John Wilson Orchestra
Encyclopedia
The John Wilson Orchestra was formed by British orchestral conductor John Wilson
in 1994. A lush symphonic orchestra built around a jazz big band, it is renowned for resurrecting the original arrangements, which John Wilson himself has re-created, of MGM musicals and the works of Rodgers and Hammerstein
. These were featured in three extravaganza Prom
concerts at the Royal Albert Hall
in 2009, 2010 and 2011, all of which were recorded and broadcast by BBC
Television. The John Wilson Orchestra has handpicked virtuoso performers, uses skilled session singers and top choirs, and attracts international star soloists from opera
and musical theatre and jazz
at its large-scale concerts. John Wilson is also a devotee of big band
jazz and dance music, and British light classical music, such as the works of Eric Coates
.
In an interview with Rebecca Franks for the BBC
Music Magazine prior to the 2010 Proms season John Wilson explained how the specific make-up of the orchestra reflects this purpose. He also highlighted the need for the best quality musicians:
, established the unique role of the John Wilson Orchestra in reviving original arrangements of classic film and theatre musicals.
Both Proms were recorded and broadcast by BBC
Television.
22 in 2009, the John Wilson Orchestra caused a sensation with A Celebration of MGM Film Musicals, with restored arrangements by John Wilson. The soloists were Sarah Fox
, Thomas Allen, Kim Criswell
, Curtis Stigers
and Seth MacFarlane
.
The BBC
televises certain Proms every year, of which this was one. Uniquely, they have also released a DVD of the concert. This concert was revived for a national tour of Britain in November 2010.
for an evening featuring John Wilson's painstakingly recreated arrangements of Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals. In interview, John Wilson explained that "every single piece has been newly originated, edited and reconstructed. At least a third of the music we had to put together from scratch."
This project grew out of an invitation by Proms controller Roger Wright for John Wilson to do a concert commemorating the 50th anniversary of lyricist Oscar Hammerstein
's death. As the John Wilson Orchestra specialises in film music, Wilson decided to revive the original film orchestrations.
The choir was the Maida Vale Singers and the world-class international soloists from opera and musical theatre included Julian Ovenden
, Sierra Boggess
, Kim Criswell
, Anna-Jane Casey
and Rod Gilfry
.
, Adolph Deutsch
, Edward B. Powell, Gus Levene, Bernard Mayers, Pete King
, Irwin Kostal
and Herbert W. Spencer
.
, Seth MacFarlane
and Curtis Stigers for a British national tour of A Celebration of Classic MGM Musicals, visiting Manchester
,Nottingham, Gateshead
, Glasgow
, Birmingham
, and Bournemouth
.
In addition the John Wilson Orchestra has collaborated on a CD recording for Sir Paul McCartney.
John Wilson (conductor)
John Wilson is a British conductor, arranger and musicologist and specialises in music for the small and big screens, as well as Big Band jazz and light music...
in 1994. A lush symphonic orchestra built around a jazz big band, it is renowned for resurrecting the original arrangements, which John Wilson himself has re-created, of MGM musicals and the works of Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
. These were featured in three extravaganza Prom
Prom
In the United States and Canada, a prom, short for promenade, is a formal dance, or gathering of high school students. It is typically held near the end of the senior year. It figures greatly in popular culture and is a major event among high school students...
concerts at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
in 2009, 2010 and 2011, all of which were recorded and broadcast by BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Television. The John Wilson Orchestra has handpicked virtuoso performers, uses skilled session singers and top choirs, and attracts international star soloists from opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
and musical theatre and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
at its large-scale concerts. John Wilson is also a devotee of big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
jazz and dance music, and British light classical music, such as the works of Eric Coates
Eric Coates
Eric Coates was an English composer of light music and a viola player.-Life:Eric was born in Hucknall in Nottinghamshire to William Harrison Coates , a surgeon, and his wife, Mary Jane Gwynne, hailing from Usk in Monmouthshire...
.
