Orchestra Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

RAYE appeared on Saturday Night Live last night (April 6), appearing twice across the show to perform a selection of her recent hits.The singer had performed ‘Escapism’ earlier in the night, but later in the show she returned with a jazz orchestra to sing ‘Worth It’ and ‘Let There Be Light’.RAYE has performed with an orchestra on numerous occasions, including at her recent headline ‘My 21st Century Symphony’ show at London’s O2 Arena and a similar performance at the Royal Albert Hall. In a five-star review of the performance, NME wrote: “Throughout, her effortless vocals – reminiscent of Amy Winehouse or nostalgic jazz club singers – fly across the orchestra, melismatic runs soaring through the huge arena and scat singing incorporated.“A triumphant performance from a live sensation, this was a career-defining show for RAYE.”Check out her live renditions of ‘Worth It’ and ‘Let There Be Light’ below:Raye performing a medley of “Worth It.” and a new song on #SNL pic.twitter.com/2cXrndbIYX— RAYE Updates (@RayeUpdate) April 7, 2024Meanwhile, RAYE recently revealed that she co-wrote one of Beyoncé‘s songs on ‘Cowboy Carter’.The six times BRIT Awards winner has previously penned songs for Queen Bey most notably 2019’s ‘Bigger’ along with tracks for Mabel and Charli XCX.Now, she has taken to Instagram to celebrate the release of the new record, which dropped today, and share her “honour” in contributing to the LP.Sharing a clip of herself singing along to the track, which you can listen to below, RAYE wrote: “happy COWBOY CARTER day.

Jon Burlingame Dan Wallin, the music scoring engineer who recorded such classic film scores as “Spartacus,” “Bullitt,” “The Wild Bunch” and “Out of Africa,” died early Wednesday in Hawaii. He was 97.

Jaden Thompson Comedian Nicole Byer and singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright are some of the artists featured on the 2024-2025 programming lineup for the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. Rufus Wainwright will be at The Wallis for three nights reimagining his project “Rufus-Retro-Wainwright-Spective,” performing a unique program every night. Additionally, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra will perform works by Schumann and Schubert while the LA Opera will feature the voices of renowned vocalists Benjamin Bernheim, Ryan Speedo Green and Joshua Guerrero.

Jon Burlingame Mike Post has written the music for more classic TV series than anyone else: “The Rockford Files,” “Hill Street Blues,” “The Greatest American Hero,” “Magnum, P.I.,” “The A-Team,” “L.A. Law,” “NYPD Blue,” “Law & Order” and many others over the past 50 years. But for his new album, “Message from the Mountains & Echoes of the Delta,” he has left his day job behind, creating two original suites for bluegrass and blues bands with orchestra.

Cypress Hill have announced a show at the Royal Albert Hall with the London Symphony Orchestra, almost 30 years after it was joked about on The Simpsons.In yet another uncanny foretelling of the future by the hit cartoon show, the 1996 episode Homerpalooza saw the group accidentally book a gig with the London Symphony Orchestra while high. Following the episode, rumours of them linking up with the orchestra have circulated ever since.Cypress Hill had performed three shows with a symphony orchestra in the US last year, but now, they will be bringing that set-up to the UK on July 10.

Thania Garcia The Recording Academy has revealed the 2024 inductees for the Grammy Hall of Fame. Lauryn Hill‘s “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” Guns N’ Roses’ “Appetite For Destruction” and De La Soul’s “3 Feet High and Rising” will all be inducted at the inaugural Grammy Hall of Fame gala and concert on May 21 at the Novo Theater in Los Angeles.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent In the early 1970s, Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan wrote and recorded songs for the English version of Italian director Franco Zeffirelli’s film “Brother Sun, Sister Moon,” about the early years of St. Francis of Assisi, that evoked the “flower power” hippie movement and developed a cult following. Half a century later, Donovan traveled to Italy last week to watch a freshly restored version of the film in two celebratory events.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Jeff Lynne’s ELO hae announce their final tour, dubbed “The Over and Out Tour.” The 27-date excursion, produced by Live Nation, will kick off in Palm Desert, CA on August 24 and travel across North America before concluding in Los Angeles on October 25. Artist Presale will begin on Wednesday, March 20 at 10am local time and the general onsale will start on Friday, March 22 @ 10am local time. Exclusive VIP experiences will be available March 20th at 10am local.

