You can’t beat a night at the movies

John Wilson tells Nottingham audiences what they can expect when he and his superstar orchestra return to the Royal Concert Hall in December with their brand new show, At The Movies

YOU have performed many times at the Royal Concert Hall, and your annual concerts are always extremely popular with Nottingham audiences. What makes this venue so special to you?

Well the Nottingham audiences are extremely popular with us, too. They are always so enthusiastic and attentive and the hall - which has one of the best acoustics on the planet - is always packed to the rafters which makes for a very exciting evening.

This new show in December is called ‘At The Movies’. Tell us more about the repertoire...

At The Movies is a really rich and varied programme of music from what we now call the Golden Age of Hollywood - roughly 1930 to 1960 - when all of the movie studios had composers and orchestras on full time contracts. So expect Academy Awardwinning scores by Korngold, Max Steiner and Franz Waxman, as well as hits from many of the movie musicals of the period such as South Pacific, Easter Parade and Funny Girl.

For this year’s concert the orchestra will be joined by American singer and actress Kim Criswell. What do you hope her performance will add to the audience’s experience?

Kim will bring her own special interpretations of these wonderful songs that were made famous by Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand, Julie Andrews and others. She has an innate understanding of how to deliver all of this stuff but she never descends into mimicry - she makes these numbers her own.

What would be your highlight from the programme?

John Williams’ thrilling music for E.T. - the only piece composed during my own lifetime. I saw the movie the day it came out and my affection for this wonderful score has never dimmed.

How did you become interested in this style of music?

At the same time I became

interested in all other styles of music. I listened to it as a kid just as I listened to Mozart, Beethoven, Debussy, The Beatles, etc.

Your orchestra has become celebrated internationally. Tell us how it was created and what makes it unique?

I was still a student at the Royal College of Music when I formed the orchestra, made up of fellow students and friends. Several of those players from the first concert in 1995 are still in the orchestra. We did it for fun and then kept on doing it and people seemed to enjoy what we did. By the time we were invited to play at the BBC Proms in 2009, we’d had 15 years’ experience of playing together, so we were ready for the challenge. I’d say the repertoire we play makes us unique as does the unusual line up: an old-fashioned dance band in the middle of a conventional symphony orchestra.

Do you have any exciting new plans or projects for yourself with the orchestra on the horizon?

I’m always trying to dream up new ideas.

See the John Wilson Orchestra at the Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham on December 13 at 7pm. Tickets are £19.50 to £49.50 from trch.co.uk and 0115 989 5555.