What's On — TownHall events

• Trio Valore plus support  

  Cancelled

  Fri 10 Oct Town Hall

  Unforutnately this performance has been cancelled, all ticket purchases will be refunded by the Box Office on 0121 780 3333.
  
  
  

• David Garrett and his band  

  Sat 11 Oct Town Hall

  Part genius, part maverick, total virtuoso•this violin sensation plays his own personal musical blend of the traditional and contemporary. Fresh from this year’s Classical Brits, BBC’s Proms in Park and the much-loved Classical Spectacular, his natural talent is “world class” (The Independent). From the haunting melodies of Ennio Morricone, Bizet’s fiery and passionate Carmen, Paganini’s masterpiece Rhapsody and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons to the inspired arrangement of Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters. Discover this international star for yourself. "....already the stuff of legend" BBC Music Magazine
  
  
  

• Orchestra of the Swan: Italian Sunshine  

  Sun 12 Oct Town Hall

  Mozart meets Mediterranean sunshine for an autumn Sunday matinee. Orchestra of the Swan are renowned for the vivacity of their excellent playing and the sunny informality of their presentation. They're joined this afternoon by the outstanding Jennifer Pike, 2002 BBC Young Musician of the Year and 2008 winner of the South Bank Show/The Times Breakthrough Award. Top-class playing and fantastic value for money. -"It's just how music should be."_ *Birmingham Post* 1.30pm free pre-concert talk and Post-concert Conversation Club in the CircleBar 15 mins after the end of the performance. £8.50, £12.50, £16.50, £19.50 Choir benches £6.50 60 plus £7.50, £11.50, £15, £17.50 Orchestra of the Swan is a Town Hall Associate Artist.
  Orchestra of the Swan David Curtis _conductor_ Jennifer Pike _violin_
  *Rossini* Overture, _An Italian Girl in Algiers'_ *Mozart* Violin Concerto No. 3 in G *Mendelssohn* Italian Symphony
  

• Orchestra of the Swan Season 2008/09  

  Town Hall

  A series of friendly and informal afternoon concerts hosted by conductor David Curtis. Orchestra of the Swan - an Explorchestra! Making music - breaking barriers '...a gutsy and versatile group...' The Guardian Orchestra of the Swan gives performances of the highest professional standard, sharing our passion and conveying the spirit with all our audiences. '...a clear, warm-toned performance...a radiant lyrical splendour...' The Independent Supported by Arts Council England "www.orchestraoftheswan.org":http://www.orchestraoftheswan.org
  Conductor David Curtis
  Pre-concert talk taking place in the auditorium at 1.30pm Post-concert Conversation Club taking place in the Circle Bar 15 minutes after the end of the performance. Entrance free to concert ticket holders
  

• Lunchtime Organ Concert: Thomas Trotter  

  Mon 13 Oct Town Hall

  Thomas Trotter performs Mendelssohn’s Third Sonata, Wesley’s Holsworthy Church Bells, Benedict’s Marche des Templiers and more. Admission from 12.30pm. Programme lasts approximately 1 hour. Thomas Trotter is a Town Hall Associate Artist.
  
  
  

• A Debate on Climate Change  

  Tue 14 Oct Town Hall

  
  *The Lunar Society* *Sir Michael Lyons* Chair
  Should Birmingham be planning a radical response to climate change? Sir Michael Lyons will chair a Question Time-style discussion between the audience and an invited panel on the impacts of climate change. The panel includes David Henderson, former OECD Chief Economist, Nigel Lawson, former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Professor Jacquie McGlade, Executive Director of the European Environmental Agency, Kevin Anderson of the Tyndall Centre, Michael Meacher MP and Julian Morris of the International Policy Network. £5, 60 plus/full-time students/unwaged £3.50 This debate is hosted by the Lunar Society and sponsored by Martineau Johnson.
  

• BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert: Veronika Eberle & Oliver Schnyder  

  Thu 16 Oct Town Hall

  This friendly lunchtime concert offers you the chance to hear the 19-year-old Veronika Eberle, one of the most promising young violinists to emerge from Germany in recent years, in two exuberantly youthful works.
  *Veronika Eberle* Violin *Oliver Schnyder* Piano *Beethoven* Sonata for violin & piano 26’ *Strauss* Violin Sonata 28’
  
  