Focus and configuration of the John Wilson Orchestra
The John Wilson Orchestra has been acclaimed for showing how "authentic period performance" extends to screen musicals.In an interview with Rebecca Franks for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Music Magazine prior to the 2010 Proms season John Wilson explained how the specific make-up of the orchestra reflects this purpose. He also highlighted the need for the best quality musicians:
The orchestra’s been together a good 15 years and its make-up is very specific. It’s modelled on the old contract movie orchestras in America. And that's basically the combination of a dance-band brass, rhythm and saxophone section, so four trumpets, four trombones, five saxes who all double, and a rhythm section, who are all very specific specialists in this style. And then on top of that you have a woodwind and French horn section.
But I think the key thing is getting the right string players. It has to be a very high octane, high gloss, soloist sort of player. The string sound isn’t blended down, it’s blended up. You play up to the best. It’s a very in-your-face, expensive sort of string sound and it takes a lot of playing. You have to have the best players, but we're spoilt in this country for terrific orchestral performers.
BBC Prom Concerts
Two of the BBC Proms Concerts, from the celebrated annual summer series in London's Royal Albert HallRoyal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
, established the unique role of the John Wilson Orchestra in reviving original arrangements of classic film and theatre musicals.
John Wilson is the man whose keen ears have reconstructed orchestrations thought lost to us for good and whose amazing orchestra has been custom made to deliver the kind of playing that takes you way beyond make-believe. "Technicolour for the ears?" You’d better believe it.
Both Proms were recorded and broadcast by BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Television.
A Celebration of Classic MGM Film Musicals
At PromProm
In the United States and Canada, a prom, short for promenade, is a formal dance, or gathering of high school students. It is typically held near the end of the senior year. It figures greatly in popular culture and is a major event among high school students...
22 in 2009, the John Wilson Orchestra caused a sensation with A Celebration of MGM Film Musicals, with restored arrangements by John Wilson. The soloists were Sarah Fox
Sarah Fox
Sarah Fox is an English operatic soprano who has performed at several of the world’s leading opera houses, notably the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. She was educated at the University of London and the Royal College of Music in London...
, Thomas Allen, Kim Criswell
Kim Criswell
Kim Criswell is an American musical entertainer and actress.- Life and career :Criswell was born in Hampton, Virginia, but grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee. After she graduated from high school, she studied musical theatre at the University of Cincinnati's College Conservatory of Music...
, Curtis Stigers
Curtis Stigers
Curtis Stigers is an American jazz vocalist, saxophonist, guitarist, and songwriter.-Early life and career:Stigers was born in Boise, Idaho, and started his music career as a teenager, playing in jazz, rock and blues groups, as well as receiving formal training in clarinet and saxophone at high...
and Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American animator, writer, comedian, producer, actor, singer, voice actor, and director best known for creating the animated sitcoms Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, for which he also voices many of the shows' various characters.A native of Kent,...
.
Imagine the soundtracks of your best beloved MGM musicals after an auditory steam-clean; better yet, imagine being there in the moment of recreation and hearing the crack MGM Symphony put through its paces, a saturation of swooning strings, mellow trombones, saxes, and a bevy of gleaming trumpets, their extravagant vibrato lending the sound an expensive sheen.
The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
televises certain Proms every year, of which this was one. Uniquely, they have also released a DVD of the concert. This concert was revived for a national tour of Britain in November 2010.
Composers and works featured
The evening paid tribute to, among others:- Composers George GershwinGeorge GershwinGeorge Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
, Irving BerlinIrving BerlinIrving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
, Cole PorterCole PorterCole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
, Harry WarrenHarry WarrenHarry Warren was an American composer and lyricist. Warren was the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song eleven times and won three Oscars for composing "Lullaby of Broadway", "You'll Never Know" and "On the Atchison,...
, Jerome KernJerome KernJerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
, Andre PrevinAndré PrevinAndré George Previn, KBE is an American pianist, conductor, and composer. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians in the world, and is the winner of four Academy Awards for his film work and ten Grammy Awards for his recordings. -Early Life:Previn was born in... - Hollywood arrangers Conrad SalingerConrad SalingerConrad Salinger was an American arranger, orchestrator and composer, who studied classical composition at the Paris Conservatoire. He is credited with orchestrating nine productions on Broadway from 1931 to 1938, and over seventy-five motion pictures from 1931 to 1962...
