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Pop Up Orchestra - Movie Magic
Saturday 18th October 2025
Victoria Hall, Crewkerne
Under the new name of "Pop Up Orchestra", 50 musicians ensembled in Victoria Hall again for another fun-filled day of rehearsing and performing.
The programme included music from ET, How to Train Your Dragon, the Sleeping Beauty Waltz, Harry Potter and Gladiator and therefore the programme was entitled "Movie Magic".
The day was rather busy with a lot of music to rehearse ready for the informal concert at the end of the day. The large audience that assembled were very appreciative of the concert and they helped raise money for local charity, Awe & Wonder.
"What a wonderful pop up orchestra day. It was such fun and you were so easy to work with, well organised and with excellent rehearsal technique. We developed from a completely diverse group of random players to a cohesive whole in such a short time due to your professionalism and vision." - Karen W, Violin
"Many thanks for organising the pop-up orchestra to play some film music last Saturday. We admired the efficiency of your arrangements and accuracy of your timekeeping. I enjoyed playing in it immensely." - Roger W, Cello
Come and Play Day - Film and Stage
Saturday 17th May 2025
Victoria Hall, Crewkerne
A great day was had by all when about 40 musicians descended on Somerset from all around the Southwest; from as far as Exeter, Portsmouth and Bristol!
After registration, the orchestra took their seats and played through all the music so everyone could settle into the day and understand the challenge(!) that lay ahead. The programme consisted of a medley of tunes from Mary Poppins, the theme to Jurassic Park and the whole Star Wars Suite (all 6 movements!). The latter was particularly challenging for this brand new ensemble but throughout the day all the pieces came together through fun but detailed rehearsal and much refreshment in the guise of tea, coffee and plenty of homemade cake (baked by the 1st Bassoon's Mum!).
Just after our lunch break, we were pleased to welcome the town mayor, Alice Samuel, to visit and see us in action. She was overjoyed to hear us perform and we were glad to see her.
The orchestra's tones were heard out on the busy streets of Crewkerne and a few members of the public popped in to see and hear what was going on throughout the day; a welcome surprise. An A-frame advertised our informal performance at the end of the day which did its job as public, friends and family arrived for a short concert showcasing what we'd achieved to finish the day.
Tom explained that the concert would be raising money for Community Kitchen and the audience dug deep to help us raise £175.06 which was well received by the local charity a few weeks later.
"Thanks so much for putting [the orchestra together], as a relative newbie to ensemble playing it was really useful, really challenging, but most importantly really really fun." - Morgan W, Harp
"I thought the orchestra played remarkably well given the difficulty of some of the music and the short rehearsal time. For me it was like a month's worth of practice and lessons crammed into one day and I found it very rewarding." - Dave S, Double Bass
"Thank you so much for organising Saturday's orchestral day, I thought it was great." - Jackie B, Flute
