CUPO Great Adventure

Cambridge University Pops Orchestra performed Great Adventure: From the Enchanted Forest to Middle Earth at the West Road Concert Hall yesterday. Ben Glassberg invited me to photograph the concert, and I am really happy that I had the chance to do so. Not only was there great music, and amazing story telling, they had all dressed up for the occasion. It was a real treat! In the first part Rhianna Frost masterfully narratedĀ Roald Dahl’sĀ Little Red Riding Hood, the tale emphasised by the orchestra’s great timing. In the second part the choir joined the orchestra on stage, and performed five pieces from The Lord of the Rings.

I arrived half way through their rehearsal in the afternoon, and got a chance to wander around on stage to take some closeups of the musicians. They told me that they were going to put on costumes and makeup for the show, so I asked if I could come and photograph that also. The behind-the-scenes shots are some of my favourites, as it is a chance to get more creative and fun photos, showing the people behind the instruments.

hjorthmedh-cupo-adventure-ben-glassberg
Rehearsal photo, Ben’s enthusiasm radiates through into the photo when he conducts.
hjorthmedh-cupo-adventure-ork-1
Marco Selvi preparing the Uruk Hai face painting. I like the effort they put into their costumes, and the attention to detail.
hjorthmedh-cupo-adventure-hobbit
Jessica Ginn as a hobbit from Middle Earth.
hjorthmedh-cupo-adventure-elf
Nathalie Marie Pearson Green-Buckley. Here I increased the exposure and reduced the contrast to give the photo a softer look. I have selectively sharpened the eyes, mouth and jewelry.
hjorthmedh-cupo-adventure-ents-1
Hannah King. Ents of course must have branches in the hair.
hjorthmedh-cupo-adventure-ork-2
I like that the hand and finger print does not really match up in this photo.
hjorthmedh-cupo-adventure-mixed-1
Neha Zamvar, Annie Koerling, Phoebe Weller and Oli MacFarlane.
hjorthmedh-cupo-adventure-red-riding-hood-1
Amelia Drew as little miss Red Riding Hood.
hjorthmedh-cupo-adventure-audience-1
The concert hall filling up with people. If you know where to look you can see my parents there, dad taking a photo with his mobile.
hjorthmedh-cupo-adventure-ben-glassberg-2
Ben and Rhianna walks on stage.
hjorthmedh-cupo-adventure-ben-glassberg-3
Because it is a live concert I tried to not move around too much. Also I became very conscious of the loud shutter on the D700. But during a particular loud part I snuck up to the side and grabbed a few frames.
hjorthmedh-cupo-adventure-rhianna-frost
The good thing about going for a little walk is that I can sit down in another position, giving me a fresh new angle. Rhianna reading from her little red book.
hjorthmedh-cupo-adventure-old-lady
Some of the musicians went all out with the costumes. Here is Andrew Savill.
hjorthmedh-cupo-adventure-elf-2
Georgina Skinner as “Generic Elf.”
hjorthmedh-cupo-adventure-practicing
Danielle Ainsworth. A quiet moment between the two acts.
hjorthmedh-cupo-adventure-orchestra
For the second part I was shooting from the balcony, to get some overview shots of the entire orchestra and the choir that had now taken to the stage.
hjorthmedh-cupo-adventure-orchestra-2
A closeup from the balcony. I had brought a second lens with me, which I probably should have remembered. I am so used to just using my 50 mm lens nowadays. There are some shots with it later on, I will put a second set of photos in a Facebook album.
hjorthmedh-cupo-adventure-mixed-2
After the concert, hanging around a little while to grab a few more photos.
hjorthmedh-cupo-adventure-mixed-3
Zak Ghazi-Torbati, Joe Beighton and Josie Wastell

hjorthmedh-cupo-adventure-mixed-4This was a great concert. I hope you had a chance to be there! Thanks to Ben for inviting me, and to the entire orchestra and choir for a great performance.

– Johannes

 

Cast
Choir – Neha Zamvar, Clare Dawson, Sitara Amin Tilly, Hattie Hunter, Rhiannon Randle, Josie Wastell, Olivia Bell, Georgina Skinner, Fiona Fraser, Esther Nye, Emma Kavanagh, Phoebe Weller, Anna-Lucia Koerling, Lily Parham, Jessica Ginn, Kate Lowe, Marta Grzeskiewicz, Chris Nash, Chris Patrick, David Booer, Joe Beighton, Declan Corr, Orlando Gibbs, Toby Miller, Oliver MacFarlane, James Bartlett, Josh Pacey, Louis Wilson, David Lawrence, Andy Campbell-Smith, Zak Ghazi-Torbati, Tom Ainge, Jonny Venvell
Narrator – Rhianna Frost
Soprano Solo – Olivia Bell

Band
Violin – Aditya Chander, Angus Bain, Emma Gait, Hannah Roper, Lydia Caines, Zeena Beale, Katharine Griffiths, Marco Selvi, Catherine Xu, Miranda Whitmarsh, Chris Wan, Charles Gurnham, Emer Jones, Patrick Flynn, Kate Apley, Catherine Hsu, Louise Ayrton, Sinead Cook, Amelia Drew
Viola – Nathalie Green-Buckley, Angela Wittman, Peter Ford, Simon Nathan, Robert Pearce-Higgins, Heppy Longworth, Hannah Gardiner
Cello – Geraint Ballinger, Alex Maynard, Katy Crooks, Daniel Grace, Moira Cox, Simon Cooper
Bass – David Bossanyi, Danielle Ainsworth, Dominic Nudd, Joe Cowie
Reeds – Ros Ridout, Simone Maurer, Jenny Whitby, Hannah King, Tom Gillam, Katie McLeish, Kate Meadows, Helen McKeown, Phoebe McFarlane, Louisa Denby, Poppy Ellis-Logan, Freddie Brewer
Horn – Jake Rowe, Frances Leith, Andrew Savill, Esther Orsorio-Whewell, James Liley
Trumpet – Katie Lodge, Tom Edinburgh, Matt Letts
Trombone – Chris Gemmell, Tom Byrne, Stephen Marsh
Tuba – Will Woodall
Timpani and Percussion – Sami Alsindi, Josh Kellie, Chrissie Burke, Jonathan Morell, Carl Wikeley
Piano – Nadanai Laohakunakorn
Harp – Eli Potter

Production Team
Conductor – Ben Glassberg
Co-Producer – Lily Parham, Ros Ridout
Lighting Designer – Jon French
Sound Designer – Alaric Worrod
Sound Engineer – Sarah Driver, Sheanna Patel
Production Photographer – Johannes Hjorth

Written by:

Be First to Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.