History of the society

Southampton Recorded Music Society was founded in 1950 as ‘The Southampton and District Gramophone Society’ with the object of encouraging a greater enjoyment of classical music.

For many years the Society met in the Dean’s Suite at Southampton General Hospital. From 1999, meetings were held at the Portswood Conservative Club in Highfield Lane, but when this site was earmarked for development in 2004 we had to seek alternative accommodation. Our current home is the St Denys Church Centre in Dundee Road.

In the early days, the equipment required to enjoy recorded music at home was beyond the means of many people. The formation of the Society therefore gave the population of Southampton a greater chance of hearing music which would otherwise only have been available by attending live concerts or listening to radio broadcasts.

Affordable access to recorded music is no longer an issue, but, as technology continues to improve, the best equipment still remains too expensive for most people (at new prices, our CD replay system cost over £7000). However, we are not interested in hi-fi for its own sake. The prime purpose of the society remains to provide an opportunity for enthusiasts to get together and share their passion for classical music.

Click here to read an obituary of Professor David Brown, who died in June 2014. Before his retirement, David was Professor of Musicology at Southampton University. He was also our President for about 36 years.