The Melodians will be having their final rehearsals this week of the new composition by Daniel Merrill and Nathaniel Mann in preparation for next weekend at Kings Cross. See the invitation for anyone who would like to come along and take part in the event and hear the Melodians play.
Over the past few weeks rehearsals have been on-going for the Clayground Collective Clay Cargo event over the weekend of the 15/16 August. The Melodians are learning a new piece of music composed by Dead Rat Orchestra musicians Nathaniel Mann and Daniel Merrill . To see more about this event go to:
We have now upgraded our website so you can buy our CDs directly from us and pay with PayPal instead of listing via Ebay. Go to the CDs tab and see the 3 CDs that are available. All funds go to supporting the Melodians which is a registered charity (Registered Charity No 1036904).
The Melodians took part in the ‘National Learn to Play Day’ at Henry Cavendish School on Saturday 21st March. The National Learn To Play Day was organized by the UK musical instrument industry charity, Music For All, to provide the perfect opportunity for anyone who wanted to have a lesson in learning to play the Pan. On Saturday 21st March the Melodians finished their rehearsals early at Henry Cavendish School where they are based and gave lessons to anyone who came along. People of all ages turned up and had an introduction to playing ‘Pan’ with members of the Melodians.
Terry Noel (Terrance), who formed the Melodians Steel Orchestra UK in October 1987, and has been the Leader of the Orchestra ever since, was awarded an MBE for services to Music in the New Year’s Honours 2015.
The MBE was presented to him by HM Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle on Friday 6th March. Terry was accompanied by his wife and daughters to this memorable event.
Terry had a quick chat to the Queen who remembered the Melodians from when they played at Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace Garden Parties and Commonwealth Day Services in Westminster Abbey.
Terry said after the event “It was a fantastic and memorable day. It was nice to know the Queen remembered the Melodians and enjoyed their playing.”
The 2014 Christmas Concert was a great success and finished with a well-deserved and enthusiastic round of applause from the audience. The concert was on Saturday 13th December at Henry Cavendish School in Balham which is their base.
Some comments from their fans at the concert: “This was the best concert ever!”, “The Melodians are getting better every year I come!” and especially “Loved seeing the young ones playing”.
The concert started with three spots by some of the groups from the Henry Cavendish School Steel Pan Club. These young players aged 10 to 11 are tutored by Cheynne from the Melodians using the Melodians’ instruments. Class 6C played the theme from Skyfall, Class 6W played Yellow Bird and the Steel Pan Club played Lambada. The group have developed tremendously since the previous year and there was an enthusiastic response from the audience.
The Melodians then played a varied selection of 9 pieces from their repertoire including 3 new additions that they learnt during the year: Greensleeves, Autumn Leaves and Get Lucky. They finished with a topical piece that they have brought back recently ‘Walking in the Air’.
After the speeches, the Mayor of Lambeth, Councillor Adedamola Aminu presented the awards:
The Terry Noel Trophy for Best Attendance went to Rebecca Luff Smith
The Robert Thompson Trophy for Most Promising Player also went to Rebecca Luff Smith
The Jeremy Deller Trophy for Most Improved Player went to Yvette Walcott
The British Council Trophy for Player of the Year went to Richard Hobson
There were also certificates presented to 4 of the young players (Kiya Persad, Giovanna Recchia, Ella Louise Nguyen and Rianna Hobson for their dedication to Pan Playing within the Melodians).
There was a big rush to buy the Melodians new CD called ‘Melodians Magic’ which was released on 11th December and was on sale at the Concert. Plus there were T shirts, designed by Jeremy Deller and the Fraser Muggeridge Studio, on sale as featured in their concert at the Turner Contemporary in Margate in October. These are all fund-raising efforts to keep the Melodians going and raised over £1000 for them.
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