Welcome back to the Northern Film Orchestra Blog.
2022 was a year of many great projects for us, but there is one that sticks out as being extra special.
We are delighted to announce that we provided backing string recordings for the performance of Sing by Gary Barlow and Andrew Lloyd Webber for the finale of the 2022 Royal Variety Performance. The performance was broadcast live on ITV on 20th December 2022.
Gary Barlow, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Garth Malone performing live at the 2022 ITV Royal Variety Performance.
Background
This project came about through composer and producer Dan keen, who we previously collaborated with on the NFO orchestral swells sample library. Dan was working alongside Gary Barlow and Andrew Lloyd Webber to produce a special updated version of their song “SING” for the variety performance, and the project required some chamber string backing tracks to accompany the live broadcast.
We recorded the 22-piece string ensemble in a shared session in November, with Dan making the journey from London up to Manchester in person, and conducted the ensemble during the recording.
Dan Keen takes the helm during the recording session.
SING
The song “Sing” was written by Barlow and Andrew Lloyd Webber back in 2012 for the queens Diamond jubilee, and featured a originally featured a number of guest artists who were brought in from across the commonwealth.
The performance itself included singers from the London youth choir, conducted by Gareth Malone, as well as Gary Barlow on piano and a live orchestra conducted by Dan Keen. The performance marked the finale of the whole event, and was a touching tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II in light of her recent passing earlier in the year. The final few bars welcomed on stage all of the performers from the variety performance, including legendary guitarist Nile Rodgers, and singer Gregory Porter.
The finale performance included singers from the London Youth Choir.
Finale
It was amazing to be involved with a project of this magnitude, both in terms of the numbers of viewers of the performance, but also the context of it being an emotional tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II. Thanks to Dan Keen, Gary Barlow, Andrew Lloyd Webber and ITV for having us involved in this very special project, this is one we will always remember as the perfect way to round off 2022.
We hope you enjoyed checking out this blog post!
For more from Dan you can follow him via the links below: https://www.youtube.com/c/DanKeenMusic
Contact - jack@northernfilmorchestra.com
Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/nforchestra
Twitter - https://twitter.com/NFOrchestra
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