I was first introduced to Scottish composer Tom Cunningham by the Young
Musicians department at The Sage Gateshead, who had approached me to orchestrate
a cantata for young voices originally commissioned by the National Youth Choir
of Scotland, under the venerable direction of choral wizard Christopher Bell.
The cantata is based on a mixture of scientific fact and Greek mythology
surrounding the planets of the Solar System - Seven Planets and a Cosmic Rock
(the cosmic rock being Pluto - obviously!). Orchestrating the work was a lot of
fun - Tom's catchy melodies and witty lyrics by Derek Roberts are a fantastic
example of a concert work which is fit for purpose in every way and great fun
too!
The new orchestrations for Seven Planets and a Cosmic Rock were featured at a
double concert with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican and the
Northern Sinfonia at The Sage in Gateshead, both entitled ‘VoiceOver Through
Time and Space’. Embracing the Space theme for the evening (and adding good
measure to the logistical tightrope of organising massed children's choirs!),
parts of the concert were broadcast between the two venues, much to the delight
of the children and audiences. Myself and my wife Susie joined the composer,
lyricist and families at the London concert, and I did enjoy hearing the
orchestrations performed live by the London Symphony Orchestra.
Since then, I have orchestrated a further two of the NYCoS commissioned cantatas
for young voices - The Saga of the Seven Days (also by Tom Cunningham, with
lyrics by Derek Roberts and Paul Wigmore) and I Landed With Seven Men (arranged
and composed by Ken Johnston). These have been featured at concerts with the
Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Opera and Ulster Orchestra. Seven
Planets and a Cosmic Rock was also featured at the fifteenth anniversary concert
of the National Youth Choir of Scotland in May 2011, again accompanied by the
orchestra of the Scottish Opera.
The set of orchestrations for Seven Planets and a Cosmic Rock is available for
hire from Studio Orchestrations (contact us here for further details) and there
is also a flexiband schools edition of the orchestrations, soon to be made
available for purchase in our online store. The original vocal scores for all of
the works mentioned can be purchased from
www.nycos.co.uk
Click here to view Tom's official website
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