Advance Program Notes The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain Friday, October 16, 2015, 7:30 PM

These Advance Program Notes are provided online for our patrons who like to read about performances ahead of time. Printed programs will be provided to patrons at the performances. Programs are subject to change.

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain

George Hinchliffe Jonty Bankes Peter Brooke Turner Will Grove-White Leisa Rea David Suich Richie Williams

PROGRAM TO BE ANNOUNCED FROM THE STAGE with a 20-minute intermission About the Ukulele Orchestra The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain (that’s the one featuring founders George Hinchliffe and Kitty Lux) has already enjoyed touring in the United States several times. For those who have not yet encountered it, the essential point is that it is an original musical ensemble featuring only ukuleles of various sizes and registers, accompanied by just the natural voices of the performers.

Harsher critics have stated the opinion that the Ukulele Orchestra formed their repertoire based on any music considered inappropriate for the instrument, with a “shopping trolley dash through genres” and musical history. For this U.S. tour the original Ukes chose from their exploration of American folk and blues, heavy metal, bebop and jazz, punk, reggae, electronic dance music, and even Chinese melodies gleaned from their 2014 tour of China.

In Europe and America the orchestra is best known for playing versions of famous rock songs and film themes, sometimes changing these so that the expectations of the audience are subverted. Sometimes a rock song will be changed into a jazz idiom, or sometimes several songs known from different genres are combined in one “soup of contrasts.”

The founding brief for the group was to have fun and “not to lose money.” Incredibly, throughout its 30-year career, the group has succeeded in both not losing money AND incidentally making millions of dollars. It has been seen worldwide by audiences, including members of the British Royal Family and other crowned heads of Europe, at the Houses of Parliament in London, and by many millions of television and online viewers. In one territory, the orchestra has played to audiences which comprise 60 percent of the population!

When The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain began in 1985, the public opinion was that an orchestra consisting entirely of ukuleles in different sizes was a strange concept. This was something that attracted the founders. The orchestra members at that time had experience of many kinds of music and yet had become tired of the conventions of the music business world, as well as the conventions of performance and genre stereotyping, which were prevalent at that time.

The idea was to make something fresh and entertaining, both modern and old-fashioned, in a different style which deviated from the current performance fashion. People liked the result.

Today, after many years, the orchestra finds that wherever they go, people are now playing ukuleles, often in groups. Many of these enthusiasts tell the orchestra that they were inspired to play the instrument after seeing and hearing this, the original Ukulele Orchestra.

And now there are many ukulele orchestras, some acknowledging the pioneering work of the UOGB, others claiming ignorance of this rich history, but none of them existing before this, the original Ukulele Orchestra.

In 2015 The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain will celebrate 16 million minutes of “ukuleleation,” having been “on the road” for 30 years and counting.

While it is not normally in the nature of these artists from Britain to “blow their own trumpets,” or, in this case, to “pluck their own ukuleles,” it is undeniably a fact that The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain (you know, the one featuring George Hinchliffe and Kitty Lux) has become not only a national institution, but also a worldwide phenomenon.

Among their many international concerts and festival appearances, they have “sold right out” twice at Carnegie Hall in New York, twice at The Royal Albert Hall in London, and also at Sydney Opera House in Australia.

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain has been featured in a 2012 CNN report and on CBS This Morning About the Ukulele Orchesta, continued in 2013. The orchestra has been invited by the British Broadcasting Corporation to play live on air for BBC Radio 3 (the classical music channel), as well as for BBC Radio 1 (the rock, Electronic Dance Music and youth music channel) and live on other BBC channels many times. They have taken part in The Electric Proms (in a collaboration with The Kaiser Chiefs), and the BBC Promenade Concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London (“The Proms”), where they were the “fastest selling late night prom in history,” selling many thousands of tickets for the prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London very quickly.

At this concert the Ukulele Orchestra performed Jerusalem and other classics of the “Last Night of the Proms,” the celebrated 120-year-old concert series, which launched in 1895. Around 2,000 ukulele players in the audience joined the orchestra in playing passages from Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. A DVD of this 2010 BBC Prom concert at The Royal Albert Hall is available to order online at www.ukuleleorchestra.com. For those who wish to perform with the orchestra in the comfort of their own homes, chords and words to accompany the Ukes during their 2012 Sydney Opera House concert are available on this DVD.

