • Available upon request.

Basic stage equipment

  • Chairs and music stands
  • Public address system (one microphone and lectern)
  • Choir risers
  • Orchestra risers:
    • 4 at 8 inches x 4 feet x 8 feet
    • 2 at 16 inches x 4 feet x 8 feet
    • 2 at 24 inches x 4 feet x 8 feet

Hall pianos

  • Steinway, New York 1997 (Ludo)
    • No preparation of the action, strings, interior, etc. is permitted.
  • Steinway, New York 2002 (Ohga) 
    • No preparation of the action, strings, interior, etc. is permitted.
  • Steinway, New York 1975 (Helmuth) 
    • Prepared piano repertoire is permitted, including but not limited to marking on the strings and/or dampers. It must be supervised by a concert piano technician.

Booking or renting the hall

Pollack Hall is available for rental when not in use for educational purposes. We prioritize bookings in this order:

  1. Schulich School of Music students and faculty (educational purposes)
  2. Returning rental clients
  3. All other rental clients, please complete the PDF icon Event Booking Request Form for approval.

Additional services

  • Instrument rental
  • McGill website event listing
  • Box Office and ticket sales support

Contact us

Contact the Production Supervisor, johanne.froncioni [at] mcgill.ca (Johanne Froncioni), at 514-398-8993 for more information or to inquire about availabilities.

Rental rates

The following rates are valid from September 1, 2023 to August 31, 2024.
Federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) as well as the Quebec Sales Tax (QST) will be charged in accordance to the law.

HALL CAPACITY: 600

HALL RENTAL Rates AMOUNT

Basic rental (6 hours) – Monday to Friday

$2850.00

Basic rental (6 hours) – Saturday and Sunday

$3100.00

Overtime (hourly rate) – Monday to Friday

$275.00

Overtime (hourly rate) – Saturday and Sunday

$300.00

Reception – upon request, in advance and pending approval (East Lounge – for a maximum of 2 hours)

$300.00

Projector and screen installation/use (pending approval/availability)

$625.00

RATES FOR RECORDING PROJECTS AMOUNT
Rates do not include the recording studios, chief recording technician or instruments. Rates include a stage manager.  
Weekdays- Maximum 12 hours $1,500.00
Weekends - Maximum 12 hours $2,500.00
Weekdays- Maximum 6 hours $1,000.00
Weekends - Maximum 6 hours $1,500.00
STAFFING – (in accordance with item 7 “Operating Regulations”) AMOUNT

Special event staffing fee

$450.00

Operations manager (hourly rate)

$70.00

Stage manager

$60.00

Second stage manager (hourly rate – minimum 6 hours)

$60.00

Stage hand (hourly rate – minimum 4 hours)

$40.00

Lead live sound technician (hourly rate – minimum 4 hours)

$55.00

Live sound technician (hourly rate – minimum 4 hours)

$40.00

Assistant Recording Tech (Recording Proj) $40.00
Webcast Facilitator $55.00
Webcast Technician $45.00

Event staffers (maximum of 4) – (the number of event staffers hired will be in accordance with security regulations for a maximum of 4 hours per event staffer)

Included in rental

Event staffer (s) (extra event staffer or overtime – hourly rate, above 4 hours, per event staffer

$40.00

Coat room attendant (hourly rate – minimum 4 hours) (upon request and pending availability)

$40.00

Box Office employee – hourly rate (upon request, in advance and pending availability)

$40.00

Security/porter (hourly rate – minimum 4 hours) – subject to change

$70.00

Porter/Security (when buildings are closed) $700.00
INSTRUMENTS AND EQUIPMENT AMOUNT

Piano (Steinway)

 

  • Rental (including one tuning)

$375.00

  • Rental (not including tuning)
$250.00
  • Additional tuning

$225.00

  • Touch-up

$150.00

  • Piano technician on stand-by (for concerts)

$225.00

  • Piano technician on stand-by for (rec. sessions)
$125.00

Harpsichord

 

  • Rental (including two tunings)

$375.00

  • Moving (to and from – in the same building)

$250.00

  • Moving (to and from – between different locations)

According to transport company

Wolff Organ (with authorization)  
Rental (including one tuning) $375.00
Celesta  
Rental (including one tuning) $250.00

Portative organ (pending approval/availability)

 

  • Rental (including one tuning)

$375.00

  • Moving (to and from)

According to transport company

Percussion(with authorization)- NOT AVAILABLE DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS

 

Bass Drum $55.00
Timpani (set of 4) $175.00
Timpani (unit price) $55.00
Marimba (five octave) $185.00
Small marimba $135.00
Vibraphone $105.00
Xylophone $75.00
Crotales $75.00 (per octave)
Glock $55.00
Chimes $125.00
Tom-tom $30.00
Conga and Bongo per instrument $40.00
Tam-tam $45.00
Moving (to and from) per student $140.00
OTHER SERVICES AMOUNT
Box Office Services (1 employee includedto work BO at concert)   $275.00
Publicity - posting of the event on the School's website Included in hall rental rate
Concert Audio Recording   $375.00
One-touch audio   $30.00
One-touch video   $70.00
Parking Passes - Weekdays   $24.00
Parking Passes - Evenings & Weekends   $14.00
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