Prom 59: The Broadway Sound with the John Wilson Orchestra

By Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres, 29 August 2012

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Reviewed at Royal Albert Hall, London on 27 August 2012

Programme to include:

Gershwin, Funny Face: Overture

Bernstein, On the Town (Imaginary Coney Island)

Rodgers, On Your Toes: Slaughter on Tenth Avenue

Bernstein, West Side Story (Balcony scene)

Adler, The Pajama Game (Seven and a Half Cents)

Willson, The Music Man (Ya Got Trouble)

Kern, Show Boat (Ol' Man River)

Styne, Funny Girl: Don't Rain on My Parade

Herman, Mack and Mabel (Tap Your Troubles Away)

Maida Vale Singers

John Wilson Orchestra

John Wilson, Conductor

Seth MacFarlane, Baritone

Anna-Jane Casey, Vocals

Superlative playing from the John Wilson Orchestra

Benjamin Poore, 11th August

The effervescent John Wilson and his orchestra make Bernstein's musical sparks fly.

***11

A sharp, crisp Oklahoma! at the BBC Proms

Mark Valencia, 11th August

Nathaniel Hackmann, a stocky baritone with the tenderest of timbres, was like a reincarnation of Alfred Drake.

****1

Prom 38: John Wilson plays Gershwin

Kathryn Wareham, 13th August

A packed Royal Albert Hall were treated to no less than seventeen works written and inspired by George and Ira Gershwin, in addition to three encores.

****1

Bravura Bernstein with the John Wilson Orchestra

Frances Wilson, 5th September

Marking 25 years since the death of Leonard Bernstein, Prom 67 celebrated his writing for stage and screen in a lively and colourful performance by the John Wilson Orchestra.

****1

Smooth operation: the Frank Sinatra Prom

Charlotte Valori, 7th August

The John Wilson Orchestra was on superb form for this stylish Prom, delving into Sinatra's back catalogue with Seth MacFarlane.

***11

Kiss Me, Kate dazzles at the Proms

Julia Savage, 2nd August

The John Wilson Orchestra has rapidly established itself as a Proms highlight. Following on from a standout My Fair Lady in 2012, this year's Kiss Me, Kate showed the Orchestra at its very best, with an equally fabulous cast and crew.

****1

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Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres

Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres is a Bristol-based film composer and classical electronic artist. Alexandra's passion in scoring and as a performer lie in the duality between the classical and electronica worlds, moving picture and her love for the piano. Her music has been described by The White Room Magazine as “majestic, at times monumental…the force and vastness of nature”.