Swiss Italian Orchestra Turns a Temporary Rehearsal Base into a Concert Space

The Orchestra della Svizzera italiana is making a temporary home at Sala Docks in Pambio-Noranco while work proceeds on the Città della Musica project, using the new base for rehearsals and a small public concert series.

The arrangement is expected to last two years. Located on Via Pian Scairolo, the space has been adapted to the practical needs of an orchestra rather than presented as a substitute for a fully equipped major concert hall.

Those needs begin with the building itself. Ceiling height, room volume and the separation of heating noise from musical activity are essential to a workable rehearsal environment. Artistic director Barbara Widmer and secretary-general Samuel Flury have described the challenge of finding a space in which a full ensemble can hear and balance itself properly.

The public programme brings listeners into that working setting. Five Thursday-evening events between November 2026 and February 2027 will feature different kinds of collaboration, beginning on 19 November with mandolinist Avi Avital directing music by Bartók, Anna Clyne and Falla.

January includes Robert Treviño with sommelier Paolo Basso on the 14th, cellist Johannes Moser on the 21st and violist Maxim Rysanov on the 28th. A further project brings handpan player Manu Delago together with conductor Lars Mlekusch. School audiences are also part of the space’s intended use.

The temporary location therefore has two functions: keeping the orchestra’s daily work possible during a larger building transition, and allowing selected audiences to encounter that work in a more informal environment.

The concert series should not obscure the principal reason for the move. An orchestra requires a dependable place to rehearse before it can deliver performances elsewhere. Sala Docks supplies that continuity while the longer-term cultural infrastructure is being developed, with the limited public programme adding another use to the interim base.