Efficient and professional airport parking at Birmingham airport with BCP.
We aim to provide the best deals on Birmingham Airport Parking- there’s no need to pay expensive gate prices.
We aim to provide the best deals on Birmingham Airport Parking- there’s no need to pay expensive gate prices.
Search 
Town Hall Reopening Concert: Hallelujah!
October 4, 2007
With all the glitz and glamour of a Hollywood premiere, Birmingham’s magnificently restored Town Hall re-opened in style. Its floodlit, white Anglesey-stone exterior shone like new, while a sumptuous red carpet – lit by sparkling lights – invited the people of Birmingham back into the building they have loved for over 170 years.
Many attending the jazz and gospel spectacular had their own fond memories of the Town Hall: former schoolchildren who performed or received prizes on its stage, those who saw The Beatles, Bowie and The Stones perform, and even the great-great nephew of the building’s architect, Joseph Hansom. “It’s just so nice to see it alive again,” one guest remarked, “We’ve missed it.”
The re-opening concert marked the beginning of a two-week festival to ‘celebrate the past and pioneer the future’ of the Town Hall. And, what a past: Dickens read his Christmas Carol here for the first time; Elgar and Mendelssohn premiered their works; while the likes of Duke Ellington, Bob Dylan, Buddy Holly and Birmingham’s own Led Zeppelin and ELO have thrilled subsequent generations.
Once the gem in Birmingham’s crown, the Romanesque classical building in Victoria Square fell into disrepair in the 1980’s and was placed on English Heritage’s Buildings at Risk register following concerns about its safety, finally closing its doors in 1996.
Eleven years, £35million and over 1,200,000 man-hours of painstaking restoration later, the Town Hall is breathtaking again, both inside and out.
Re-opening Concert: Hallelujah! was a perfect event to herald the Town Hall’s renaissance. Beginning with the specially commissioned Opening Fanfare by Musical Director, Steve Gray - and a nervously jovial speech by Birmingham’s Lord Mayor - The BBC Big Band performed Duke Ellington’s jazz-infused vision of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite. Featuring criminally cool solos from Vic Ash (clarinet and tenor sax), Andy Panayi (tenor sax) and Simon Finch (trumpet), Ellington’s fun-filled, inspired piece evoked smiles right across the concert hall.
Following an interval with free champagne, The BBC Big Band were joined by the truly awesome Ruby Turner, Cleveland Watkiss, Black Voices, the Strings of The Reggae Philharmonic Orchestra and the Town Hall Gospel choir, for Quincy Jones’ gospel reworking of Handel’s Messiah. The exuberant Soulful Celebration featured a myriad of jaw-dropping performances. Highlights included a stunning solo from Black Voices’ Shereece Storwood and Genevieve Sylva’s stonking duet with Ruby Turner. Soweto Kinch rapped and played a smooth sax solo, while Ruby Turner’s peerless solo performances elicited spontaneous applause from the audience.
At the concert’s emotional climax, the Town Hall’s beautifully-restored, 6,000 pipe organ burst into life, bringing the audience to their feet for two extended standing ovations - a fitting tribute to welcome the Town Hall back to Brum.
To find out more about the Re-Opening Festival of Birmingham Town Hall, visit: www.thsh.co.uk
Did you see Reopening Concert: Hallelujah? Tell us what you thought of the performance, what do you think of the refurbished town hall? Let us know by clicking Post A Comment...
With all the glitz and glamour of a Hollywood premiere, Birmingham’s magnificently restored Town Hall re-opened in style. Its floodlit, white Anglesey-stone exterior shone like new, while a sumptuous red carpet – lit by sparkling lights – invited the people of Birmingham back into the building they have loved for over 170 years.
Many attending the jazz and gospel spectacular had their own fond memories of the Town Hall: former schoolchildren who performed or received prizes on its stage, those who saw The Beatles, Bowie and The Stones perform, and even the great-great nephew of the building’s architect, Joseph Hansom. “It’s just so nice to see it alive again,” one guest remarked, “We’ve missed it.”
The re-opening concert marked the beginning of a two-week festival to ‘celebrate the past and pioneer the future’ of the Town Hall. And, what a past: Dickens read his Christmas Carol here for the first time; Elgar and Mendelssohn premiered their works; while the likes of Duke Ellington, Bob Dylan, Buddy Holly and Birmingham’s own Led Zeppelin and ELO have thrilled subsequent generations.
Once the gem in Birmingham’s crown, the Romanesque classical building in Victoria Square fell into disrepair in the 1980’s and was placed on English Heritage’s Buildings at Risk register following concerns about its safety, finally closing its doors in 1996.
Eleven years, £35million and over 1,200,000 man-hours of painstaking restoration later, the Town Hall is breathtaking again, both inside and out.
Re-opening Concert: Hallelujah! was a perfect event to herald the Town Hall’s renaissance. Beginning with the specially commissioned Opening Fanfare by Musical Director, Steve Gray - and a nervously jovial speech by Birmingham’s Lord Mayor - The BBC Big Band performed Duke Ellington’s jazz-infused vision of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite. Featuring criminally cool solos from Vic Ash (clarinet and tenor sax), Andy Panayi (tenor sax) and Simon Finch (trumpet), Ellington’s fun-filled, inspired piece evoked smiles right across the concert hall.
Following an interval with free champagne, The BBC Big Band were joined by the truly awesome Ruby Turner, Cleveland Watkiss, Black Voices, the Strings of The Reggae Philharmonic Orchestra and the Town Hall Gospel choir, for Quincy Jones’ gospel reworking of Handel’s Messiah. The exuberant Soulful Celebration featured a myriad of jaw-dropping performances. Highlights included a stunning solo from Black Voices’ Shereece Storwood and Genevieve Sylva’s stonking duet with Ruby Turner. Soweto Kinch rapped and played a smooth sax solo, while Ruby Turner’s peerless solo performances elicited spontaneous applause from the audience.
At the concert’s emotional climax, the Town Hall’s beautifully-restored, 6,000 pipe organ burst into life, bringing the audience to their feet for two extended standing ovations - a fitting tribute to welcome the Town Hall back to Brum.
To find out more about the Re-Opening Festival of Birmingham Town Hall, visit: www.thsh.co.uk
Did you see Reopening Concert: Hallelujah? Tell us what you thought of the performance, what do you think of the refurbished town hall? Let us know by clicking Post A Comment...
Share if you like:
