December in Review

It’s been rather a while since my last update, so this is going to be something of a retrospective of the past month and a summary of all the wild things I’ve been up to. Just so you know I’ve been keeping busy.

December got off to a roaring start, with a trip over to Ireland to participate in a weekend with the Irish Film & Pops Orchestra. Have a look at their Facebook page here for more information, and to see some photos of the only concert I’ve ever played in that’s been attended by Darth Vader himself. Whilst over there I also took the opportunity to play some bassoon by the Giant’s Causeway:
 

Following that adventure, it was a return to Yorkshire for a couple of gigs with The Jelly Roll Jazz Band. First up was our one-of-a-kind concert (watch this space for one or two video clips from that!), and then the following day it was a trip to Huddersfield to perform for their Christmas market. Thank goodness for fingerless gloves.
 

 
The following Tuesday I ventured to the land of Camden to perform in The Jazz Cafe with The Sam Jewson Orchestra. Have a look at this link for more information and some clips from that evening.

The next day I had a trip to Leicester to sit in with the splendid orchestra of ‘Scrooge’, at The Curve. Then after a couple of days off I found myself playing ’60s and ’70s soul music on clarinet, at a private party in Billericay.

Back to Scarborough for the final Farrer’s performance of 2017 – a Christmas special with the temporarily renamed ‘Jelly Yule Jazz Band’, featuring some truly remarkable sleigh bell playing and one or two interesting hats.

Back to London for the final Sam Jeison Orchestra performance of 2017, at Greenwich Wintertime Festival. Go back here again for more videos and stuff. By the way, look at this:
 

[EDIT: This video seems to have been removed, and I can’t for the life of me remember what it was so I can’t even describe it to you. Sad days. – MG, 3/4/23]

 
Boxing Day saw me taking to the streets of Scarborough yet again for the traditional Boxing Day Comic Band. I dressed up specially in my newly-made clarinet costume, and dusted off my teeny tiny Eb clarinet for the annual destruction of my credibility.

Finally, yesterday I journeyed to Huddersfield for a private party with The Jelly Roll Jazz Band – the final gig of 2017!

So you see I’ve not been entirely idle.

‘Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’, London, 22/11 to 2/12

After doing a couple of fairly serious musicals, it will be nice to relax a bit over the next fortnight and play something that doesn’t make any great claims to profundity (although it does stake several claims to profanity)! For I will be playing flute, clarinet, alto saxophone and tenor saxophone for Sedos’ production of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in London’s Bridewell Theatre.

I would invite you to come along and enjoy the campest sequence of 80s hits imaginable, but alas it has already sold out so I cannot! Never mind. Here are the details anyway…

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Wednesday 22nd November – Saturday 2nd December
7:30, with 2:30 matinees on 25th and 2nd
Bridewell Theatre, EC4Y 8EQ
For further information, click here.
 

 
Also note, fans of the man the myth the legend that is Mister Wes Frankel will be pleased to hear that he will be taking my place for the three shows on 1st and 2nd December.

Gypsy, in Westcliff, 8th-11th November

This coming week sees me embarking on an epic adventure to Westcliff, to perform as part of Little Theatre Company’s production of ‘Gypsy’ at the Palace Theatre. Come along and let me entertain you by playing a lot of flute, a fair bit of alto saxomophone, more piccolo than is tasteful (i.e. any at all), and some of the sleaziest clarinet you’re ever likely to hear!

Gypsy
Wednesday 8th November – Saturday 11th November
7:30, with 2:30 matinees on 9th and 11th
Palace Theatre, Westcliff-on-Sea, SS0 9LA
For further information, click here.
 

 
Note that I will not be performing in this on Thursday 9th November as I have a gig elsewhere, which I may or may not tell you about depending on whether I want anybody to turn up. Instead, the Reed 1 Gypsy duties on that day will be fulfilled by the man, the myth, the legend that is Mr. Wes Frankel.

Things for you to watch and listen to

The dark nights are drawing in, the leaves are falling off the trees, there’s a distinct chill in the air and The X Factor is in full flow. Pretty miserable, wouldn’t you agree? So to cheer you up, here are some videos that you’ll really enjoy, assuming you are a fan of the music of Leonard Bernstein, Richard Rodgers and Yours Truly!

