Turner Sims Concert Hall Southampton

Turner Sims is a 450-seat concert hall on the University of Southampton campus that has been one of the south coast’s finest venues for classical, jazz and world music since it opened in 1974. The hall was designed with acoustics as the primary concern and the results are exceptional – it is one of the better-sounding rooms of its size in England, which makes performances here genuinely rewarding in ways that acoustically compromised venues cannot match.

The programming covers the full classical spectrum – chamber music, solo recitals, orchestral concerts and early music alongside a jazz programme that has brought internationally significant artists to Southampton for decades. The world music series has introduced south coast audiences to musical traditions from across the globe with a curatorial seriousness that reflects the academic environment while never becoming academic in the negative sense.

Turner Sims serves both the university community and a broader Southampton and regional audience, and the programming reflects the intelligence of a venue that understands both constituencies. For anyone who takes classical music or jazz seriously, Turner Sims is one of the main reasons to visit Southampton.