NEWS
DECEMBER 2022
After an epic 10 months of work, Avatar: The Way of Water is finally coming out. I'm very proud of the work the entire team did on this and I hope everyone likes it!
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APRIL 2019
I've just finished 2.5 months in Australia, finishing off producing 2 albums: The Ten Tenors "Love Is in the Air" and Will Martin's "By Request". It was a lot of intense work to get them finished off within a few weeks of each other but it gone done, somehow, and I'm very proud of them.
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DECEMBER 2018
Simon Franglen's epic rock oratorio "Birth of Skies and Earth" was performed in China for the first time. I had a huge part in arranging and orchestrating this and its a work that is stirring and emotional. I learnt a lot about Chinese mythology during the process!
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JULY 2018
Just finished orchestrating on a new film, "Peppermint" starring Jennifer Garner. Simon Franglen's music was gritty and aggressive to suit the film's dark nature and it was an enjoyable project to work on.
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NOVEMBER 2017
Just finished another session in Prague for a new album with Will Martin. This will be the third album working with him and there are some exciting songs with a lot of emotional depth in them. To be released sometime in 2019.
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AUGUST 2017
I have just returned from Australia, having acted as musical director to prepare The Ten Tenors for yet another touring show. It was a lot of fun and, as always, they were sounding fantastic and the shows commenced brilliantly.
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JUNE 2017
I was thrilled to be an integral part of the music team working on all the music for the rides and throughout the land in the newly-opened theme park called "Pandora - The World of Avatar". The music has thundering drums, huge orchestras and plenty of other-worldy vocals and draws on some material from James Horner's wonderful score for the film. This music is likely to play in situ in Florida for the next 20 years!
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MAY 2017
Orchestrated and conducted the hypnotic and evocative score by Simon Franglen for Terrence Malick's new virtual-reality-based short film, "Together" in Air Studios. Top-notch emotional performances and a film that will surely be wonderful when viewed with the new immersive technology.
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APRIL 2017
Another album I've produced for The Ten Tenors goes on sale this week. Wish You Were Here is by far the group's most ambitious project to date. Huge orchestra, loads of percussion, guitars, basses, keyboards, synths, beatbox, pop brass and a LOT of vocal tracks. It has a great selection of songs with a lot of variety of styles, which made it thoroughly enjoyable to put together. It has been a long time in the making so I am pleased people can finally hear it!
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FEBRUARY 2017
At the top of the newly finished Shanghai Tower, a 260-speaker immersive installation has been constructed as an artistic centrepiece. Simon Franglen has written a 15-minute piece of music especially for the space, which I orchestrated and conducted and to which I contributed programming. You can read more and watch a short video about it here:
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/05/architecture/symphony-shanghai-tower/
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SEPTEMBER 2016
I had the privilege for working for many months as orchestrator for The Magnificent Seven. It was a painstaking but rewarding experience for Simon Franglen and the rest of the team bringing James Horner's final unfinished work to the big screen and I was thrilled to get to the cinema this month multiple times to see the result.
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MARCH 2016
I had the honour of doing the arrangements and conducting a top-notch 28-piece LA orchestra for an all-star gala performance to celebrate Carol Channing's 95th birthday at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert. You can read more about it in the following link and there's even a fabulous brief clip from the very end of the show where Carol contributes the final line. What a legend!
http://people.com/celebrity/carol-channing-95th-birthday-celebration-at-mccallum-theatre/
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SEPTEMBER 2015
Alexander Armstrong's first solo CD, A Year of Songs, has just been released, which I contributed all the arrangements for. It was a really enjoyable collection of songs to work on and I was particularly pleased with Down By the Salley Gardens and A Nightingale Sang on Berkeley Square.
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FEBRUARY 2015
I've arranged music for another of The Ten Tenors' "Back of the Bus" segments. This time it's Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson, ft. Bruno Mars. Check it out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCXWMB0XvSU
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JANUARY 2015
Over the last couple of months, I've written half of the music for the children's puppet show, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It has just premiered in Sydney with two weeks of shows and received very good reviews. Here's one complimenting the music:
It will be touring around Australia in the coming year. The next performances are in Melbourne in late March. Details here:
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DECEMBER 2014
I've just done a handful of shows with comedian, Rainer Hersch, as arranger and pianist. It was lots of fun and it was fantastic to hear the crowds laugh and really appreciate what everyone on stage was doing.
The Ten Tenors have begun a new regular promotional segment called "Back of the Bus" which I will be providing arrangements for. They record them all live from the back of their tour bus and have lots of fun doing it!
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NOVEMBER 2014
Sol3 Mio have done a lovely performance of an arrangement of mine at "The Royal British Legion's Festival of Remembrance" at the Albert Hall. It is I Am, written by Chris Martin for the 2014 Invictus Games. Here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9iFXOB_xq8&feature=youtu.be
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OCTOBER 2014
I've just finished working again as an orchestrator for James Horner on the film, The 33, starring Antonio Banderas, about the trapped Chilean miners. It's due for release sometime in 2015.
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SEPTEMBER 2014
I've just wrapped up working as orchestrator and programmer on the film, Wolf Totem, directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud. The score was by James Horner and it was beautifully recorded at Air Studios in London over a handful of days. It is a wonderfully moving story with very poignant music so look out for the film in early 2015. Here's the trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbhOhVimfRE
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AUGUST 2014
I've just finished working as orchestrator and programmer on a film composed by James Horner. The IMAX documentary, Living in the Age of Airplanes, directed by Brian Terwilliger and narrated by Harrison Ford, is due for release in early 2015.
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APRIL 2014
I've just spent ten crazy days in Pittsburgh, PA, producing a new album for The Ten Tenors, called On Broadway. It was hard work and great fun, as it always is!
Unfortunately, because of being in Pittsburgh, I missed being able to go to the Royal Festival Hall for comedian, Rainer Hersch's April Fools Day Concert to hear several of my arrangements performed, including two for fellow comedian, Rich Hall.
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JANUARY 2014
Just back from Australia, where I spent a wonderful two weeks taking rehearsals for The Ten Tenors' new show, On Broadway, for which I provided most of the arrangements. It opened in Brisbane to a fantastic reception before it begins its tour to many different cities around the world.
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DECEMBER 2013
It's been a busy few months getting many arrangements finished and recorded in Prague for The Ten Tenors and fitting in arrangements for Miloš Karadaglić and Luke Kennedy.
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NOVEMBER 2013
Alfie Boe has delivered a lovely performance of my arrangement of Dylan's Forever Young at the Festival of Remembrance at Albert Hall. You can see it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9zkMmyXjk8
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OCTOBER 2013
Highlight this month was a week in Thailand to conduct the Helikon Opera Orchestra from Moscow in a one-night-only show for The Ten Tenors as the closing night of Bangkok's 15th International Festival of Dance & Music. A very exciting gig all round.
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SEPTEMBER 2013
Spent 2 crazy weeks in Australia producing a new Christmas album for The Ten Tenors. Long, long, long days would be an understatement! Very exciting though – it's shaping up to be some of their best work.
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JULY 2013
Another trip to Prague to record new arrangements for The Ten Tenors and conducted the orchestra there for the first time, as opposed to being in the producer's chair. It was a really memorable occasion and thanks, as always, to James Fitzpatrick for taking over the role of orchestral producer while I waved my arms.
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MAY 2013
I've spent the last few weeks doing arrangements and composing a new song for the wonderful Friar Alessandro's 2nd album, Voice of Joy. Conducted the London Session Orchestra for the first time in Air Studios, which was a tremendous experience.
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