On Wednesday 30 September, Birmingham’s Town Hall was lit red at 8PM as part of the #LightItInRed campaign, to symbolise the current danger that over one million people in the live events industry face.

 

For more than 180 years, Town Hall has been a hub of civic and cultural life in Birmingham having featured artists such as David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, Nina Simone and many more. Alongside venues and buildings across 28 countries, today Birmingham’s historic concert venue joined the #LightItInRed campaign to highlight the critical condition of the live events industry and issue a ‘Red Alert’ to government and the press.

The live events sector employs over a million highly skilled professionals in the UK, most of whom have had no work since March 2020. The sector supports a huge supply chain of companies ranging from event production, audio, lighting, video, logistics, planning, transportation and some of the world’s leading technology manufacturers.

Town Hall and Symphony Hall entered a period of redundancy consultation with staff in July 2020, following an extended period of closure as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic. 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, the music charity responsible for the two Birmingham concert halls took the painful decision to reduce staff in anticipation of the continuing uncertainty ahead.

Continue reading “Red Alert issued from Historic Town Hall” →

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” →