On Thursday 17 November, an enthusiastic audience was treated to another magnificent and at times sublime evening of music-making, as Chamber Orchestra and Big Band accompanied us on a nostalgic and eclectic journey celebrating many great moments from the silver screen.
From Chaplin to Brando, Pacino to Streisand, iconic memories from glorious films of yesteryear were supported by the wind, brass, strings and percussion of Chamber Orchestra. From arrangements by Randy Newman to an original score for Chaplin's 'Circus' by second year music composition scholar Evie Oldfield, the first half bedazzled and delighted the packed Prospect crowd, expertly orchestrated by Master of Ceremonies Adam Byrne. Speaking after the concert, Adam said, “It was an honour to host such a special evening appreciating great works of film music. I think that each individual number did justice to both the original works themselves, and also showed the incredible talent of our department!”
Ben Dowsett, Curriculum Manager for music commented, “The evening was a really good illustration of the huge variety of talent and music-making that goes on at Farnborough. The students’ hard work was evident; it was a fantastic evening!”
Soprano soloist in ‘Feed the Birds’ Molly Beere enjoyed the eclectic evening. Chamber Orchestra demonstrated the power of music in the movies, by playing two different pieces to the same extract from ‘Lost in Translation’. As she observed after the concert, "Thursday night was a wonderful experience, both as a performer and as a spectator. There was an amazing mix of jazz, humour, and suspense. I loved seeing how the same film clip can be turned on its head simply by changing the soundtrack."
The second half ramped up the tempo with Big Band and foot tapping standards such as 'Come Fly With Me' and McCartney's Bond classic, 'Live and Let Die'. As well as playing Flute with Chamber Choir and Big Band, second year music student Rhiannon Pooley was also the vocalist for ‘The Way We Were’, and commented, “It was a wonderful experience to be able to perform with such an outstanding orchestra and big band. Being given the opportunity to play amazing repertoire was great, and I can’t wait for the rest of the concerts this year!”
In summing up, Harry White, Curriculum Manager for music performance and Chamber Orchestra conductor said, “'The Department is already into double figures for concerts this term, but the autumn Chamber Orchestra and Big Band event is always a huge marker in the College's musical calendar. To have so many musicians coming together and performing with such energy was truly inspiring, and it was wonderful to see the theatre packed to the rafters. This was a vibrant, innovative and creative night of music from the silver screen - one that'll live long in the memory!”