First up, here’s a thing that surfaced recently on YouTube. It’s a clip from Bloomsbury Opera’s production of ‘Trouble in Tahiti’, for which I played many varied clarinets earlier this year. Sit back and enjoy Rebecca Cuddy’s superb performance of ‘There Is a Garden’:
 
https://youtu.be/I2VUeMuJU_g
My second video is more for the clarinet nerds, or for people who demand proof of my ability on said instrument. It’s me playing the Clarinet 1 part for ‘The Carousel Waltz’, hot off the press from last night’s rehearsal:
 

Video number three (although it’s really just an audio recording with a picture) is new music! It’s the sixth in my series of twelve pieces for solo piano, which I’ve chosen to call ‘Dusk Descends’, on the basis that I had to call it something and ‘Number 6’ isn’t a very good title. If you enjoy it, please show your appreciation by sending me lots of money. If you don’t enjoy it, please show your dissatisfaction by sending me lots of money.
 

[EDIT 27/3/2023: Sadly this video is no longer available, however fear not! You can listen to the entire recording of ‘Dusk Descends’ – which I’ve since renamed to ‘Obfuscation’, arguably the best title of all – on my album ‘Miniatures’. Click here to find out more. : ) ]

Carousel, in Woking

Well I’ll be waltzing my way to the wonderful world of Woking this week to play clarinet (and the odd little bit of flute) for Woking Amateur Operatic Society’s production of Carousel! Rodgers and Hammerstein regarded this as the greatest of their collaborations, so if you want to find out why then come along at the times listed below to the location listed below and while you’re there say hello to the reed player listed above in the production listed both below and above. If that makes sense.

Carousel
Tuesday 31st October – Saturday 4th November
7:30, with 2:30 matinee on 4th
Rhoda McGaw Theatre, Woking, GU21 6GQ
waos.info
 

Welsh Musical Theatre Orchestra, this weekend

I’ve got my dragon repellent at the ready, in preparation for a trip to Wales this weekend to play with the Welsh Musical Theatre Orchestra!
 

 
I’ll be doing some clarimanet and some saxomophone for two concerts, the first of which is ‘A Night at the Musicals’, taking place on Saturday 21st October in Blackwood Miners’ Institute at 7:30 p.m. And as well as watching me play, you’ll also be able to hear some of my orchestrations:
 

  • Overture to Ben Franklin in Paris
  • Music of the Night from The Phantom of the Opera
  • All I Ask of You from The Phantom of the Opera
  • All for the Best from Godspell
  • Defying Gravity from Wicked
  • Round-Shouldered Man from The Secret Garden

 
Then on Sunday 22nd October we’ll be playing ‘The 12 Hour Revue’ in the Congress Theatre, Cwmbran, starting at 7:00. The idea is that the singers and conductors don’t know what they’ll be performing until 12 hours before the start of the show, and therefore I’m not allowed to tell you what orchestrations I’ve done for this one. So instead I’ll just leave some bullet points here and you can guess what they might represent:
 

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, in Eastleigh

If you like blog posts that start with ‘If you like blog posts that start with […], you’ll love this’, you’ll love this!

The title of this one has probably given you a clue to the fact that I’ll soon be travelling to Eastleigh, to play a selection of instruments for Southampton Musical Society’s production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels! I’ve had a listen through the songs and it sounds like a good larf all round, so do attend if you happen to be within reach. Here are the fine details:

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Wednesday 4th October – Saturday 7th October
7:30, with 2:30 matinee on 7th
The Point, Eastleigh, SO50 9DE
Click here for yet more information!

The other great thing about this show is that its orchestrator clearly has a sense of humour:
 

New composition: ‘Affettuoso’

Hello everybody! I wrote some more music! Here it is for you to listen to!

Now here’s some blurb that I’ve written about it:

I present to you number 5 in my planned series of 12 compositions for solo piano. Once again I have aimed for musical simplicity, although you will note that at 1:56 I lost my nerve somewhat and wrote something that’s really quite complex. Oh well, such is life!

The performance direction at the start of this piece says ‘With heartfelt intensity throughout’, but sadly my computer has failed to render this tenderness that I was aiming for, so you’ll just have to imagine it for the time being until I can find a real live pianist to play it with some degree of expression!

Stay tuned for more pieces in this series. I’ve already written number 6, and with a bit of luck that’ll be with you before too long.
 

[EDIT 3/4/2023: Sadly this video is no longer available, however fear not! You can listen to the entire recording of ‘Affettuoso’ – along with 11 other original piano pieces – on my album ‘Miniatures’. Click here to find out more. : ) ]