Film heroics

I read with interest your feature about films with live orchestras (March). In June 2017 the Penzance Orchestra took up the offer from the Imperial

War Museum to accompany a showing of a 1916 compilation film The Battle of the Somme, giving insight into trench warfare. The composer Laura Rossi was commissioned to write a new orchestral score to accompany the film, which ran for 74 minutes. Rehearsal and performance demanded total concentration from both the conductor Judith Bailey, with a ‘click track’ in her headphones to synchronise with the film, and from the orchestra to strictly follow the beat. It was a profound learning experience, but coalesced into a climactic performance of film and music that conductor, orchestra and audience will never forget. Michael Thorn, Helston