Live Brum: Symphony Hall Events

Rush Hour Blues: Geoff Eales' Isorhythm, 25 May 2012

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 11:30:59 +0000

25 May 2012 - Jazz at Symphony Hall

FREE

Pianist Geoff Eales leads this electric jazz group in a funky fusion set.

Musical Picnic, 26 May 2012

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:46:07 +0000

26 May 2012 - Workshop at Symphony Hall

FREE (suitable for under 18s)

Tuck into a morning of musical entertainment for all the family. Watch, listen and join in with fun performances and activities.

The Infernal Comedy Starring John Malkovich, 26 May 2012

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 09:05:36 +0000

26 May 2012 - Theatre at Symphony Hall

John Malkovich stars in a stage play for baroque orchestra, singers and actor, based on the real-life story of convicted serial killer Jack Unterweger. Malkovich’s monologues journey through the life and mind of this notorious Viennese womaniser, writer and murderer, illustrated with music embodying joy, hatred, love, grief, and desire. Sometimes darkly comic, sometimes bleakly brutal, it’s a fascinating insight into the twisted mind of, as Malkovich says, “a bad, bad guy.”

Karl Jenkins , 27 May 2012

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 21:01:00 +0000

27 May 2012 - Rock & Pop at Symphony Hall

Karl's new work The Peacemakers is about to see light of day. Using text by Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Mandela, the Dalai Lama, Albert Schweizter, Terry Waite as well as Shelley, the Bible, Quran, Hinduism etc, the work extolls peace. One line, from Rumi [the 13th- century Persian mystic poet] sums up the ethos of the work; “All religions, all singing one song; Peace be with you”.

Ladywood Showcase 2012, 28 May 2012

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 19:51:45 +0000

28 May 2012 - Jazz at Symphony Hall

Join hundreds of Ladywood school children as they showcase their new instrument talents on Birmingham’s world class Symphony Hall stage! Year 5 and 6 pupils will be performing a new jazz commission led by jazz trumpeter Abram Wilson.

Dracula: The Music and Film, 29 May 2012

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 09:06:36 +0000

29 May 2012 - Classical at Symphony Hall

Cinema’s most beguiling bloodsucker appears in a new light as Philip Glass’s revelatory score blows the cobwebs off the iconic 1930s movie Dracula. It’s a unique opportunity to witness one of the world’s most famous composers in action: Glass himself shares the stage with the internationally renowned Kronos Quartet, and his hypnotic music provides an eerie counterpart to the strange suspense of this creepy classic.

Dionne Warwick, 31 May 2012

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 09:54:16 +0000

31 May 2012 - Rock & Pop at Symphony Hall

Scintillating, soothing and sensual best describe the familiar and iconic voice of five-time Grammy Award winning music singer Dionne Warwick. With a career spanning 50 years, more than sixty charted hit songs and selling over 100 million records, she is a cornerstone of American pop music and culture.

To celebrate 50 years in entertainment she comes to Symphony Hall, accompanied by her Band and a 12 string piece section. The evening will include her signature songs such as I Say a Little Prayer, Walk On By, That’s What Friends Are For, Alfie, What the World Needs Now is Love, Then Came You and I’ll Never Fall in Love Again, and much more.

Rush Hour Blues: Dorian Ford Trio, 1 Jun 2012

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 11:32:52 +0000

1 Jun 2012 - Jazz at Symphony Hall

FREE

A classic jazz piano trio from London led by Dorian Ford, play in the style of the Bill Evans trio from their album The Bill Game.

CBSO Friday Night Classics: Diamond Jubilations , 1 Jun 2012

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 20:19:37 +0000

1 Jun 2012 - Classical at Symphony Hall

Get the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee weekend off to a rousing start, as we mark the occasion with an evening of music written for and about the Royal Family, past and present. With favourite Coronation music by Walton and Elgar, and extracts from Desplat’s score for The King’s Speech, it’s the ideal prelude to a weekend of nationwide celebrations.

Sax in the City, 2 Jun 2012

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 11:33:41 +0000

2 Jun 2012 - Jazz at Symphony Hall

FREE

Relax with Birmingham jazz legend Andy Hamilton as he brings you the finest in Jazz together with his band The Blue Notes.

Handel's Royal Music: Celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty The Queen, 2 Jun 2012

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 09:07:43 +0000

2 Jun 2012 - Classical at Symphony Hall

From the thrilling Zadok the Priest to the monumental Hallelujah Chorus, Symphony Hall is the place to be on Diamond Jubilee weekend. Join the national celebrations with a night of musical fireworks; a festive evening of Handel’s most glorious music featuring all four of the rousing anthems he composed for the coronation of King George II and Queen Caroline.

