I've played several theatre organs built by Compton and Wurlitzer but never a Christie until today! Im playing "I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts" on the Christie theatre organ at the Social Welfare Hall in Harworth near Doncaster. The organ was originally built in 1934 for the Essoldo cinema in Durham and had 2 manuals and 7 ranks of pipes. It was installed here in the 1960s and had an extra manual and some extra ranks of pipes added. When playing a cinema organ my aim has always been to try and play as they did in your average 1930s surburban cinema. In otherwords - knock out the tune! The emphasis these days tends to be on "orchestral" styling etc.
Me at the organ of St John Vianney Catholic Church in Clayhall, London. Im playing the old tune "If I could help somebody" and using the organs electrostatic melotone unit blended with the Tibia for most of the melody and to round it off I use the Triangle! The organ was originally installed at the Ritz Cinema in Nuneaton and has 3 manuals, 6 ranks of pipes and of course the melotone unit. It was designed by organist Harold Ramsay. When this church was built in the late 1960s, rather than spend large sums of money on a new organ the priest at the time was a cinema organ enthusiast and had this organ brought and installed here. The organ is used for the sunday services, weddings, funerals and other church activities and regular concerts are organised by the cinema organ society.
At the Plaza with "On the Sunny side of the street" played on the 1931 Compton pipe organ. In this video I tried to play exactly how I think a 1930s cinema organist would have done ie I didnt try and sound like another organist or follow a particular style. I simply banged out the tune!!! :-)
Fuse needs a video reporter to help cover the John Mayer concert at NYC's Beacon Theatre on November 17th! You can win a trip for you and a friend to NYC including a 2 night stay at the Beacon Hotel, tickets to the sold out Beacon Theatre show, round trip airfare provided by Delta, and the chance to be on Fuse as you co-anchor a special segment of The Daily Noise with Billboard Editorial Director, Bill Werde. To enter, head to http://fuse.tv/johnmayer
The Irish will welcome over 50 majestic Tall Ships from 12 countries, some 1,400 sail trainees and an anticipated 500,000 maritime, music and festival fans to the quays of Waterford City this weekend for the biggest party of 2011.
The Tall Ships Races, which first visited the Viking city in 2005, return this year from 30 June to 3 July with a world-class festival programme capturing the very best of Irish and international acts, street theatre, fireworks, music and food.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/prne/tourismireland/50520/
Me playing my own arrangement of "Time on my hands" on the Stockport town hall Wurlitzer organ. The day before I listened to a recording I made playing this very piece on the Southampton Guildhall Compton organ and was amazed at how similar I made two very different instruments sound particularly between 0:46 and 1:00.
Cirque du Soleil presented a wholly unique and exclusive performance for the 84th Academy Awards on Oscar Sunday, February 26. The one-time-only event featured the largest Cirque cast ever assembled for a single act.
More than 50 international artists from Cirque du Soleil productions around the world converged in Los Angeles to bring the dynamic showcase to life. The act featured aerialists, Icarian acrobats, hand balancers, dancers and characters from IRIS, A Journey through the World of Cinema™ along with the 15-member Banquine team from Viva ELVIS™ in Las Vegas and a hand balancer from Zarkana™, direct from Moscow’s Kremlin State Palace Theatre. The act was accompanied by music from Academy Award®-nominated composer Danny Elfman, who scored the music for Cirque du Soleil’s IRIS, A Journey through the World of Cinema.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/54694-cirque-du-soleil-84th-academy-awards-exclusive-performance-danny-elfman
Sydney Festival opened its 2012 program with Australia’s largest free outdoor cultural event, Festival First Night, attracting hundreds of thousands of people into the city centre for eight hours of music, theatre, dance and visual arts. Headlining the event was internationally-acclaimed music superstar Manu Chao, who had 60,000 people dancing to his unique blend of Latin reggae. Audiences thrilled to a mix of Australian and international entertainment including a 1950s swing dance, painted caravans, Australian singer-songwriter Meagan Washington, Indigenous singer Gurrumul and dapper Jamaican gents, The Jolly Boys. Keeping things at a lively pace were street performances by Tuba Skinny, Lewis Floyd Henry and Norman J and his Good Times Bus. Casper Babypants, Holly Throsby and Erth’s mythical puppet creatures kept the kids laughing and dancing throughout the afternoon.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/53512-sydney-festival-2012/
Cirque du Soleil and CIM Group present tonight the world premiere of IRIS, a new major resident production created exclusively for the Kodak Theatre at the Hollywood & Highland Center, home of the Academy Awards®, on September 25. Proudly presented by Sun Life Financial, IRIS is written and directed by French stage and film director, artistic director, dancer and choreographer Philippe Decouflé.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/51998-cirque-du-soleil-iris
