Stage and Screen Favourites Line Up To See Out The Year
Celebrated regional orchestra Sinfonia Viva has announced the programme for its annual New Year’s Eve Gala Concert at the Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham.
Hollywood and Broadway will come to Nottingham on Thursday December 31 as the early evening concert transports the audience to the red carpet world of box-office smash musicals, all-time favourite movie themes and classic film songs.
Principal Guest Conductor Nicholas Kok will make a welcome return and will be joined by Pianist Ian Buckle as well as talented young members of the Derby-based Big Adventures Youth Theatre Company Choir.
From iconic film classics including the Oscar-winning soundtrack title music by John Williams’ Schindler's List to the magnificence of Richard Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001: A Space Odyssey) the Gala Concert will be a veritable hit parade of songs and tunes that made history on the big screen and on stage.
The rich back-catalogue of music in the programme reads like a 'who's who' of stage and screen triumphs.
These include George and Ira Gershwin’s fabulous Strike Up The Band overture from their hugely popular anti-war, musical and music from Oliver Stone's grittily poignant Academy Award winning 1986 movie Platoon.
The laid-back, ascending slide on clarinet introduces Gershwin's jazz-classical 'fusion' Rhapsody in Blue. This legendary work featured in movies including Woody Allen's Manhattan and the 2013 remake of The Great Gatsby, plus countless television adverts.
After the interval, Viva will perform Addinsell's mighty Warsaw Concerto from the 1941 box-office hit Dangerous Moonlight.
Bringing extra sparkle, Big Adventures Youth Theatre Company Choir joins the Orchestra to perform a selection of seminal vocal smash hits. These include Harry Warren’s emblematic title song Lullaby of Broadway from the Doris Day 1951 film musical of the same name plus Cole Porter's fabulous Another Op'nin', Another Show - the timeless tune from the massive 1948 hit Broadway musical Kiss Me, Kate.
There is also the punchy There’s No Business Like Show Business, made popular by Ethel Merman’s defining rendition in the 1950 film version of Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun.
The programme finishes with a selection of popular, end-of-year, celebratory music including Suppe’s delightful operatic sensation the Light Cavalry Overture as well as three further ‘hits’ from ‘Waltz King’ Johann Strauss II – the elegant Emperor Waltz, the overture from his massively-lauded comic operetta The Gypsy Baron, and the whirlwind musical roustabout that is the Thunder and Lightning Polka.
With the popular 6pm start and 8.15pm finish there is then plenty of time for the audience to continue the celebrations and see in the New Year.
Nicholas Kok introduces each piece and is fondly known by regular concert goers as ‘Mr New Year’s Eve’.
He said: “We have put together an evening that we think is a perfect blend of much loved classics providing a programme which really can be described as music for everyone.
“The earlier time has proved to be a winner with audiences over the past two years and the combination of lyrical melodies and rousing renditions is sure to put everyone in the celebration mood on this very special night of the year.”
Tickets start from just £15 and the popular Premium Seats are again available which includes a free programme available on the night. Tickets are on sale now from the Royal Centre Box Office, Tel 0115 989 5555 or online at www.trch.co.uk .
Sinfonia Viva is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. For more information about the New Year’s Eve concert and all of Viva’s other performances in Nottingham and across the East Midlands, visit the website, www.vivaorch.co.uk