Brand-new performances from violinist Braimah Kanneh-Mason, world-class jazz musician and vocalist China Moses and City Organist Thomas Trotter filmed at Symphony Hall to be broadcast online.

British jazz singer Sara Colman to lead a week of vocal workshops for 16-25 year-olds, featuring guest tutor, baritone Themba Mvula.

Carol Pemberton MBE continues to bring local community choirs together online to learn new repertoire.

As concerts and gigs are still being cancelled as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, Town Hall Symphony Hall has continued to bring live music to the people of Birmingham and beyond.

Digital broadcasts from Town Hall and Symphony Hall in the last three months have amassed almost 200,000 views, whilst over 150 singers have joined online music making workshops.

Following the success of those live performances and digital workshops, the music charity responsible for Town Hall and Symphony Hall have today announced a new season of online activities.

Continue reading “Town Hall Symphony Hall: The Show Must Go On-line” →

It is with great sadness that Town Hall and Symphony Hall have today entered a period of redundancy consultation, following an extended period of closure as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic. Half of our staff are now at risk of redundancy.

The future of these two iconic concert halls, and the music charity responsible for them, looks very different from the plans we began the year with. Though we have been awarded emergency relief funding by Arts Council England, it remains the case that all other income generated through the core business of live music and entertainment has stopped. This period of closure has already resulted in huge losses and it is still unclear as to when it may be possible to re-open. In order to have a chance of survival we must now take the painful decision to reduce our staff in anticipation of the continuing uncertainty ahead.

We have responded to the challenge of declining public subsidy through the unwavering enterprise and spirit of our team. The announcement today is all the more painful because of this. Over the last few years we have evolved into an organisation that earns more than 90% of its turnover from our trading activities and this supports every aspect of what we do, from presenting international superstars on our stages to supporting emerging talent and creating first musical experiences for children in local schools. Our vulnerability to the current closure is a direct consequence of a business model that is less reliant on public subsidy than most.

Continue reading “A Statement from Town Hall Symphony Hall” →

We might not be packing our tents and choosing our festival outfits but BBC ALBA has made sure that viewers won’t miss out on music this summer.

With festivals and gigs off-limits, BBC ALBA’s offering a fantastic selection of new music programmes for those long summer nights.

As well as exclusive performances, the programmes will also show highlights from previous festivals and other festival related features.

BBC ALBA has been at the forefront of adapting to these unusual circumstances and acted quickly to organise ‘virtual’ music performances from the homes of not just Scottish musicians, but musicians from around the world.

Margaret Cameron, Channel Editor at MG ALBA, said: “When we knew we weren’t going to be able to broadcast live from music festivals and gigs, we moved fast to think of creative ways to continue to bring festival fun and music to our audience.

Continue reading “Enjoy a Summer of Music with BBC ALBA” →

Every Friday throughout July, the music charity responsible for Town Hall and Symphony Hall will share even more music from the homes of world-renowned artists including one of Britain’s best-known rebellious singers of the 80s, Hazel O’Connor and Kodo, the internationally renowned group of drummers.

An exclusive recording from classical superstar cellist Sheku Kanneh Mason will also be broadcast online on the evening he was scheduled to play at the world-renowned Symphony Hall, Saturday 18 July.

 

Continue reading “Bringing The Music Direct to Your Home from Town Hall Symphony Hall” →

The last performance at the Birmingham venues saw Jamie Cullum perform to a sell-out audience. Before the concert, the award-winning artist met four Birmingham-based jazz pianists from the Jazzlines talent development programme.

David Austin Grey, Ashley Allen, Piera Onarko and Stella Roberts will perform across consecutive Friday’s in Spring 2021 part of a series titled “Jamie Cullum recommends”. Each concert, which were originally scheduled for this Autumn, will be free to attend but tickets must be booked in advance in order to secure entry.

Jamie Cullum said:

Continue reading “Let The Music Play: Town Hall Symphony Hall” →