An influential figure in the city's music scene is to step down from the world class venue he has been at the helm of for 25 years. 

Concert Hall Manager Kevin Appleby will move on at the end of the 50th anniversary year at Turner Sims in August. 

Since joining the venue in 2000, Kevin has programmed the venue's celebrated concert series, spanning classical, jazz, folk and global music.

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Kevin's many Turner Sims career highlights include Southampton’s Musical Alphabet in 2012, which saw 50 events and 500 performers entertain 2500 people in 23 venues across the city as part of London 2012’s Cultural Olympiad.

The international Friday Afternoons project in 2013 celebrated the centenary of Benjamin Britten and saw 2760 children broadcast live from Turner Sims.

Peter Edwards’ Turner Sims commission ‘A Journey with the Giants of Jazz’, premiered at the concert hall in 2017, part of the nationwide New Music Biennial initiative.

The world premiere of Tunde Jegede’s ‘Voyages of the Heart‘ was broadcast online during Covid. The work was commissioned for the Mayflower 400 commemorations in Southampton.

More recently, Turner Sims hosted the BBC Singers in their 100th anniversary year.

Kevin’s final Turner Sims concert series will be the 51st Autumn Season from September 2025 to January 2026, which will be announced in May.

Kevin Appleby said: "Turner Sims has been part of my life for so long that the thought of my time here coming to a close feels somewhat strange.

"However as the concert hall reaches the end of its 50th anniversary year, and I at the same time complete 25 years here, it is the right moment for me to step down and focus on other things.

"When I was appointed I don’t think I ever anticipated spending such a significant amount of my working life in one organisation. However, whenever there has been a doubt in my mind about continuing, another unmissable opportunity, collaboration, or new venture has magically appeared.

"I will be forever grateful to have been part of an organisation that means so much to so many people, to have worked with inspiring colleagues who have made the place what it is, and to have enjoyed and learnt from so many rewarding experiences."