Terry Noel – Page 6

The Melodians pays tribute to David Bowie who died yesterday

Posted on January 11, 2016 | By Mary Noel

The Melodians were all saddened to hear of the death of David Bowie after an 18 month battle with cancer. He was a great talent and will be sorely missed.

The Melodians recorded a video playing one of his most famous songs ‘The Man Who Sold The World’ at the British Council in 2013. They also recorded the music at Abbey Road Studios in March 2013 as part of the soundtrack for the ‘English Magic’ video created by Jeremy Deller.

If you would like to listen to the unusual sound of a Steel Orchestra playing David Bowie then here is the link:

Melodians Annual Award Concert 2015

Posted on December 15, 2015 | By Mary Noel

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:

DSCF5563 (1280x960) — View from the back as the Melodians perform

DSCF5541 (1280x960) — The School Choir performing with Melodians

DSCF5543 (1280x960) — Cheynne directing from the back of the hall

DSCF5577 (1280x960) — Terry presents Certificates

DSCF5582 (1280x960) — The Mayor presents awards

DSCF5581 (1280x960) — Amy receives Landmark Award

DSCF5586 (1280x960) — Head Teacher receives her flowers.

Cancer Research Night to Remember

Posted on November 22, 2015 | By Mary Noel

The Melodians helped to create the Cancer Research UK Night to Remember in Painshill Park, Surrey yesterday 21st November. A great evening with the Melodians adding their special touch of fantastic music.

Clay Cargo Kings Cross video now published

Posted on October 4, 2015 | By Mary Noel

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:

Joint Concert with Pandemonium at St Teresa’s

Posted on September 16, 2015 | By Mary Noel

Concert at St Teresa's — Melodians, Pandemonium and Nicky Fairey on stage

The Melodians took part in a concert jointly with the Pandemonium Steel Band at St Teresa’s School in Effingham on Saturday 12th September. This collaboration was to celebrate the exciting year that the Melodians have had and also the fact that Pandemonium will be disbanding when 3 of the players go off to University. Nicky Fairey (front row, third from right) organised the farewell event.

The Melodians played an exciting mix of audience favourites including Bohemian Rhapsody, The Man Who Sold The World, Rasputin and their latest new composition ‘Clay Cargo’ which was played for the first time at Kings Cross in August.

The hall was crowded with a fantastic audience including a large number of boarders from St Teresa’s. Both groups received a wonderful standing ovation from the audience at the end of their performances.

A sad farewell to Pandemonium but an exciting first public concert for the Melodians to follow on from their free concert at Myatt’s Field in Brixton.

Bandstand Concert in Myatt’s Field Brixton on 29th August

Posted on September 3, 2015 | By Terry Noel

To the delight of local residents 20 of the Melodians went to Myatt’s Field in Brixton on Saturday 29th August to give a free Bandstand Concert. It was very quiet there but gradually more people gathered around the band and enjoyed the event. There were a lot of children and families enjoying the park and the unexpected entertainment. We even got a lot of interest from dogs there for an afternoon walk! A few comments:

“We just came over for a quick coffee and then you all arrived. It’s wonderful.”

“It’s lovely. Thank you so much.”

“I saw it on the email that came round but didn’t realise it would be as good as this. Fantastic!”

Unfortunately the wet weather did beat us eventually and we had to stop slightly early but still got a great round of applause.

To see a few recordings from the day follow this link.

Folkestone Harbour Festival event 22nd August

Posted on August 31, 2015 | By Terry Noel

Folkestone Harbour Arm 2 The Melodians had an interesting day in Folkestone on 22nd August playing for Music for Change at the Folkestone Harbour Festival. It was a very busy day with lots of interested families watching all the entertainment and listening to the Melodians. As the stage did not have a cover we were tucked in under the walkway between the burger bar and the kebab shop. No problem getting some food!

The entertainment was out on the Harbour Arm so we had a fantastic view over the harbour.

Folkestone Harbour Arm 1

Fantastic weekend at Granary Square for the Clay Cargo event

Posted on August 20, 2015 | By Terry Noel

The event at Granary Square over the weekend was really exciting and busy. We received a fantastic response from a large crowd on both days. Lots of families came along to the event and it was great to see all the children dancing to the music.

On Saturday, for the first time, we played the new composition ‘Clay Cargo’ created by The Dead Rat Orchestra (Daniel Merrill and Nathaniel Mann). This was composed especially for the Melodians to play at this event and is based on a traditional tune created when the canals were first built to carry pottery from Stoke on Trent down to London. ‘Clay Cargo’ was played 4 times over the 2 days.

Here are a few photos from the day.