Charity Orchestra Evening

On 17th February, Switch180 was honoured to be the charity partner for London Phoenix Orchestra’s “A Night At The Movies” concert at London’s Cadogan Hall. Our first orchestra evening! The weather forecast did not deter our supporters who turned out in force.

This type of event was a first for Switch180 and especially so for our young people who joined us from our programme Snow Camp (pictured below). It was the first orchestra experience for each of them, and they learnt a lot and enjoyed being involved.

The evening opened with a speech from Switch180’s founder, Dan Charlish, and presenter Neil Brand who provided some interesting trivia for each piece. Conductor Levon Parikian cued the orchestra and the music got underway. After almost two years with concerts being scarce, the opening notes of John Williams’s Star Wars made the audience jump, in the best way!

The orchestra continued with more well-known movie pieces including Bernard Hermann’s “Vertigo Suite”, and John Barry’s “Born Free”. A particular highlight was Miklos Rozsa’s “Spellbound”, which included a guest appearance from Charlie Draper playing a Theramin, a monophonic space-controlled electronic musical instrument played with no physical contact. After the interval the familiar favourites continued, with John Williams’s “Schindler’s List” and Max Steiner’s “Casablanca” entertaining the audience amongst others.

It was wonderful to see a full room of supporters again and with the money raised, Switch180 will be able to support more young people with vital support

Dan Charlish (pictured below) said “This was an important night for the charity, our very first event as Switch180 and what a wonderful way to start us off! We are grateful to the LPO, Cadogan Hall and everyone who has helped make this evening possible.”

Our Chairman of Trustees, Alan Grant, was also on the other side of the fence on this occasion, as he also plays in the orchestra’s horn section, said: “It was a truly wonderful concert, an occasion made even more special by an audience of nearly 500 people at the Cadogan Hall, but of course as ever, the show was stolen by our Switch180 young people who engaged confidently with our VIP guests to tell their Switch180 stories. Music unites us all, but personal stories leave their mark forever.”