The Music Hall is a concert hall in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, formerly the city's

Assembly Rooms In Great Britain and Ireland, especially in the 18th century Britain, 18th and 19th centuries, assembly rooms were gathering places for members of the higher social classes open to members of both sexes. At that time most entertaining was done ...

, located on Union Street in the city centre.

History

The venue was designed by Archibald Simpson, a notable Aberdeen

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, and cost £11,500 when it was originally constructed in 1822. It was opened to the public as a concert hall in 1859. In September 1896, the building hosted the first cinema screening in Aberdeen. The building was renovated in the 1980s. It was closed for further extensive renovation in 2016 with a £9 million investment, and reopened in December 2018.

War Memorial

There is a bronze plaque inside the lobby of the Music Hall, bearing the names of all those from Aberdeen who served in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). The memorial was removed during the 2016 refurbishment and as of August 2019 is currently stored at the Aberdeen Trades Council.

Events

The Music Hall regularly plays host to the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the annual

Aberdeen International Youth Festival Aberdeen International Youth Festival was a festival of performing arts and one of Scotland's major international cultural events, which ran from 1981 to 2017. Each year the festival brought over 1000 young people in performing arts companies ...

, and various pop/rock artists. Some notable artists who have performed at the Music Hall include

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Emeli Sandé Adele Emily Sandé, ( ; born 10 March 1987), known professionally as Emeli Sandé, is a Scottish singer and songwriter. Born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, and raised in Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, by an English mother and a Zambian father ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

, Bullet for My Valentine,

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, Morrissey,

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

and

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

References

External links

Music Hall Official website
Commercial buildings completed in 1822 Theatres in Aberdeen Category A listed buildings in Aberdeen Theatres completed in 1822 Music venues completed in 1859 1859 establishments in the United Kingdom 1822 establishments in Scotland {{UK-theatre-stub