On Saturday 29 June over 500 young people came together for a huge performance of Benjamin Britten's community opera Noye's Fludde! The concert opened with a colourful programme from all of our youth groups including well known numbers such as Circle of Life from The Lion King and Mr Blue Sky. In the second half they performed Noye's Fludde, an opera which brings the Biblical story of Noah's Ark to life. Conductor Alex Patterson commented ‘This event was a great introduction to opera for anybody that loves music and theatre. We were so pleased with the performance and have had some fabulous feedback.’Sunday's performance 'Sing a Celebration' featured a choir of over 200 singers, the Nottingham Festival Chorus, and full orchestra Nottingham Concert Orchestra celebrating 30 years by performing a wonderful repertoire of celebratory music including a special world premiere performance of When Music Sounds, a piece of music commissioned especially for the event by the emerging composer Rebecca Dale as part of the Adopt A Composer scheme.
For the young composer, the commission from Nottingham has been a real boost. She entered the Adopt a Composer competition run by Making Music and was one of six selected out of 140 applicants. In between rehearsing When Music Sounds, Ms Dale expressed the importance to her of the anniversary commission. "It's a nightmare for young composers to get going. That's why this scheme is so incredibly helpful. One of the most difficult things for a young composer is the isolation. "You spend a lot of time on your own in your room and just hope your music will go somewhere." Angela Kay conducted the choir and orchestra for Sunday's performance, which was recorded by BBC Radio 3. "One of the great rewards of being a composer is being able to work with live performers," added Ms Dale. "Having spent a year working on these tunes, it was wonderful to hear real people sing it."
Choir member Morag Cumming of Lady Bay said ‘Music for Everyone is a unique and wonderful organisation and is a massive asset to Nottingham. People travel from all over the country to take part in their events and I was absolutely delighted to be a part of their celebratory concert – the buzz and excitement of performing at the Albert Hall Nottingham was fabulous!’ Long standing member singer Jane McDermott added ‘MfE is an inspirational organisation and I couldn’t have lived without it, I have made so many friends and had the time of my life rehearsing and performing as part of the choir!’ Artistic Director, Angela Kay added ‘We are absolutely delighted to be celebrating 30 years!’
