Glasgow City Hall

Glasgow's City Halls and Old Fruitmarket is a concert hall and old fruitmarket in the Merchant City, Glasgow, Scotland.

"For the City of Glasgow's municipal buildings, see Glasgow City Chambers."

History

The City Halls are part of a market complex designed by John Carrick in 1882, but the grand hall itself was designed by George Murray and opened in 1841. It was the first hall suitable for large gatherings and concerts to be built in the City and played host to the likes of Benjamin Disraeli, Charles Dickens, Hungarian patriot Lajos Kossuth and William Gladstone. The Old Fruitmarket directly adjoins the grand hall and was a functioning market until the 1970s after which it was in occasional use for jazz and folk music events.

Not to be confused with the City Chambers, which is the administrative headquarters of the City Council, Glasgow's City Hall is located on Candleriggs, in the Merchant City and in the past featured concerts by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. For a number of years, after the destruction by fire of the St Andrews Hall in 1962, it was used for concerts by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, until the opening of Glasgow Royal Concert Hall in 1990. It has also been a venue for many of Glasgow's Festivals, including Celtic Connections, Mayfest and the Jazz Festival, as well as political and trade union gatherings.

The adjoining buildings were also home to the bustling produce markets which still feed the imagination with names such as the fresh fruit and flower market and the cheese market (very similar to London's Covent Garden).

Concert Hall

The City Halls and Old Fruitmarket re-opened in January 2006 after undergoing a period of extensive renovation [http://entertainment.scotsman.com/music/headlines_specific.cfm?id=10412&g=classop] . The refurbished halls are now the home of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the Scottish Music Centre, both members of a partnership with the City Council and Glasgow Cultural Enterprises. The hall is also the regular performance space for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in Glasgow and is a centre for music education with the city's Education Department as a key participant.

ee also

*Culture in GlasgowThe City Halls, reopened in January 2006 after a major renovation, now consists of several performance venues under one roof managed by Glasgow Cultural Enterprises (which also manages The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall):

1. The 'Grand Hall', or main City Hall auditorium which is a traditional 'shoebox' shaped hall with very fine acoustics seating 1066 in total. This is the home of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra which rehearses, records and performs here. The stage can accommodate an orchestra of over 90 and there are choir seats for 110. The hall is also used regularly by the (Edinburgh-based) Scottish Chamber Orchestra for its Glasgow concerts and by the Scottish Ensemble among others.

2. The Recital Room, a new space suitable for chamber music, seating around 100.

3. The Old Fruitmarket, an atmospheric venue still retaining its market hall character with a flexible capacity of 1000-2000. This is used for jazz and traditional music events, and also by the BBC SSO for more experimental contemporary music events.

The City Halls also houses the Scottish Music Centre, offices and recording facilities for the BBC SSO, and extensive music education facilities.

Arup Acoustics provided the acoustic design for the renovation, working closely with the Architects Civic Design, Venue Consultants Arup Venue Consultancy and Engineers Arup Scotland.

External links

* [http://www.glasgowconcerthalls.com Office Glasgow City Halls website]
* [http://www.glasgowculturalenterprises.com/ Glasgow Cultural Enterprises website]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/musicscotland/bbcsso/ BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra website]
* [http://www.scottishmusiccentre.com Scottish Music Centre website]
* [http://entertainment.scotsman.com/music/headlines_specific.cfm?id=10412&g=classop Renovation of the City Halls]
* [http://www.arup.com/performingarts/ Arup Acoustics]