Events Calendar

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Zoe Rahman is a vibrant and highly individual pianist and composer. Her style is deeply rooted in jazz yet it reflects her classical background, British/Bengali heritage and her broad musical taste.

Known for her powerful technique, wide-ranging imagination and exuberant performance, Zoe is a highly sought-after musician. She has recently worked with the likes of George Mraz, Courtney Pine and Jerry Dammers’ Spatial AKA Orchestra.

Zoe is a MOBO Award winner, Mercury Prize nominee, Jazz FM Award nominee and British Jazz Award winner. She has established herself as a unique presence in the British music industry.

Zoe will be playing music from her latest album, showcasing her own compositions and featuring an all-star line-up.

Zoe Rahman piano
Gene Calderazzo drums
Alec Dankworth bass
Rowland Sutherland flute, alto flute
Helena Kay alto saxophone
Alex Ridout trumpet
Idris Rahman tenor saxophone, clarinet
Rosie Turton trombone

​Smoky, sultry soul from one of the UK’s brightest new stars.

Winner of Jazz FM’s ‘Soul Act of the Year 2022’, Mica Millar released her stunning debut album Heaven Knows to an array of five star and live reviews. She has received support from BBC Radio 2’s Trevor Nelson and Jo Whiley, BBC 6 Music’s Tom Robinson and Craig Charles, among many others. Over the summer she will be supporting Lionel Richie at Blenheim Palace, as well as embarking on her UK and European tour.

Mica’s songs explore themes of human nature, spirituality, love, oppression, inequality and empowerment. She draws inspiration from a plethora of vintage soundscapes, most notably, soul, blues, gospel and jazz, resulting in a sound that is timeless yet distinctive.

Don’t miss the chance to hear her flawless, extraordinary voice, and her incredible eight-piece band, live.

A star with intense emotional sincerity is born. ‘Heaven Knows’ is an outstanding debut album that’s awash with skilful balladry. Blues & Soul Magazine

Outstanding. The future of British Soul Music is in very safe hands. Christian Bragg, Jazz FM Head of Music

​It’s time to pack your picnic and dust off your dancing shoes – A Southampton Summer Night is BACK! This year, we’ve invited The Art House CIC to guest curate the evening, and once again it’s a perfect celebration of the wealth of unique musical talent in Southampton.

From 6.30pm Bring your picnic and blanket and join us in the stunning gardens at Highfield Campus outside Turner Sims. The foyer and bar will be open with its usual range of beers and wine, or you could try our Summer Nights cocktail or treat yourself to a delicious organic ice cream.

Make the most of The Art House To Go on sale in the foyer tonight! Made with lots of love, their delicious vegan snacks, pastries and cakes (with low gluten options available) will make the perfect addition to your Summer Night picnic.

7pm – 7.45pm in the foyer: Babsie Brown and the Miniature Orchestra 
Start your evening in the Turner Sims Foyer, as four fully grown humans play dark tunes on ridiculously small instruments. Babsie Brown and The Miniature Orchestra are taking over the world via the medium of tiny things. It looks kinda funny, but sounds remarkably rad.

8pm – 8.45pm in the auditorium: Spitdust
Spitdust create cinematic soundscapes from a patchwork of original modern folk and experimental rock. The resulting futuristic sound takes you on a journey quite unlike anything you’ve experienced before. They often draw upon the retro-futurist nostalgia of 1960s and 1970s counterculture and science fiction. Their 2019 album Mirror People was a reimagining of traditional English music in a post-industrial age. In their latest album The Silent Star, the world has come to an end, its echoes drifting through outer space.

8.45 – 9.15pm in the foyer: Albert de Lyon Interval Walkabout
During the interval, make sure you bump into golden grandee Albert de Lyon. Under the exclusive management of entertainer Guy Heathcote, Albert is one of Hampshire’s most distinguished and decorated big cats. When not combing his mane, polishing his crown or napping under the nearest tree, you may catch him playing paw-tapping tunes on his trusty squeezebox, ‘Samba’. Alternatively, he might be in the mood to share one of his many dexterous party tricks, which are sure to earn a roar of approval. Or perhaps he’ll simply drop in for a purr-sonable chinwag with his adopted pride? It’s always hard to tell with Albert… and who’s going to argue with an actual LION???

