From Bournemouth to Broadway: musicals concert collab

Our From Bournemouth to Broadway: Magic from the Musicals concert was a showstopper! The audience was transported to the West End as we performed a dazzling programme featuring Bournemouth Musical Theatre Productions.

It was a fantastic day. A lot of hard work goes on behind the scenes to prepare for concerts, and this concert was no exception. We thought we’d let you in on the whole day’s events – from the moment we arrived at Bournemouth Life Centre in Winton, on Saturday 2 May.

Just before we do, here’s a clip of us performing our Hairspray finale with BMT Productions…

The set-up

12pm – early set-up crew arrived
Some members of committee and the band arrived early to unload all the equipment from the van and various cars. We put out all the chairs and music stands and added banners to the front of each stand. We set up the microphone and amps and made sure all cables were safely tucked away.

12:45pm – light/tech crew test
The crew started experimenting with the lighting and got the big projector screen ready to show visuals behind the band throughout the concert.

1:45pm – band equipment set-up
As more band members trickled in, they got stuck in. From helping set up the drums and percussion instruments to smaller tasks like putting batteries in stand lights; displaying our big 10-foot tall BDCB banner; and finding a space to display our publicity notice board for people to read when they arrive and during the interval. Plus so many other tasks.

2:30pm – sound, light and visuals check with the whole band
By now all band members had arrived and we started our sound, lighting and visuals check while the band played. This helped us get used to the acoustics of the theatre, too. It was also a great opportunity for us to go over some last-minute tricky areas of music together before the concert, and check everyone had the final running programme order.

3:30pm – sound check with BMT Productions
BMT joined us and we rehearsed our joint pieces together. It sounded fantastic and the tech crew were busy adjusting the sound and lighting levels to get the right balance.

Downtime before the concert

5pm – break time
With the final rehearsal, sound, lighting and visual checks complete, we had free time to eat, get changed into concert gear, and prep for the concert. Some front-of-house helpers were busy getting the refreshments ready and making sure everything was set-up to welcome guests. We also had helpers poised in a local school car park to help guests find a space.

6:45pm – doors open to guests
The guests started trickling in and found their seats, ready to enjoy the evening.

7:10pm – band tune-up
Before every concert the band gathers, and Nick our Bandmaster, goes round each section to make sure every instrument is in tune. Once in tune we all lined up and got ready to be called on stage.

The first half

7:30pm – baton down, the concert starts
After filtering onto the stage in a reasonably organised single-file fashion, band members were ready for our Musical Director, Simon, to come out onto the stage. The audience were quiet in anticipation and before we knew it, we had kicked off the show with our opening piece.

In the first half we played:

• Breezin’ Down Broadway – packed full of Broadway classics
• Oklahoma! – telling the story of romance across open plains
• West Side Story – changing the mood with a catchy cha cha
• A medley of Andrew Lloyd Webber favourites

8:10pm – interval
We aim for a 20-minute interval but in reality it’s always a bit longer, to give people enough time to go to the bathroom, get refreshments and mingle.

The second half

8:40pm – second half
We had a treat for the audience in the second half as BMT Productions joined us for a number of pieces. They brought high energy and showstopping voices – we felt like we were on Broadway!

In the second half we played:

• Miss Saigon – an 18-minute piece with a huge amount of emotion
• Lion King – with lots of recognisable tunes throughout
• Wicked – this was a very difficult piece to play musically, and we were so proud to have achieved it – it sounded amazing with BMT singing too
• Musicals Rock – featuring some rock  favourites
• Hairspray – You Can’t Stop the Beat is such a catchy piece, you can’t help but sing it for days afterwards!

9:30pm – concert ends with a bang
For our Hairspray finale we had one more surprise for our audience – and band members – at the very end. Various band members secretly had party poppers and let them off on the last note which had the audience roaring with applause. What a show!

9:30-11pm – pack up
The evening doesn’t end when the concert finishes. Everything we did in the set-up was done in reverse. We said goodbye to our wonderful concert goers, packed down all the instruments and equipment and loaded up the van and cars again. It was a huge team effort and everyone got involved – many hands definitely made light work.

We loved the musicals concert and had some lovely feedback from audience members. Check out our Facebook page for more photos and videos of the concert.

By Emma on flute