Here is one of our new and original pieces of music composed and arranged by Tamla Batra and played at our Christmas Concert. It is a salsa rhythm.
Hope you enjoy it!
Pan Clave at Christmas Concert
Tag: Terrance Noel
High Commissioners’ Banquet at the Guildhall
On Monday 15th October The Melodians entertained at the High Commissioners’ Banquet at the Guildhall hosted by the City of London and The Royal Commonwealth Society. It was a wonderful evening.
Possible exchange with Tonga in 2019
The Melodians has been in discussion with the Tongan High Commission about a possible exchange with a brass band from Tonga in 2019. The idea came about from a previous player with the Melodians – Lady Berkeley (or Dido as we know her), when she visited Tonga this year. She was overwhelmed by the welcome she received from the Tongan people and delighted by the many creative and talented people she met. She came back to the UK with one idea on her mind – to put forward a proposal for an exchange with a Tongan group to Terry Noel for him to take forward. If funding can be raised, the Melodians could be visiting Tonga in 2019 to perform and the Queen Salote College Brass Band would come to the UK.
Viliami Lolohea, the First Secretary of the High Commission of the Kingdom of Tonga came to our rehearsal last night in order to meet us and start the discussions.
Here is a performance of the Queen Salote Brass Band in Tonga.
Looking forward to an interesting 2019.
London Fashion Week – Isa Arfen Show
The London Fashion Week – Isa Arfen Show this week was fantastic, the designs were great and the response from the audience was tremendous. Here is a small section of the event which shows part of the Cat Walk with the Melodians clearly seen playing at the back of the hall. A great experience for the Melodians. No logos were allowed.
Trinidad Melodians in grounds of Royal Festival Hall 1987
If you have watched our 30th Anniversary video you will have seen a few seconds of the Trinidad Melodians performing in the grounds of the Royal Festival Hall during their visit to the UK and the Isle of Man in 1987. It was this visit that prompted Terry Noel to form the Melodians Steel Orchestra UK in October 1987. Well here is the full recording of the Trinidad Melodians performance of ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’ by Tina Turner.
We hope you enjoy it (sorry about the slight hiccup in the middle but it was recorded over 30 years ago).
The Melodians Played at the Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey on Monday 14th March
The Melodians Steel Orchestra played at Westminster Abbey on a chilly day as guests arrived for the Commonwealth Day Service. The players, helpers and parents of the younger children were able to attend the service in the Abbey which was televised live on BBC1. HM the Queen and many of the Royal family were at the service and Terry Noel (leader of the Melodians) was invited to meet the Queen and other members of the Royal family as they left the Abbey.
The recording of the service can be seen on the BBC iPlayer on this link. You can catch the Melodians playing right at the beginning of the recording behind the presenter Mishal Husain:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0745hs1
Among the 7 pieces that the Melodians played was one of their new pieces of music ‘Colour Blind’ that was composed for them by Robert Thompson of Arima, Trinidad. You can hear a recording from the day on this link:
Melodians Annual Award Concert 2015
The Melodians gathered at their base in Henry Cavendish School on Saturday 12th December for their Annual Award Concert 2015. The hall was filled with family, friends and supporters for the free concert to celebrate a busy and eventful year and reward the magnificent effort of the Melodians players.
This year, the concert was divided into 3 parts. The first two pieces played were performed by the school children from classes 6C and 6W who performed the classics:
- Somewhere Over the Rainbow
- Swing Low Sweet Chariot
This was followed by the School choir accompanied by the Melodians – a first for both groups – singing:
- Mas Que Nada
The rest of the concert was an exciting performance of 9 pieces by the Melodians, including some of their old favourites, the new composition from the Clay Cargo project, 3 other pieces composed for the Melodians plus their new addition to the repertoire, Hotel California.
- Morning Dance
- Clay Cargo
- New Dawn (composed for the Melodians by Amy Daniel)
- Blue Skies
- Excerpts from Swan Lake
- Habenera
- Tropical Monsoon (composed for the Melodians by the late Mikey Andrews)
- Hotel California
- Colour Blind (composed for the Melodians by Robert Thompson)
A great addition to the evening was Cheynne singing ‘Blue Skies’ accompanied by the Melodians.
The encore was Bohemian Rhapsody which finished with a standing ovation from the audience.
The Mayor was there to present the main awards and Terry also presented certificates to the young players from Henry Cavendish School who have been playing with the Melodians this year.
Some photos from the evening:
Clay Cargo Kings Cross video now published
You can now see the video from the wonderful event at Granary Square, Kings Cross where we played the new composition by Daniel Merrill and Nathaniel Mann of the Dead Rat Orchestra. The video is on our YouTube page link below:
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