9.15pm – 10pm in the auditorium: Pip Summers and the Wandering Waterbears
A showcase from Southampton singer-songwriter Pip Summers. Wherever there is music and good vibes, you can find her somewhere close by, singing her heart out to an ever-growing, appreciative crowd. Expect a finely-tuned balance of controlled, chaotic fun, honest and heartfelt (but tuneful) screaming, and an emotional earnestness that runs through everything this Shouty-Acoustic transfemme multi-instrumentalist does. Tonight, she is joined by her band of merry boys, The Wandering Waterbears.

10pm – 10.50pm in the foyer: DJ Sir Hubert Carpet
Head back to the foyer, where the bar is still open and the music is playing. Sir Hubert Carpet may be better known to many as Paul Bickmore (or ‘Bik’), one of the founding directors of The Art House CIC. Bik’s roots lie deep in ambient, downtempo and psychedelic genres. Expect tribal beats, electronic textures, psytrance and an ethereal worldbeat fusion with a smattering of ambient house. It will be a transcendent musical journey into vibrant sonic colours and pulsating rhythms. Feel the beat. Shuffle your feet.

IN ADVANCE: Standard £14 Friends £12.60 Students & under 18s £7
ON THE DAY: Standard £17 Friends £15.30 Students & under 18s £9

A Southampton Summer Night 2023 is guest curated by the Art House CIC in partnership with Turner Sims

​Back in 2007, Welsh harp virtuoso Catrin Finch embarked on an exhilarating tour of Wales with Colombian joropo band Cimarrón. This year they celebrate the 16th year of their collaboration with a UK tour.

Catrin Finch is one of the world’s greatest harp players. She is an extraordinary talent and musical adventurer. Her career includes solo performances with the world’s top orchestras, and sensational award-winning collaborations. She has worked with some of the greatest global musicians, including Edmar Castaneda (Colombia), Toumani Diabate (Mali), Seckou Keita (Senegal) and Ireland’s Aoife Ní Bhriain.

The 6-piece Grammy-nominated Cimarrón are led by vocalist Ana Veydo. They perform joropo dance music from the cattle-rearing plains of the Orinoco, rooted in a deep tradition defined by the mestizo mixed heritage of African, Spanish and indigenous cultures. Cimarrón make wild, untamed music that preserves the spirit of freedom found in one of the world’s most untouched regions. Fast-paced and powerful, their music combines impetuous singing, amazing stomp dancing and fierce instrumental virtuosity of strings and percussion.

A rare chance to witness a thrilling global collaboration.

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Revel in some of opera’s most romantic and luscious melodies. 

WNO Orchestra and conductor Matthew Kofi Waldren team up with tenor Trystan Llŷr Griffiths and soprano Nadine Benjamin in an electrifying programme which features a selection of magnificent arias, duets and orchestral numbers that capture the intensity of love, lust and heartache.

A labyrinth of emotions, experience the Overture to Verdi’s La forza del destino and Gypsy Dance from Bizet’s Carmen alongside highlights from La traviata, Norma, Tosca, Eugene Onegin and much more in a rich and sumptuous suite of music from the heart.

Programme

Verdi
La forza del destino Overture
Questa o Quella Kalmus from Rigoletto
È strano – Sempre libera from La traviata

Puccini
Intermezzo from Manon Lescaut
Recondita armonia from Act I Tosca
Vissi d’arte from Tosca
Act III Prelude from Madam Butterfly
O soave fanciulla from La bohème

INTERVAL

Tchaikovsky
Polonaise from Eugene Onegin
Kuda Kuda Kalmus from Eugene Onegin
Letter Scene from Eugene Onegin
Bizet Gypsy Dance from Carmen
Bellini Casta Diva from Norma
Offenbach Orpheus in the Underworld Overture
Lehár Lippen Schweigen from The Merry Widow

Running time approximately one hour and 50 minutes including one interval