• Andy Kirkpatrick: When Hell Freezes Over  

  Thu 16 Oct Town Hall

  British mountaineer Andy Kirkpatrick has a reputation for climbing in extreme conditions. He also has a reputation as the most extreme speaker on the mountaineering circuit, with stand-up talents to rival the top comedy acts in the UK. ‘When Hell Freezes Over’ focuses on his winter expeditions to Patagonia, a treacherous mountain range at the southern most portion of South America. Andy’s show gives a taste of what it’s like to go on a major expedition, with tales of being trapped on mile high summits in hurricane winds, buried by avalanches, and pushed close to hypothermia whilst lashed to the side of a mountain. A 100 mile-an-hour ride through Andy’s whiteknuckle experiences of the last decade. “makes Ray Mears look like Paris Hilton” The Metro
  
  
  

• BBC Big Band with Ian Shaw In association with BBC Radio 2 

  Fri 17 Oct Town Hall

  Britain’s finest Big Band returns for a second season at Town Hall. This concert, to be recorded for BBC Radio 2’s Big Band Special, features an evening of jazz and swing classics, plus special guest vocalist Ian Shaw. Winner of Best Vocalist at the 2007 BBC Jazz Awards, Ian is a regular performer with the BBC Big Band and will feature jazz standards and songs from his recent albums, Drawn To All Things-The Songs of Joni Mitchell and the self-penned Lifejacket. “He has few rivals” Sunday Times “The best jazz vocalist we have” Time Out “One of the contemporary scene’s class acts” The Guardian “A razor-sharp performer with faultless time and unrivalled passion” WBGO Jazz88FM New York In association with BBC Radio 2. Concert to be recorded forBBC Radio 2’s Big Band Special. BBC Big Band is a Town Hall Associate Artist.
  *Jiggs Whigham* Conductor *Ian Shaw* Vocals
  
  

• Mendelssohn’s Elijah  

  Sat 18 Oct Town Hall

  Mendelssohn’s Elijah is one of the mightiest of all choral works, with an heroic grandeur that sweeps all before it. The work runs in Birmingham’s blood since it was commissioned for the 1846 Birmingham Music Festival and premiered at Town Hall. Tonight, to inaugurate Mendelssohn’s bicentenary year of 2009, Elijah is performed by the critically acclaimed Ex Cathedra, in a new edition specially prepared for the occasion. The marriage of hall, history, outstanding singers and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment make this an unmissable concert. *BBC Music magazine’s Editor, Oliver Condy, explains why he has recommended tonight’s concert:* _Beloved by choral societies up and down the country, Mendelssohn’s Elijah is one of the great oratorios, crammed to the brim with superb tunes. And where else to see Elijah than in Birmingham’s newly restored Town Hall? An unbeatable roster of performers should make for an unbeatable evening._ "BBC Music Magazine":http://www.bbcmusicmagazine.com
  *Ex Cathedra XL Anniversary Choir* *Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment* *Jeffrey Skidmore* conductor *Julia Doyle* soprano *Diana Moore* mezzo-soprano *Mark Padmore* tenor *Nicolas Mulroy* tenor *James Rutherford* bass
  *Mendelssohn* Elijah (1846)
  

• Lunchtime Organ Concert: David Saint  

  Mon 20 Oct Town Hall

  An opportunity to hear Mendelssohn’s Sixth Sonata, Peeters’ Suite Modale, Bovet’s Salamanca and more. Admission from 12.30pm. Programme lasts approximately one hour.
  
  
  

• Talking Cities: Urban Design Lecture Series Robert West: People Shaping Places, Kings Cross Central 

  Mon 20 Oct Town Hall

  Birmingham’s Big City Plan is set to transform the city centre. As the regeneration goes ahead, should the citizen’s of Birmingham be involved in the shaping of its city’s public spaces? Learning from the experiences of Kings Cross, one of London’s most ambitious regeneration schemes, Bob West, Head of Urban Design and Renewal at Camden Council will reflect on the award-winning community engagement process. Bob will talk for 45 minutes followed by 15 minutes for discussion. Bob is the winner of the Mayor of London Planning Award 2008 for Best Personal Contribution to Planning for his commitment to the regeneration of the Kings Cross Area. The ambitious masterplan will deliver a mixed use development with new office buildings, the restoration and refurbishment of 20 historic buildings and structures, 2,000 homes, 20 new streets, and 10 new major public spaces. Talking Cities is the 2008 Urban Design Public Lecture series organised between Birmingham City University, School of Architecture and MADE, the Regional Architecture Centre in the West Midlands. £5 with concessions for students. Sponsored by Aitkins
  
  
  

• Maximum Rhythm N' Blues  

  Tue 21 Oct Town Hall

  *The Manfreds* (Paul Jones, Mike D’Abo, Mike Hugg, Tom McGuinness, Rob Townsend, Marcus Cliffe & Simon Currie) *plus special guests Alan Price* (The Animals) & Maggie Bell Following numerous critically acclaimed tours and due to public demand, Maximum Rhythm N’ Blues is back, once again boasting some of the finest quality talent ever assembled on one stage. The tour reunites original Manfred members Paul Jones, Mike D’Abo, Tom McGuinness and Mike Hugg. After the successful reunion of The Manfreds in 1991, the band injects all of the enthusiasm back into classics such as Do Wah Diddy Diddy, 5-4-3-2-1 and Mighty Quinn. £21.50
  
