The Birmingham Town Hall re-opened over the first weekend of October 2007 with a wonderful festival of varied music reflecting the terrific cultural and musical diversity of the City. It has been restored over 11 years to the highest standards (a cool £36 million was spent) and the internal layout is much as it was at the time of  it's original opening, the double balcony having been replaced by the single balcony of the original design. Experts think this has not only restored the Hall to it's original aesthetic proportions but has also improved the acoustic, though the transparent baffles that  are suspended from the ornate ceiling must help a bit too. It is a restful blue and light oak, which is quite a contrast  to the plush reds and coloured wall and roof panels of the scheme we remembered in the 80's and 90's. The Chorus and Orchestra did their bit on Monday 8th October with a program of Parry's "I was glad", followed by  the delightful Violin Concerto by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, with Elgar's "The Music Makers" making up the second half. Rol took loads of photos. Here's the best of the bunch.

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