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.
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:
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.
Celebrate with the Melodians the news that Terry Noel, the founder and leader of the Melodians Steel Orchestra UK, has been appointed by HM Queen Elizabeth II as an MBE in the New Year Honours for 2015 – for his services to Music.
Terry formed the Melodians in October 1987 and has been the Leader ever since. The Melodians is a ‘not for profit’ organisation and became a registered charity in 1994. The Melodians currently has 34 members with ages ranging from 11 to over 70.
The achievements of the Melodians in the past 27 years have been numerous and diverse. Among other things:
It is through the hard work and dedication of Terry Noel as their leader that all of this has been possible. He is the person with the vision to see the potential of a steel orchestra and he takes the initiative to constantly seek out new challenges. In his view nothing musical is impossible for the Melodians.
‘Melodians Magic’ is the new album by the Melodians and is now available to buy as a CD. It can be bought from Ebay for £12 including postage and packing in the UK. The album features the 3 English Magic tracks recorded at Abbey Road Studios in March 2013 plus another 9 of the Melodians favourites that have been played at the UK opening events in William Morris Art Gallery, Bristol Museum and Art Gallery and the Turner Contemporary in Margate. These tracks were recorded at the BBC Maida Vale Studios on Saturday 22nd November.
Sleeve design is by Jeremy Deller and the Fraser Muggeridge Studio.
However, why not try a taster before you buy? One of the tracks from the CD is available as a download to your desktop, iPhone or mobile. Simply follow the correct link. As you know, the Melodians are a Registered Charity (No. 1036904) and are relying on the sales of the CD to keep them going for the next year. If you decide to download the recording of ‘Get Lucky’ please leave a £1 donation via the Donate button on the right hand side of the page.
desktop download iPhone download 3G mobile download
The ‘Melodians Magic’ CD can be purchased via the CDs page.
The Melodians arrived at BBC Maida Vale at 8 o’clock on Saturday 22nd November to record a new album. The album is called Melodians Magic and tells the story of the Melodians involvement with Jeremy Deller in the 55th Venice International Art Biennale in 2013 and the tour of the exhibition in the UK in 2014.
The Melodians recorded the backing tracks for the English Magic film at Abbey Road Studios in 2013 and the film was on continuous display in Venice and at all the exhibitions in the UK. The Melodians also performed at the opening of all the exhibitions in the UK, playing the English Magic music plus favourites from their own repertoire.
We were asked by many who attended the opening of the exhibitions for a CD of the music but it has taken until now to get the time and backing to record the CD.
This CD is for all the fans who told us how much they enjoyed the film and the Melodians performances in Venice and the UK and asked where they could buy a CD of the music. Here at last is the CD.
We hope you enjoy it.
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