Thania Garcia As Bad Bunny‘s “Most Wanted Tour” made its first of three stops at L.A.’s Crypto.com Arena Wednesday night, fans dressed in western-themed getups gathered to witness the return of the Puerto Rican megastar for his first outing since his eye-popping “World’s Hottest” stadium run. Split into four separate acts, this production felt much more theatrical than his last, as proven by the intricate pyrotechnics and the orchestra — which served as a 10-minute opening act — nestled onto one of two crescent-shaped stages on either side of the arena.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent German director Volker Schlöndorff, who won the Cannes’ Palme d’Or and an Oscar for his 1979 drama “The Tin Drum,” is set to direct a film about how Antonio Vivaldi — the 18th-century Italian composer of “The Four Seasons” — formed what is touted as the world’s first all-female orchestra. Schlöndorff’s still-untitled depiction of this lesser-known aspect of Vivaldi’s career is based on a book by German writer Peter Schneider, which has been adapted for the big screen by Italian scribe Francesco Piccolo (“My Brilliant Friend”) along with the director.

Billie Eilish delivered a powerful performance of “What Was I Made For?” at the 2024 Academy Awards on Sunday night. Eilish was joined by her brother, co-writer and producer Finneas O’Connell, in a touching rendition of the song from Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” which earned eight Oscar nominations. With O’Connell on piano, Eilish moved the audience with her signature ethereal vocals.

John Williams composed for his most famous cinematic hero, Indiana Jones. “As I often remind John, his music follows me everywhere I go — literally,” Ford says.

The sounds of the 60s and 70s will be brought to life with the BBC Concert Orchestra in a special night celebrating Northern Soul music.

Bad Bunny has kicked off his Most Wanted Tour and the setlist has been revealed after the first U.S. shows.

Jordan Moreau Two of the most memorable songs from Nickelodeon’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender” made their way into Netflix’s new adaptation of the series. Instead of making viewers wait for a second season to hear “Secret Tunnel” and “Leaves From the Vine,” the live-action version moves both to the fourth episode of Season 1.

A post shared by Lars Eric Mattsson (@lars.eric.mattsson)Kuprij was born in 1974 and gained recognition as a musician predominantly through his work with the symphonic heavy metal band Trans-Siberian Orchestra.He performed with the group as a full-time member between 2009 and 2019, and then rejoined the line-up in 2021 for a seasonal tour. His latest stint with them came just a matter of months ago, when he hit the stage with them throughout November and December 2023.Alongside his work with Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Kuprij was also part of the neoclassical metal group Artension during the late ‘90s, as well as Ring Of Fire – which was fronted by Mark Boals – and the Vivaldi Metal project.Following news of his passing, Trans-Siberian Orchestra took to X (formerly Twitter) to share a statement.

100 years of Disney magic will be celebrated in a special concert in Manchester this June featuring a live orchestra.

Tiana DeNicola editor Ludwig Göransson takes audiences on a captivating journey behind the creation of “Can You Hear the Music,” the theme from the award-winning film “Oppenheimer.” Göransson’s ability to weave together diverse musical elements while maintaining a cohesive narrative shines through in this timeless piece. By delving into “Can You Hear the Music,” Göransson reveals his meticulous approach to capturing the essence of the film’s themes and characters. Inspired by the profound complexity of J.

Catherine Bray Two years after their Berlinale prizewinner “Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush,” veteran German director Andreas Dresen and his regular screenwriter Laila Stieler reteam for the moving drama “From Hilde, With Love.” Drawing on the compelling real-life case of the Hilde and Hans Coppi, a young married couple arrested and executed for treason by the Gestapo in wartime Berlin, the film cross-cuts between an idyllic summer romance and much darker later events.

Filmmaker Andreas Dresen and actress Liv Lisa Fries took part morning in the press conference for new drama From Hilde, With Love, which debuts this weekend in Competition at the Berlin Film Festival.

EXCLUSIVE: Picture Tree International (PTI) has acquired international sales rights for Icelandic box office hit Grand Finale (Fullt hús) for an EFM launch.

Scottish comedian Kevin Bridges has been announced as this year's host for the Teenage Cancer Trust event at the Royal Albert Hall. The stand-up comedian, 37, will host "A Night of Comedy" on Tuesday, 19 March with performances from Rob Beckett, Paul Chowdhry, Joe Lycett, Joanne McNally and Seann Walsh, plus special guests who are yet to be announced.This night is a part of the week-long event that will take place at the Royal Albert Hall from 18 March to 24 March to help raise vital funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust charity.There will also be performances from The Who with Orchestra, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Young Fathers and The Chemical Brothers to name a few at the star-studded event.

