Symphony Hall, Birmingham
From Free net encyclopedia
Symphony Hall is a concert venue located inside the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Birmingham, England. Opened in 1991 it is home to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and hosts around 270 events a year. In addition to concerts the venue is also used for community events, graduation ceremonies and conferences.
Symphony Hall's acoustic, widely considered one of the finest in the world, was designed by Russell Johnson of Artec Consultants Inc. A particularly innovative feature is the hall's acoustic flexibility: reverberation chambers can be opened or closed, the ceiling raised or lowered and dampening curtains extended or retracted to ensure that the 'sound' of the space is perfectly matched to the scale and style of the music to be performed.
In 2001 a 6000-pipe symphony organ was installed, designed and built by Johannes Klais Orgelbau in Bonn and specially tailored to the hall's reverberation chambers. This is now the largest mechanical action organ in the UK.
Symphony Hall has charitable status and through its Education/Community department carries out projects for schools, community groups and families.