, Johnny GreenJohnny GreenJohnny Green was an American songwriter, composer, musical arranger, and conductor. He was given the nickname "Beulah" by colleague Conrad Salinger. His most famous song was one of his earliest, "Body and Soul"...
and Nelson RiddleNelson RiddleNelson Smock Riddle, Jr. was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid 1980s... - Musicals High SocietyHigh SocietyHigh Society is a musical film starring Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, and Frank Sinatra, and made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in VistaVision and Technicolor with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The movie was directed by Charles Walters and produced by Sol C. Siegel from a screenplay by John Patrick, based...
, Singin' in the RainSingin' in the RainSingin' in the Rain is a 1952 American comedy musical film starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds and directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, with Kelly also providing the choreography...
, An American in ParisAn American in ParisAn American in Paris is a symphonic tone poem by the American composer George Gershwin, written in 1928. Inspired by the time Gershwin had spent in Paris, it evokes the sights and energy of the French capital in the 1920s. It is one of Gershwin's best-known compositions.Gershwin composed the piece...
, The Wizard of OzThe Wizard of Oz (1939 film)The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
.
A Celebration of Rodgers and Hammerstein
In 2010, the John Wilson Orchestra returned to the Royal Albert HallRoyal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
for an evening featuring John Wilson's painstakingly recreated arrangements of Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals. In interview, John Wilson explained that "every single piece has been newly originated, edited and reconstructed. At least a third of the music we had to put together from scratch."
This project grew out of an invitation by Proms controller Roger Wright for John Wilson to do a concert commemorating the 50th anniversary of lyricist Oscar Hammerstein
Oscar Hammerstein
Oscar Hammerstein may refer to:*Oscar Hammerstein I , cigar manufacturer, opera impresario and theatre builder*Oscar Hammerstein II , Broadway lyricist, songwriting partner of Jerome Kern and Richard Rodgers...
's death. As the John Wilson Orchestra specialises in film music, Wilson decided to revive the original film orchestrations.
Most of what we’re doing hasn’t been played in concert since the original film recording sessions. We’re doing the film versions of The King and IThe King and IThe King and I is a stage musical, the fifth by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The work is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in...
, South PacificSouth Pacific (musical)South Pacific is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The story draws from James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 book Tales of the South Pacific, weaving together characters and elements from several of its...
, OklahomaOklahomaOklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, Flower Drum SongFlower Drum SongFlower Drum Song was the eighth stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. It was based on the 1957 novel, The Flower Drum Song, by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee. The piece opened in 1958 on Broadway and was afterwards presented in the West End and on tour...
, CarouselCarouselA carousel , or merry-go-round, is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders...
, The Sound of MusicThe Sound of MusicThe Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
– mainly this time the films were produced by 20th Century Fox20th Century FoxTwentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
, not MGM, but it’s that same sumptuous, expensive sound, which is perfect for the Royal Albert HallRoyal Albert HallThe Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
.
The choir was the Maida Vale Singers and the world-class international soloists from opera and musical theatre included Julian Ovenden
Julian Ovenden
Julian Ovenden is an English stage, television and film actor and singer. He is one of three children of Canon John Ovenden, chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II....
, Sierra Boggess
Sierra Boggess
Sierra Boggess is an American theater actress and soprano singer. She was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, with her two sisters, Summer and Allegra. The three of them were members of the Colorado Children's Chorale. Her parents are Kellun Turner and Michael Boggess...
, Kim Criswell
Kim Criswell
Kim Criswell is an American musical entertainer and actress.- Life and career :Criswell was born in Hampton, Virginia, but grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee. After she graduated from high school, she studied musical theatre at the University of Cincinnati's College Conservatory of Music...
, Anna-Jane Casey
Anna-Jane Casey
Anna-Jane Casey is an English singer, dancer and actress best known for her work in musical theatre.-Personal life:Casey was born in Salford, Lancashire, England...
and Rod Gilfry
Rod Gilfry
Rodney Gilfry is a leading American opera baritone. After launching his career at Frankfurt Opera in 1987, Gilfry quickly established a reputation for stylish singing and acting...
