Have you Been to the Turner Sims? :: Wessex Scene Online

Have you Been to the Turner Sims?

6th December 2007

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Jul 03 - Aqualung plays first home gig for charity.
Dec 07 - Classic Rock in “Modern Times”
Nov 05 - The Public Versus the Critics
May 06 - RAG Fashion Show
Dec 05 - SUSO December concert

My first mission is to dispel the myth. Purge the Turner Sims of the absurd fallacy which it has mysteriously required.

No longer will you walk in the shadow of its contours on the way to lectures and envisage a forbidden realm, open only to the privileged and talented few who can tell their Sonata’s from their Symphonies, their baritone from their tenor and their Bach from their Hand(el).

The Turner Sims has been open for more than thirty years and is one of the few established concert halls on the South Coast. This means that most of the artists performing there are on the national and world circuits, rather than simply local performers, most of them you are unlikely to see anywhere outside of London, so it’s a great chance to catch them on your doorstep.

But whereas most concert halls serve as venues primarily for classical music, Turner Sims is open to most genres. And I mean most. Take the past month for instance, Turner Sims has opened its doors to; Empirical a jazz quintet who have been hailed as potentially "one of the most important bands in UK jazz history", Justin Adams Trio led by Justin Adams himself, (a member of Robert Plant’s group Strange Sensation), and the Geoff Gascoyne Project featuring Jamie Cullum, Trudy Kerr and the Juno String Quartet. And the next season’s line-up promises to be just as diverse with artists collaborating in musical expositions of electronica, hip hop and jazz ber of Robert Plant’s group Strange Sensation), and the Geoff Gascoyne Project featuring Jamie Cullum, Trudy Kerr and the Juno String Quartet. And the next season’s line-up promises to be just as diverse with artists collaborating in musical expositions of electronica, hip hop and jazz.

So what can you expect from a night at Turner Sims? The same as you can from most nights of live music really. A bar, open on most concert nights, a good atmosphere (around 450 capacity) and most importantly a unique and an earful of an exciting experiment in sound.

You can wear whatever you like when you go to Turner Sims, no need to just off that dinner jacket or cocktail dress; you are welcome in jeans and a t-shirt. In fact there is no need for any abnormal formalities, a night at Turner Sims is no different from a night at the Garden Court (except you will be provided with a plush seat to sit on, rather than a sticky square of floor to stand on). Tickets really aren’t that expensive; in fact they are half standard price for students, that averages at between Ł8 and Ł10 a ticket, not bad at all for a night of music.

So what’s stopping you now? My only inhibition is that I despite its exciting blurb in the guide I still haven’t heard any of the music by the artists appearing at the venue. I tried a search in all the usual places (myspace, purevolume etc.) but perhaps unsurprisingly it was to no avail. Luckily and rather wisely, the team are working on a media player built into the website which will allow a sneaky preview of the artists before they perform. But for now I suggest websites like lastfm.com for a sample of some of the delicacies available.

So watch out for next seasons guide which should be coming to press soon.