Get ready for The Hannells Darley Park Concert at Home!

Published: 28 August 2020

Picnic rugs and barbecue tongs at the ready – it is nearly time to enjoy The Hannells Darley Park Concert at Home! Here is the essential guide to how to enjoy this year’s virtual event on Sunday 30th August, after the Covid-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of this year’s live concert.

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.

Thanks to some technical wizardry, video recordings of last year’s concert and some new, filmed footage have been blended to create a three-hour show, to be broadcast live on the BBC website and BBC iPlayer from 6.00pm and 9.00pm, while the show is broadcast simultaneously on BBC Radio Derby. The host will be BBC Radio Derby favourite Andy Twigge.

To set the mood in the lead up to the virtual event, tune in to BBC Radio Derby from 4.00pm for all the background chat about how the concert has been re-invented for this year, with presenter Dean Pepall.

From 6.00pm, watch the event live on your PC or laptop from the BBC Radio Derby website at bbc.co.uk/darley20. You can also find this link on BBC Radio Derby’s Facebook page.

Alternatively, watch on BBC iPlayer by going to bbc.co.uk/iplayer on your PC, or choosing BBC iPlayer on your smart TV. You will need to sign in to view using your BBC username and password, which you can set up beforehand at bbc.co.uk. Search for Darley Park Concert. The live broadcast will start at 6pm.

The event is known for its sense of community spirit, so to capture this in the most unusual of circumstances, viewers and listeners can post photos and messages with #Darley20 on their own Twitter or Instagram, or on the @DerbyLIVE Facebook page, or on BBC Radio Derby’s Facebook page, to appear on the event’s Social Media wall at derbylive.co.uk/wall. We look forward to seeing your photos, comments and videos.

You can access all the links, to the BBC Radio Derby website, to iPlayer, Facebook and the Social Media wall, from the Derby LIVE website on the day of the concert and for seven days afterwards.

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, has remastered the sound for this year’s broadcast, and will also present the live introductions to each piece of music.

Further highlights are five new songs recorded by a cabaret band of seven Sinfonia Viva musicians, with conductor James Holmes, a familiar face from the Darley Park Concerts who was due to lead this year’s live event. They are joined on vocals by Derbyshire singer Andy Quinn, who wowed the crowds at the Darley Park Concert in 2018. Sinfonia Viva’s new recordings are supported by Rolls-Royce.

Derby Jazz are also contributing a set as part of their LOOSEN UP programme, set up in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. With the continuing constrictions on live performance, Derby Jazz has commissioned Dennis Rollins MBE to create and write new music, designed to be played outdoors by an eleven-piece acoustic ensemble. This recording is one of ten or more performances they are giving in Derby in September and October.

Councillor Robin Wood, Derby City Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Tourism, said:

I had the pleasure of watching some of the recording for the new pieces of music, and it is marvellous how everyone has pulled together to create a musical experience to remember for this most unusual of years. I’m really looking forward to relaxing at home and tuning in.

To find out more about The Hannells Darley Park Concert at Home, go to the Derby Live website.

The full running order is below. Timings are approximate.

6.00pm: Introduction by Andy Twigge, followed by the Sinfonia Viva Cabaret Band, featuring Andy Quinn, performing:

• Oh Gee Oh Joy – George Gershwin
• Younger than Springtime – Rodgers & Hammerstein, from the musical South Pacific.
• Georgia on my Mind – Hoagy Carmichael, forever associated with Ray Charles.
• My Baby Just Cares For Me – Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn, famous for Nina Simone’s signature version.

6.30pm: The first half of The Hannells Darley Park Concert 2019, with introductions and commentary from Ben Pope and Andy Twigge. Vocal performances by Grant Doyle.

• Opening of Also Sprach – Strauss R. Made famous by the film 2001 A Space Odyssey.
• Blue Danube – Strauss J. Arguably the most well-known waltz.
• None But The Lonely Heart – Tchaikovsky
• Here Comes The Sun – Beatles
• Liberty Bell – Sousa. Perhaps better known as the theme from Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
• Nimrod – Elgar
• Run Away Train – Warren
• Music of the Spheres – Strauss J
• Slavonic Dance 46/8 – Dvorak

7.30pm: Derby Jazz

• Home
• Alright

7.55pm: Sinfonia Viva Cabaret Band, featuring Andy Quinn:

• 20th Century Blues – Noel Coward
• The Ballad of Mack the Knife – Kurt Weill
• This is the Moment – Leslie Bricusse & Frank Wildhorn, from the musical Jekyll and Hyde.

8.10pm: The second half of The Hannells Darley Park Concert 2019, with introductions and commentary from Ben Pope and Andy Twigge. Vocal performances by Grant Doyle.

• Ace’s High March – Goodwin
• Gold and Silver Waltz – Lehar
• Black and White Rag – Botsford
• Come Fly with Me – Van Heusen
• Steve Bloomer’s Watchin’ – Brady. For all the Rams fans.
• Summer of 69 – Bryan Adams
• Light Cavalry Overture – Suppe. Featuring fireworks.
• Land of Hope and Glory – Elgar. Ending with last year’s spectacular fireworks.

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