Glasgow City Halls - Concert Hall

Concert Hall

The City Halls and Old Fruitmarket re-opened in January 2006 after undergoing a period of extensive renovation. 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.

The venue 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 (SSO) 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.