Conducted by Charles Hazlewood
with Army of Generals and The British Paraorchestra
Performed on Williams Green, Fri 23 June 2017

Sonic The Hedgehog will be performed as part of Play! at the following venues:
Barbican London, 18 March 2018
Leeds Town Hall, 20 March 2018

Dust off your SNESs, N64s and boot up your Playstations as Charles Hazlewood takes us on a musical adventure into some of the gaming world’s most memorable soundtracks.

PLAY! is a symphonic roller-coaster ride of classic computer game themes alongside the orchestral works that paved the way. Taking Holst’s The Planets and Strauss’s iconic tone poems as a starting point, the programme takes in the high-octane pursuit of Grand Theft Auto, the legendary theme to Tetris, the cinematic soundtrack to Final Fantasy VIII and many more. Tonight’s show will bring together gamers young and young at heart as it references classic console music from the past four decades.

Sonic The Hedgehog, recorded at Glastonbury 2017

The Nature of Why is the brand new show by The British Paraorchestra, commissioned by Unlimited, that merges dance and live music into an epic performance that brims with emotion and physical beauty. The show features a cinematic live-score from Goldfrapp’s Will Gregory, an ensemble of musicians from the British Paraorchestra and four extraordinary dancers. 

Listen now exclusively via Soundcloud to four of the tracks from the show.

In its first presentation, The Nature of Why will open Mayfest Bristol for four performances. Bristol Old Vic theatre will be transformed into a site of discovery, as dancers and musicians move as one in an attempt to erase the divides between musician and dancer, performer and audience.

This world premiere takes inspiration from the unconventional curiosity of Nobel prize-winning theoretical physicist Richard Feynman, and his search for meaning in the world around us. The Nature of Why promises to be an up-close-and-personal dance experience like no other.

For more info: http://paraorchestra.com/our-projects/the-nature-of-why/

Credits:
Commissioned and supported by Unlimited, celebrating the work of disabled artists, with funding from Arts Council England.

The Nature of Why is supported by Stavros Niarchos Foundation.
Additional support from We the Curious.
Produced by The Paraorchestra and Friends, and Mayk.

Will Gregory with The British Paraorchestra, The Nature of Why, Movement 1

kraftwerk re:werk Clip 1 Express

kraftwerk re:werk Clip 2 Europe Endless

Playfully fusing contemporary dance with a cinematic live-score by Goldfrapp’s Will Gregory, The Nature of Why smashes the divide between musicians, dancers and the audience, in a performance bursting with passion and joyous intensity.
Taking inspiration from the unconventional curiosity of theoretical physicist Richard Feynman, The Nature of Why explores his search for meaning in the world around us. The stage itself becomes a site of discovery as constantly shifting action invites audiences to seek out their own unique encounters; resulting in an epic and immersive theatrical experience like no other.
Commissioned by Unlimited and performed by an ensemble of musicians from The British Paraorchestra, The Nature of Why is choreographed by Caroline Bowditch, conducted by Charles Hazlewood, and directed by Caroline Bowditch and Charles Hazlewood.
Produced by Paraorchestra and Friends.

The Nature Of Why, Movement 5

Re-inventing the orchestra for the 21st century

Our mission is to redefine what an orchestra can be. We see it as an extraordinary and perfectly synchronised body of instruments that draws on the tradition of centuries but is enriched and expanded by the talents, the instruments and the zeitgeist of the 21st century.

At our core is The British Paraorchestra, the world’s only large-scale ensemble for disabled musicians. This boundary-breaking group sets a new template for music-making, either on its own or in collaboration with its two partner ensembles the ‘Friends’ of The British Paraorchestra. These are the Army of Generals; an electrifying ensemble of non-disabled orchestral musicians that has built an enthusiastic following and is famed for its dynamic energy-fuelled performances, and, Charles Hazlewood’s All Star Collective; an electronica band comprising some of the big names of pop and rock world.

Paraorchestra

Popular tracks