The Orchestra has recorded and released records, CDs, and DVDs on its own independent label, as well as with CBS, Sony, Discethnique, Longman, Volume, Tachyon, and The Ministry of Sound, as well as appearing on Jools Holland’s Hootenany. Original compositions and songs by the orchestra have been used on television, in film, and in radio plays, as well as in performances by other musicians. They have collaborated with the British Film Institute in providing music for silent films and also musically with Madness, Robbie Williams, Ant & Dec, Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), Stefan Raab, Rainer Hersch, and a full symphony orchestra performing at the Royal Festival Hall in London. Beatle George Harrison was a well-known fan who established contact and played with the orchestra.

In addition to performing at theatres and concert halls, the orchestra has also packed the crowds in at rock festivals such as Glastonbury, The Big Chill, WOMAD, The Electric Picnic, and before 170,000 people in Hyde Park, as well as playing in seven cathedrals in England and Wales. The group has been commissioned to write commemorative concerts, including The Cecil Sharp 100 Year Memorial Concert in 2012 and The 100 Year World War One Memorial Concert in 2014 for Birmingham Town Hall.

One unique feature of this, the original Ukulele Orchestra, is that although there are many examples of collaboration, they have remained a determinedly independent concern. Relying on their own resources and an email list of tens of thousands, they continue to run their own recording and publishing and to eschew mainstream advertising and record companies.

Celebrity fans include Sir Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Monty Python’s Michael Palin, Brian Eno, Amanda Palmer, Neil Gaiman, George Benson, Joe Brown, and Bette Midler.

The orchestra has many “catch phrases,” which audiences find entertaining: “A world tour with only hand luggage,” for example, referring to the fact that ukuleles are small instruments. Every concert, from the first to the present day, has begun with the announcement: “Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, we ARE the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain.” For English speakers, the stress on the word “are” is a little amusing, suggesting as it does that the orchestra is politely explaining to someone who perhaps thought that a different group was on stage, and that in order to clear up any confusion, they are confirming that they truly are the members of the orchestra. About the Ukulele Orchesta, continued A typical ukulele orchestra concert will feature songs sung by each member of the orchestra so that the audience can get to know each person on stage. Often a fast piece will be followed by a slow piece in order to maintain variety, and a rock song will perhaps be followed by classical music. The concept is that if a “level field” is maintained by playing only the one kind of instrument, then all kinds of music can be played quite easily without the variety appearing to be chaotic. One important task of any musical group is to maintain unity with variety, integrity with difference, with many voices all working in the same direction. This orchestra is made up of performers who are different from each other and with very different musical backgrounds, experiences, and performing styles. The ukulele brings them all together. Hinchliffe says that the work of the orchestra is like a pencil line drawing rather than a multi-coloured painting. The palate is limited, but the possibilities are endless. The ukulele in the hands of the orchestra is said to be like an iceberg; visible above the water, but with much more hidden beneath—there are spiritual dimensions which are far larger and which are not immediately seen. Within the limitations and the simplicity of the humble starting point of the orchestra, there are many possibilities for exploration and variation. It may be the case that the very nature of limitation (in this case to the sounds of the ukulele) enables wider variations to be pursued (which might seem too extreme in a less limited context). Perhaps the limitation stimulates freedom within a defined context. Too much variety could be confusing, too many limitations could become tiresomely familiar. With their combination of “unity and variety, and simultaneous individualism and collectivism,” the orchestra is able to make the best of the over-riding vision, as well as the individual talents and personalities in the orchestra.

Because the music is played on only ukuleles in different sizes, the conventions of any given genre might not be present. Sometimes the music sounds like folk music, sometimes, like a music without a tradition. The sounds of the instruments are not typical for most of the music played.

The arrangements of the music are specially made—often by the director and founder, George Hinchliffe, or by other members of the group. The focus is to bring out the spirit of the music and to be faithful to the musical notes, while actually changing the style or genre of the music by the mere fact of playing it on ukuleles. Audiences have reported that the music of the orchestra is variously moving, funny, stomping, thought-provoking, surprising, or inducing the audience by sheer infectious spirit to “tap their toes” along with the beat.

FUN FACTS

The orchestra was asked to provide music for broadcasts about the World Cup.

The orchestra has played WOMAD festivals in two continents and in two different centuries.

The orchestra has performed many times at London’s 100 Club, joining the venue’s history with The Sex Pistols, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holliday, Glen Miller, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, The Who, The Kinks, Metallica, and The Rolling Stones.

The orchestra maintains its independence, in relation to record companies, management, publishing, and touring, and has its own CDs, DVDs, mailing list of tens of thousands, YouTube channel, and more.

The orchestra has been a crossword clue in the New Musical Express, the newspaper that was, for many years, the key publication for popular music in the U.K.