.
Arrangers of original film versions
As in the MGM film musicals Prom, this concert featured John Wilson's reconstructions of the following arrangers' original film score versions: Robert Russell BennettRobert Russell Bennett
Robert Russell Bennett was an American composer and arranger, best known for his orchestration of many well-known Broadway and Hollywood musicals by other composers such as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, and Richard Rodgers. In 1957 and 2008, Bennett received Tony Awards...
, Adolph Deutsch
Adolph Deutsch
Adolph Deutsch was a composer, conductor and arranger. He won Oscars for his background music for Oklahoma! , and for conducting the music for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Annie Get Your Gun...
, Edward B. Powell, Gus Levene, Bernard Mayers, Pete King
Pete King
Pete King was a British musician.The drummer Pete King played in the British punk band The Flys then joined After the Fire throughout most of the band's brief heyday, performing on their biggest stateside hit, "Der Kommissar," before he became the replacement of Jan Dix in the German rock band BAP...
, Irwin Kostal
Irwin Kostal
Irwin Kostal was an American musical arranger of films and an orchestrator of Broadway musicals.Born in Chicago, Illinois, Kostal opted not to attend college, instead teaching himself musical arranging by studying the symphonic scores available at his local library...
and Herbert W. Spencer
Herbert W. Spencer
Herbert Winfield Spencer was a film and television composer and orchestrator.Spencer gained industry fame when he teamed up with fellow 20th Century Fox orchestrator Earle Hagen in 1953 to create the Spencer-Hagen Orchestra...
.
2010 British Tour
During November, the John Wilson Orchestra reunited with soloists Sir Thomas Allen, Kim Criswell, Sarah FoxSarah Fox
Sarah Fox is an English operatic soprano who has performed at several of the world’s leading opera houses, notably the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. She was educated at the University of London and the Royal College of Music in London...
, Seth MacFarlane
Seth MacFarlane
Seth Woodbury MacFarlane is an American animator, writer, comedian, producer, actor, singer, voice actor, and director best known for creating the animated sitcoms Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show, for which he also voices many of the shows' various characters.A native of Kent,...
and Curtis Stigers for a British national tour of A Celebration of Classic MGM Musicals, visiting Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
,Nottingham, Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, and Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
.
DVD
- A Celebration of Classic MGM Film Musicals (the MGM evening from the 2009 Proms, released July 2010; ASIN B003QHVKRQ)
Discography
The John Wilson Orchestra's CDs for Vocalion include- This Is The John Wilson Orchestra
- Orchestral Jazz (featuring Richard Rodney BennettRichard Rodney BennettSir Richard Rodney Bennett, CBE is an English composer renowned for his film scores and his jazz performance as much as for his challenging concert works...
; CDSA 6800) - Shall We Dance?: Big Band Arrangements of Geraldo (CDSA 6806)
- Soft Lights and Sweet Music: Classic Arrangements by Angela MorleyAngela MorleyAngela Morley was an English composer and conductor. Morley was born in Leeds, Yorkshire in 1924, and played saxophone in a number of dance bands, and in 1944 became a member of Geraldo's band....
(CDSA 6803) - Moonlight Becomes You (Paul WestonPaul WestonPaul Weston was an American pianist, arranger, composer and conductor. Weston was born Paul Wetstein in Springfield, Massachusetts...
arrangements; CDSA 6808) - Film and Television Music of Angela Morley (CDSA 6807)
- Dance Date (ASIN B00082MXSC)
- Alone Together (with Gary WilliamsGary Williams (singer)Gary Williams , is a jazz and easy listening singer.Gary Williams started his career in social clubs before performing with the BBC Big Band on BBC Radio Humberside. This led to appearances on BBC Radio 2’s Big Band Special, BBC television’s Pebble Mill at One with David Jacobs, and Gloria...
; CDSA 6809)
In addition the John Wilson Orchestra has collaborated on a CD recording for Sir Paul McCartney.