  
  

• Eddi Reader Plus special guests 

  Wed 22 Oct Town Hall

  One of the country's great vocalists who has forged a hugely successful solo career after establishing her name with Fairground Attraction. In 2003, Eddi returned to her Scottish roots to record a beautiful album of songs by Robert Burns featuring a collection of superb traditional musicians, while her more recent album Peacetime fused her Scottish influences with new material from long-time collaborator Boo Hewerdine. A superb singer who happily follows her own path regardless of the vicissitudes of musical fashion.
  
  
  

• Sing Live West Midlands presents Sing Swing  

  Sat 25 Oct Town Hall

  From the Fabulous Forties to the present day revival, Sing Live West Midlands will have you on your feet dancing to the sound of the National Festival Orchestra Big Band and 150 singers from your area. You will instantly recognise the unmistakable Glenn Miller Sound, with the show-stopping Chattanooga Choo-choo, and also our tribute to Ol’ Blue Eyes himself, the Chairman of the Board, Frank Sinatra. Something for everyone as the Sing Live Wall of Sound grabs you and takes you into the era of Swing. £15, £17.50 Under 16s £9 Tickets available from Sing Live Booking office on 01609 780315 or Town Hall and Symphony Hall Box Office. Please note the 3.30pm show has now been cancelled
  
  
  

• Sunday Morning Coffee Concert - Di Xiao  

  Sun 26 Oct Town Hall

  This brilliant Chinese pianist is already well known in Birmingham’s music circles as a result of being chosen to represent Town Hall and Symphony Hall in the ECHO Rising Stars series. Today’s concert launches a tour that will take her to play at eleven of Europe’s most prestigious concert halls during 2008/9. Come and hear her play sonatas by Mozart and Beethoven and a selection of miscellaneous pieces, and wish her bon voyage. £7.50 (unreserved), Under 16s £3.50 Ticket includes a cup of tea or coffee, a soft drink or a glass of sherry.
  
  
  

• Lunchtime Organ Concert - Darius Battiwalla  

  Mon 27 Oct Town Hall

  Darius Battiwalla performs a glorious programme that includes Mendelssohn’sFirst Sonata, Vierne’s Claire de Lune and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee. Admission from 12.30pm. Programme lasts approximately one hour.
  
  
  

• Nitin Sawhney: London Undersound  

  Tue 28 Oct Town Hall

  From bizarre justifications for war to issues of race, nationality, religion and cultural identity, we are saturated with information and second-hand opinion. Since the bombings of 7/7 and the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, Nitin Sawhney feels that London’s heartbeat - that collective consciousness, the uniting hum of disparate voices - has changed. London Undersound, the tour of the album due for October release, captures the zeitgeist and reflects the common humanity that pervades superficial divides in a city of immense diversity, imagination and beliefs. Post-concert conversation with BBC Asian Network's Adil Ray and Nitin Sawhney £17.50 By arrangement with Primary Talent International Ltd Supported by Sampad and Shaanti
  
  
  

• Celebrity Piano Recital: Paul Lewis  

  Thu 30 Oct Town Hall

  Few other pianists have identified themselves so closely with the great Viennese classics as Paul Lewis. A protégé of the legendary Alfred Brendel, his award-winning recordings of the Schubert Sonatas have been highly acclaimed. Tonight he combines Schubert’s majestic G major Sonata with two of Mozart’s most profound piano works and Ligeti’s scintillating _Musica ricercata_, parts of which were used in Stanley Kubrick’s film _Eyes Wide Shut_. This is a chance to hear at first hand one of today’s most celebrated young pianists. 6.15 Pre-concert talk: Paul Lewis in conversation Tickets £5-£20
  
  *Mozart* Fantasia in C minor, K475 12’ *Ligeti* Musica ricercata-11 Pieces for Piano 27’ *Mozart* Rondo in A minor, K511 9’ *Schubert* Sonata in G major, D894 30’
  

• Halloween Silent Movie Special: Nosferatu  

  Fri 31 Oct Town Hall

  *Certificate 12* *Nigel Ogden* Spine-tingling improvised organ accompaniment One of the earliest film adaptations of Dracula, this 1922 creepy cult classic spawned a legion of horror movies. The flesh-crawling Count Orlok, played by Max Schreck, is the stuff of nightmares! Duration approximately 88 minutes with no interval.
  
  
  

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