A pin dropped on the stage can be heard from any of the 2,262 seats, a demonstration of the acoustics that put Symphony Hall on the world map. Opened in Birmingham in 1991, with its first concert given by Sir Simon Rattle and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra on 15 April and an official opening by Queen Elizabeth II on 12 June, the hall was built with sound placed ahead of architecture in a way that was unprecedented in Britain at the time. The interior was modelled on the great shoebox halls of Vienna's Musikverein and Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, and the project drew on New York acousticians Artec and its founder Russell Johnson, with the Percy Thomas Partnership as architects. Engineering the silence proved a challenge in itself: a main railway line runs in a tunnel close by, so the whole structure sits on rubber blocks, isolated from its surroundings, with padding beneath the railway sleepers. Flexibility was designed in from the start. An acoustic canopy above the stage can be raised or lowered to suit the size of the ensemble, a reverberation chamber adds roughly half as much volume again when its doors are opened, and movable panels and banners tune the room from a dry setting for amplified shows to a resonant one for orchestras. In 2001 a 6,000-pipe Klais organ, the largest mechanical-action organ in the UK, was installed. Home to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and hosting around 270 events a year, Symphony Hall presents classical, jazz, folk, world, rock and pop, organ recitals, spoken word, comedy and conferences as part of the International Convention Centre. In 2016 acoustics expert Leo Beranek ranked it the finest concert hall in the United Kingdom and seventh best in the world, a reputation it has carried since its opening. Completed at a cost of around 30 million pounds and managed today alongside Birmingham Town Hall, the hall is home to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and stages roughly 270 events a year. From its opening it drew superlatives, hailed by the press as an acoustic triumph and the best concert hall in the country, and it has retained that standing across genres as varied as orchestral music, jazz, folk and rock. Beyond performance, the organisation runs extensive community and education programmes reaching thousands of young people and adults across the region each year, while the venue doubles as a conference and business space within the International Convention Centre.

Type: Theater / Concert Hall

Address: 8 Centenary Square, Birmingham, United Kingdom, B1 2EA

Website: https://bmusic.co.uk

Capacity: 2262

Opening Date: 15/04/1991