What does Symphony Hall mean to you? Staff at the prestige venue are asking audiences, staff and musicians that very question.
Symphony Hall
“Audiences in Birmingham are exceptionally warm and welcoming and they are so fortunate to have this beautiful Symphony Hall right in their home town … one of my favourite places to perform…” Tony Bennett
Birmingham’s world famous and much admired Symphony Hall, is celebrating its 21st anniversary.
Now the favourite city landmark, currently ranked No 1 of 154 Birmingham attractions on Trip Advisor, has launched a campaign to find out ‘What Symphony Hall Means to You’. Artists, including Tony Bennett and Joan Armatrading, have already added comments and the hall is inviting concert-goers and the Birmingham public to join the conversation.
In 21 years of bringing great music to Birmingham, Symphony Hall has welcomed major international artists from Liza Minnelli to Ravi Shankar, Jean Michel Jarre and Morrissey to its resident orchestra the CBSO. It has provided a stage for local and national musical organisations from choral societies to Birmingham Music Service galas and the National Festival of Music for Youth. Its Education & Community department enables 18,000 people of all ages to participate in wide-ranging activities each year.
Some of the many messages already posted on the hall’s display board include: “Watching my 7 year old niece sing in her school choir” and “A place to listen to music, be inspired, laugh, feel safe, and switch off from the world outside”. Meanwhile, reviewers at Trip Advisor say “You could listen to a recital of the Yellow Pages and still enjoy it” and “Once you’ve been here anything else in the UK is definitely second best”.
Andrew Jowett, director of Town Hall & Symphony Hall, has led Symphony Hall since before it opened, “Over 10 million people have visited the venue since 1991 to enjoy, participate in and learn more about music and thousands more have taken part as performers or graduates. In this special year, we wanted to collect and record some individual highlights by inviting people to share their memories and tell us what Symphony Hall means to them and to the city of Birmingham. We’re hoping to capture a wide range of recollections, so whether you’re an audience member or artist, sang on stage as a child, worked as a steward in your student days, or are taking part in a current project, we’d love to hear from you.”
You can contribute on-line at www.thsh.co.uk/sh21, via Twitter @thshbirmingham #sh21, Facebook ‘Town Hall Symphony Hall’ or by posting a note on the display board in the hall’s foyer.