Russell Watson, 3 Jun 2012

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 09:52:12 +0000

3 Jun 2012 - Rock & Pop at Symphony Hall

With his tribute to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

The Chieftains, 5 Jun 2012

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 23:01:38 +0000

5 Jun 2012 - Rock & Pop at Symphony Hall

Six-time Grammy-Award-winners and international ambassadors of traditional Irish music, The Chieftains are back with a nationwide tour to celebrate 50 definitive years. The Chieftains remain loyal to their roots and remain as fresh and relevant as when they first began.

CBSO The Spirit of Defiance , 7 Jun 2012

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 20:21:03 +0000

7 Jun 2012 - Classical at Symphony Hall

The Soviet censors called it an ‘optimistic tragedy’. Shostakovich simply called it his Tenth Symphony. Dark, impassioned, packed with secret messages and featuring a terrifying musical portrait of Stalin himself, Shostakovich’s Tenth is one of the most powerful of all twentieth-century symphonies. Andris Nelsons’s first Birmingham performance of this modern masterpiece will be keenly awaited – and the young Latvian violinist Baiba Skride is fast becoming a Birmingham favourite too. Sofia Gubaidulina’s Bach-inspired Concerto, written in defiance of Soviet oppression, makes a wonderfully apt prelude to Shostakovich’s epic drama.

6.15pm Pre-concert talk: Gubaidulina and Shostakovich: Russian music aficionado David Nice introduces tonight’s concert.

9.45pm Post-concert chat: Stay late for a post-concert conversation with Andris Nelsons and Stephen Maddock.

Rush Hour Blues: Charlotte Glasson Band, 8 Jun 2012

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 11:35:12 +0000

8 Jun 2012 - Jazz at Symphony Hall

FREE

A firm favourite at Rush Hour Blues, multi-instrumentalist Charlotte Glasson leads a very entertaining band inspired by gypsy jazz, ska, blues, latin and world music.

Symphony Hall's 21st Birthday Proms, 8 Jun 2012

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 19:53:55 +0000

8 Jun 2012 - Classical at Symphony Hall

Raise your glass and celebrate Symphony Hall’s coming of age with an unmissable selection of popular classics from our first 21 years of bringing great music to Birmingham.

Classic FM listeners can choose their favourite work to kick off a wonderful evening with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra including highlights from Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite, Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.

Star cellist Julian Lloyd Webber performs Elgar’s moving Concerto as the highlight of the evening, and the explosive finale of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, complete with cannon effects and fireworks, provides a fitting climax.

Musical Picnic, 9 Jun 2012

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:47:09 +0000

9 Jun 2012 - Workshop at Symphony Hall

FREE (suitable for under 18s)

Tuck into a morning of musical entertainment for all the family. Watch, listen and join in with fun performances and activities.

CBSO Nelsons conducts Shostakovich , 9 Jun 2012

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 22:54:17 +0000

9 Jun 2012 - Classical at Symphony Hall

Dark, impassioned, packed with secret messages and featuring a terrifying musical portrait of Stalin himself, Shostakovich’s Tenth is a true twentieth-century masterpiece. Andris Nelsons feels a special kinship with Shostakovich’s music, so this performance promises to be one of the highlights of the season.

First, though, Bartók’s lyrical, life-affirming Concerto allows the CBSO’s Hungarian viola section leader Adam Römer to step into the spotlight, and Nelsons shows us a side of Dvořák we don’t usually hear: the brooding drama of his stormy Othello overture.

Symphony Hall 21st Anniversary Concert, 12 Jun 2012

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 09:09:26 +0000

12 Jun 2012 - Classical at Symphony Hall

21 years to the day after the official opening of the UK’s finest concert hall by Her Majesty The Queen, the champagne corks will be popping at this gala concert. The celebrations are led by Bryn Terfel, who joins the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Chorus under Music Director Andris Nelsons. A centenary performance of Elgar’s The Music Makers pays homage to Birmingham’s rich musical heritage and the evening culminates in the ravishing colours of Ravel’s Suite from Daphnis and Chloé – performed at the very first Symphony Hall concert in 1991.

21st Anniversary Organ Concert, 13 Jun 2012

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 09:10:24 +0000

13 Jun 2012 - Classical at Symphony Hall

As designs for Symphony Hall took shape in the 1980s, the vision was that the organ would be the crowning glory of the auditorium. Ten years after the Hall opened, the Symphony Organ took its rightful place and has captivated audiences ever since with its power and range of colours. Thomas Trotter pulls out all the stops in a dazzling concert celebrating the organ’s role at the heart of the Symphony Hall story.