In addition to performing at Carnegie Hall in New York on more than one occasion, the orchestra has performed at The Carnegie Hall in Shetland, the islands midway between Scotland and Norway.

The orchestra has performed in the arctic, at the Polar Jazz Festival in Svalbard, but also in Tasmania, North and South Islands of New Zealand, and on both the east and west coasts of Australia. Biographies GEORGE HINCHLIFFE Founder, member, and director of the orchestra. Born and grew up in Sheffield. Studied in Leeds. Started playing the ukulele in 1960. Founded the Ukes in 1985. Has worked with Michael Nyman, Mary Wells, Brian Eno, The British Youth Choir, Ron Geesin, The Anjaana Asian Music Group of Bradford, and Snake Davis and the Alligator Shoes. Was a noteur for fairground organs. Writes and arranges for the orchestra, including the original music in Ukulelescope and Dreamspiel. Has recorded several solo CDs. Lives in Kent.

JONTY BANKES The member of the orchestra who, in addition to playing the bass ukulele, whistles virtuosically. Born in Branston, Lincolnshire. Grew up Lincolnshire. Started playing the ukulele as a youngster playing George Formby. Joined the ukes in 1992. Has worked with Ray Davis, John Mayall, Lousiana Red, and Chuck Berry. Was a London bus driver. Plays with his own rock group in Hamburg, where he lives. Has appeared on numerous CDs with other artists.

PETER BROOKE TURNER The tallest member of the orchestra. Born in Lisbon, Portugal. Grew up in the Soviet Union, Brazil, America, Finland, and Italy. Started playing the ukulele in 1989. Joined the Ukes in 1995. Has worked with Des O-Connor, Jules Holland, Shaking Stevens, and Vic Reeves. Lent his uke to Tiny Tim for a London gig. Usually enters the Eurovision Song Contest. Fronted his own uke rock group, Ukulele Kings. Has released several solo CDs. Lives in Kent.

WILL GROVE-WHITE The youngest member of the orchestra. Born in London. Grew up in Sheperd’s Bush, London. Studied in Manchester. Started playing the ukulele in 1986. Joined the Ukes in 1991. Had to have written permission to take the day off school to appear on TV with the Ukes. Has won several Royal TV Society awards for his documenaries. Fronts his own band, Will Grove-White and the Others. Has released several solo CDs. Lives in London. Biographies, continued LEISA REA The member of the orchestra who has also trained doctors in the theatre of the patient encounter. Born and grew up in Manchester. Was educated in Wales and Yorkshire. Started playing the ukulele in 1990. Joined the Ukes in 2005. Has worked with many comedy greats. Was originally a guitarist. Has appeared in comedy and music shows including Adams and Rea. Lives in London.

DAVID SUICH The member of the orchestra with the longest hair. Born in Erith, Kent. Grew up in London. Studied in Leeds. Started playing the ukulele in 1980. Joined the Ukes in 1985. Has worked with Rik Mayall and Malcolm Hardy. Also known as Joe Bazouki, a Glastonbury Festival compere over 20 years. Fronted his own groups, including Friends of the Monster and The Missing Puddings, and supported Screaming Lord Sutch. Has released several solo CDs. Lives in London.

RICHIE WILLIAMS One of the original members of the orchestra, and also the one of the latest additions to the line up, having had over a decade of absence—“time off for good behaviour.” Born in Bootle. Grew up and studied in Liverpool. Started playing the guitar aged 6. Played at the Cavern Club with Thin Lizzy. Joined the Ukes in 1986 and again in 2003. Was a roadie for Frank Zappa and Status Quo. Has worked with Mary Wells, Martha Reeves, Edwin Starr, Ben E. King, and Snake Davis and the Alligator Shoes. Worked with many other bands, including his Three Men and a Bass. Has his own recording studio and a collection of vintage guitars. Lives in Dorset. Side Projects UKULELESCOPE The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain collaborated with the BFI (British Film Institute) National Archive to find a host of unusual and little-seen short films from the early days of silent film. The orchestra has added special music written by George Hinchliffe and Hester Goodman, as well as a few re-arranged classic pieces of music, and produced a delightfully eclectic evening of music, film, comedy, and pathos. This has been performed all over the world to acclaim from film festivals and audiences.Ukulelescope was debuted at Slapstick 09 in Bristol as part of the re-opening season at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre. It was an instant sell-out and was described by the BFI as "a triumph."

DREAMSPIEL The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain has produced its very own Ukulele opera, which had its debut in London, with lyrics by Michelle Carter, a playwright from San Francisco. This is based on dream diaries from 1930s Germany. The songs and dream images are reminiscent of "Beckett, Orwell, and Gunter Grass before Endgame, 1984, or The Tin Drum were ever written," and are variously "painful, farcical, satirical, and theatrical." Combined with the individuality and diversity of the Ukes, the audience is connected with "the political realities of ordinary life; its fears, prejudices, and ecstasies."