RAYE has announced a huge London O2 Arena show in celebration of her historic BRIT nominations – find details down below.For one night only, RAYE will perform at the O2 on March 15 to 18,000 concertgoers, where she will be joined by The Heritage Orchestra and the Flames Collective.“I think we’ve completely lost our minds but we are bringing ‘My 21st Century Symphony’ to the O2 Arena,” RAYE shared.She further stated in a press release: “This is my first headline performance at The O2 Arena. We will have 90 guests on stage, including the Heritage Orchestra and Flames Collective, our guests from The Royal Albert Hall, to perform ‘My 21st Century Symphony’.

Ellise Shafer Following sold-out dates in London, New York and San Francisco, the “Avatar: The Last Airbender” concert series is expanding to a 100-city world tour. Beginning September 2024, the music of the hit Nickelodeon series will travel to cities across North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific. The over two-hour concert, produced by GEA Live, brings “Avatar: The Last Airbender’s” iconic musical score to life with an orchestra as fan-favorite moments from the series are shown on screen.

—who portrayed middle-aged heiress Tanya McQuoid in the first and second seasons of the hit HBO series—rambled and danced her way into Emmys history when the orchestra tried to .This year, she followed it up with a possibly even better speech, slipping in a hilarious shout-out to the “evil gays” who killed off her character in the show's second season.Coolidge began the speech by thanking White Lotus showrunner Mike White for the opportunity to revive her acting career through her two-season arc. Ever the comedienne, she then turned her attention to the trio of co-stars who made her season-two performance so memorable.“I want to thank all the evil gays!” she , referencing “Pablo, Francesco, and Bruno: Thank you!”Jennifer Coolidge was nominated for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series alongside her White Lotus costars Aubrey Plaza, Meghann Fahy, Sabrina Impacciatore, and Simona Tabasco—in addition to Elizabeth Debicki from The Crown, J.

Jon Burlingame Taking an old film score and dropping it into a new film is “like wearing somebody else’s underwear,” veteran composer Earle Hagenused to say. Hagen, the Oscar-nominated, Emmy-winning composer of such classic themes as “The Andy Griffith Show,” “The Dick VanDyke Show” and “The Mod Squad,” would have been appalled by the musical choices in Netflix’s “May December.” A scene from that film, with Julianne Moore opening her refrigerator door to a melodramatic piano cue, has gone viral. It’s a funny moment if you don’t recognize that music.

Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell had a scene-stealing moment during the 2024 Golden Globes on Sunday night (January 7)!

statement calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire”.The union’s executive committee has also agreed to make a donation to the Red Cross to support humanitarian causes in Israel and Palestine and will also give money to the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, which educates young Israeli and Palestinian musicians.According to the MU, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra has seen its members “directly affected” by the conflict.The MU add: “The orchestra’s purpose has always been to bring individuals impacted by war together through music. In an increasingly polarised world, the ability to listen to and understand the pain of others is ever more important.”Explaining its plan to donate to both charities it adds: “We call for an end to war and violence,” before further discussing its support for a ceasefire: “We support the TUC and UN call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Middle East and strongly urge the international community to make all efforts to ensure that international law is upheld and all civilians are protected.“At the MU, we are aware of members being directly and indirectly impacted by events in the Middle East.

Five tones. That’s all it took for John Williams to convey a sense of a wider form of communication that stretches from the Earth to the Cosmos. Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a film about (among many things) communication and the power of the universal language of music in particular. It is fitting, then, that the Royal Albert Hall would make room for Steven Spielberg’s 1977 Sci-Fi classic in its season of live orchestral performances this year. Not only is it a wonderful chance to revisit one of Spielberg’s finest, but it offers a means to greater appreciate just how emotionally complex William’s work is in this tale of making connection with beings not of this world. Seeing a film with a live orchestra is an experience that everyone should embark upon, be it your first time seeing the film for your 100th. It is a uniquely immersive experience, bringing you into the film in a way that no other screening format can quite muster. Music, and particularly the music of John Williams, is often used to heighten emotion and elevate scenes to their peak resonance, and the tangibility of seeing an orchestra play the score as the film progresses brings you even closer to those emotions in a truly profound fashion.The film and the score all build-up to one of the finest finales put to screen with the eventual meeting between our characters and the aliens who have been telegraphing their arrival. The moments of witty government conspiracy and deeply touching and devastating family drama give way to the meeting of human and alien, as the human race communicates to the huge, foreboding and colourful mothership through the medium of music. It is a sequence that never loses its grandeur on repeat viewing, a moment in which the

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer In “Maestro,” Bradley Cooper disappears into the role of legendary composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein, one of the most consequential American figures in classical music.