Our Rich Higton took a trip to the Royal Concert Hall for this magnificent musical event...
Who doesn’t love a fantastic film score? A grand score can elevate even the most mediocre movie. So, when I was given the chance to head to Nottingham’s Royal Concert Hall for an evening of cinematic, orchestral magic, how could I say no? With my ten-year-old, classical music-loving son in tow, we headed for A Celebration of Music from Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
This is the most recent ‘Live Orchestra’ event from Senbla, a full symphony orchestra and 27-piece choir, performing the greatest works of the silver screen. Tonight’s event showcased the iconic scores for fantasy epics Game of Thrones, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, composed by Ramin Djawadi and Howard Shore. The orchestra which Senbla have put together is incredible, giving life to these famous scores with soaring strings, magical brass and note-perfect choral performance.
The first half of the two-hour spectacular focuses on Howard Shore’s music for both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogies; all the famous pieces are here. The Prophecy, The Return of the King, Into the West and Misty Mountains are all reproduced exquisitely. The second half was all Game of Thrones; Ramin Djawadi’s music doesn’t disappoint (unlike that final season), and Senbla’s orchestra continued to impress.
I highly recommend catching one of these events in the future, whether it be the music of Middle Earth or the Christmas magic of John Williams
I wasn’t the only one impressed, however. My son was suitably enraptured for the entire two hours, as was the packed Royal Concert Hall. The orchestra earning a standing ovation at the end of the main performance and an even bigger ovation after a most welcome encore. This is just one of the events put on by Senbla, future shows including the music of Home Alone coming to the Royal Concert Hall in the coming months.
Events like these are the perfect introduction to world of classical music. Movie scores have the tendency to be overlooked as “true classical works” - yet this is unfair as great works by Shore, Djawadi, Williams and the like can be a gateway into the “true” masterpieces of Bach, Beethoven and Brahams. Having shows like the ones put on by Senbla can give kid’s the full symphony experience with pieces of music they are familiar with.
I highly recommend catching one of these events in the future, whether it be the music of Middle Earth or the Christmas magic of John Williams; Senbla are able to deliver the complete orchestral experience.
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