Enjoy the fireworks at The Hannells Darley Park Concert At Home!

Fri 31 Jul 2020

As the technical work goes on behind the scenes to create The Hannells Darley Park Concert at Home, it can be confirmed that you will be able to watch the virtual event online as well as listen on BBC Radio Derby – and that includes a screening of the spectacular finale fireworks!

This year’s live concert on Sunday 30 August was called off due to the uncertainty about staging events in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, but on the same date between 6pm and 9pm you can pull out the picnic rug, fire up the barbecue, and rediscover the highlights from last year’s concert from the comfort of your own back garden. There will also be live links, interviews and some new recorded pieces to enjoy.

Video recordings of last year’s concert, studio links and filmed footage of the new work will be broadcast live on BBC iPlayer and Facebook Live via the BBC Radio Derby page, while the show is broadcast simultaneously on BBC Radio Derby. It will be free to watch, and available on iPlayer and Facebook for seven days afterwards.

The event is known for its sense of community spirit, so to capture this in the most unusual of circumstances, you can post photos and messages with #Darley20 on your own Twitter or Instagram, or on the @DerbyLIVE Facebook page, to appear on the event’s Social Media wall.

Derby LIVE, Derby City Council’s arts and events arm, has teamed up with Sinfonia Viva, the orchestra of the East Midlands, and BBC Radio Derby to bring The Hannells Darley Park Concert to audiences at home. Derby LIVE are delighted that the sponsors who were originally involved in this year’s outdoor concert are also supporting this innovative celebration of music. They are Hannells Estate Agents, Flint Bishop Solicitors, HUUB, Mortgage Advice Bureau, Stratstone BMW and MINI Derby and WDS.

A cabaret band of seven Sinfonia Viva musicians will be recording new renditions of some well-known favourites, under socially-distanced conditions, especially for the broadcast. They will be led by conductor James Holmes, a familiar face from the Darley Park Concerts who was due to lead this year’s live event. Sinfonia Viva’s new recordings are supported by Rolls-Royce.

Leader, violinist, Sophie Rosa, heads up the cabaret band, who will be joined on vocals by Derbyshire singer Andy Quinn, who delighted the crowd at The Hannells Darley Park Concert in 2018.

The new music is:

  • My Baby Just Cares For Me by Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn, famous for Nina Simone’s signature version.
  • Georgia On My Mind by Hoagy Carmichael, forever associated with Ray Charles.
  • Younger Than Springtime by Rodgers & Hammerstein, from the musical South Pacific.
  • The Ballad of Mack the Knife by Kurt Weill, from The Threepenny Opera.
  • This Is The Moment – by Leslie Bricusse & Frank Wildhorn, from the musical Jekyll and Hyde.
  • Oh Gee Oh Joy – an instrumental by George Gershwin.
  • 20th Century Blues – a Noel Coward instrumental number.

Sophie Rosa has performed across the UK as a recitalist in venues including Wigmore Hall, the Purcell Room, Royal Festival Hall and Bridgewater Hall, and appeared with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Manchester Camerata. She has also broadcast for Radio 3 and Classic FM.

James Holmes is always pleased to find Darley Park in his diary, even in this year’s different format.  A former staff conductor for English National Opera and Head of Music for Opera North, he is now a freelance conductor, accompanist and arranger. Alongside an operatic repertoire that encompasses everything from Mozart to contemporary world premières, he has maintained a lifelong interest in musical theatre and has played a significant part in its adoption by opera houses in the UK. The music of Kurt Weill is a particular longtime interest and enthusiasm, so his version of The Ballad of Mack the Knife is eagerly awaited.

A familiar face in musical theatre around Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire for many years, firefighter Andy Quinn achieved national attention when 6.5 million viewers watched him become the ‘Unexpected Star’ of Michael McIntyre’s Big Show on prime time BBC One, with his stunning rendition of Bring Him Home from Les Misérables. He specialises in performing songs from West End shows, Swing, and Vintage.

Andy Quinn said:

“I’m really thrilled to be working with Sinfonia Viva and James Holmes again, and delighted to have been asked back to perform for the Darley Park Concert, even if the format is different this year. Working with such a professional team is always a highlight, and nothing gives me the same feeling as singing with such wonderful musicians.”

Councillor Robin Wood, Derby City Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Tourism - and an inveterate fan of Noel Coward's work - said:

“The new music that is being specially performed for The Hannells Darley Park Concert at Home is very exciting, and I am impressed at the goodwill and hard work going into recording it with all the new constraints of social distancing. It will also be wonderful to watch last year’s concert – and the fireworks – as a reminder of what we can do when we can bring people back together safely again.”

Last year’s concert celebrated 1969 and Golden Anniversaries through a programme of music put together by the Grammy-nominated Sinfonia Viva. The conductor from last year, Ben Pope, is re-mastering the sound for this year’s broadcast and will also present the live introductions to each piece of music.

The full programme will be announced shortly before the event, but concert highlights include Also Sprach, the theme from the classic Sci-Fi film 2001 A Space Odyssey, and the Derby County theme, Steve Bloomer’s Watchin’, performed as never before.