WALY WALY ON THE UKULELE In this show, with their ultra-portable instruments, the Ukes remember Cecil Sharp, the folk song collector who travelled extensively in England and America, finding songs during the early 20th century. With his material, they bring key ingredients of rock, folk, and pop music into focus, and bring tradition up to date. The 'folk' songs Sharp found and popularised, however, have gone on to be huge hits in pop music and in film. Without Sharp, would we have had Scarborough Fair, The House of the Rising Sun, or even the soundtracks of The Wicker Man and Remember the Titans? In this show you'll encounter stomping tracks and tear jerking ballads, English dance music and dust kicking Americana, from the origins of today's popular music, explored with the customary light-hearted showmanship and the tender, yet tough, musicianship of the “Ukes of GB.” They will give you an unforgettable musical experience and a glimpse into the mechanisms of musical history with their presentation of Cecil Sharp music and what became of it.

LUTES AND UKES Members of the Ukulele Orchestra and the Theatre of the Ayre join forces to present plucked and sung music from two contrasting eras. "The realisation that one of Anne Boleyn's court musicians, that Shakespeare's lute player of the mid 1500s, and that one of the most inspired blues singer-guitarists of the early 20th century were all called Robert Johnson and all share a common plucked chordal language, set us off on a journey of the Johnsons." This is a show featuring lutes, theorboes, renaissance guitars, ukuleles, the cremonese mandolin, and the sopranino ukulele. With improvisations on ground basses in various styles, lute songs, blues songs, and some genre-crashing commingling of the common musical language of the plucked chordophones. The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain Ukulele Orchestra music has been used in films, TV, advertisements, plays, and commercials, and online video clips have been watched many millions of times.

Collaborators with the Ukulele Orchestra have included Madness, The Kaiser Chiefs, The Ministry of Sound, and Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens).

Ukulele Orchestra recordings include:

DVDs: Live at Sydney Opera House and Live at the Royal Albert Hall CDs: Uke-Werk, Live in Germany, and Bang Bang (remixes of the orchestra by a group of Ibiza DJs)

For more information, visit www.ukuleleOrchestra.com. CDs and DVDs are available from www.ukuleleOrchestra. com and www.amazon.com. MP3s available on iTunes.

Twitter: @theUkes Facebook: UkuleleOrchestraofGB Youtube: UkuleleOrchestra

U.S. Tour Management

ARTS MANAGEMENT GROUP, INC. 130 West 57th St. New York, NY 10019 Engagement Activities

Friday, October 16, 2015, 6 PM PLAY IN THE LOBBY: BELVIEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL UKULELE CLUB Grand Lobby Led by Natalie Gibbs, teacher The Belview Ukulele Club is made up of fourth and fifth grade students who practice weekly after school. Their goal is for students to make music together in a positive environment and develop the ability to accompany themselves on instruments, helping them to become lifelong musicians. The club plays a selection of popular and folk tunes and receives support from the Montgomery County Education Foundation.

Special thanks to Natalie Gibbs and Dale Robinson In the Galleries

BEYOND REAL: STILL LIFE IN THE 21st CENTURY September 3–November 15, 2015 Miles C. Horton Jr. Gallery, Sherwood P. Quillen Reception Gallery

Artist Spotlight: Tim O’Kane

The present slips and vanishes like sand between the fingers, acquiring material weight only in its recollection. Tim O’Kane (Charlottesville) is known mostly for his large narrative drawings and paintings, but also for his portraits, cityscapes, and landscapes of Italy. The selection on view here at the Moss Arts Center focuses on eggplant paintings from his more recent body of still lifes. O’Kane’s oil paintings, usually on wood panel or board, evolve slowly and meticulously. His process, O’Kane says, involves “arranging the objects to paint, then days and sometimes weeks go by before it is done. In that time, the painting has become both an illusion and an actual thing, an object—both a recollection and an experience in the present.” Time is thus the essence of O’Kane’s work, and the quote above—a favorite of the artist—expresses beautifully the relationship between time, memory, and art.

Also on view: PHILIP TAAFFE September 3–November 15, 2015 Ruth C. Horton Gallery

GALLERY HOURS Tuesday-Friday, 10 AM-6 PM; Saturday-Sunday, 10 AM-4 PM; closed for Virginia Tech home football games

Please visit artscenter.vt.edu for events and more information.