Olivier award nomination for Patron Kuljit Bhamra MBE

Kuljit Bhamra MBE

The Commonwealth Resounds would like to congratulate our Patron Kuljit Bhamra MBE on a well deserved Olivier Award Nomination for the Autograph Sound Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music. Having worked on the score of the blockbuster film Kuljit co-orchestrated Bend it Like Beckham, the musical with Howard Goodall and it played in London’s west end for almost a year and is now set to tour around the country. Critics gave the show glowing reviews including a 5* Daily Telegraph review who declared it a “bold, beautifully British triumph” and the Evening Standard called it a “joyous hymn to girl power”. The independent called Kuljit a Bhangra maestro and described his work as “Exquisite”.

Alison Cox OBE, Founder and Co-Director of The Commonwealth Resounds said:

I am delighted that the Olivier Awards chose to nominate Kuljit after he has spent so many years supporting the Asian music scene around the world at the highest levels. We are so grateful to have Kuljit’s support as patron of The Commonwealth Resounds and look forward to our continued partnership in the future.

Bend it Like Beckham has already won several major awards including ‘Best Musical’ at the Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards.

Malta CHOGM 2015

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The Commonwealth Resounds ran a highly successful trip to Malta as part of CHOGM 2015, including more than 80 instrumentalists, singers and composers, the Commonwealth Festival Choir and Orchestra, musicians from the Caribbean and Nigeria, young musicians from the UK’s specialist music schools and a very large number of Maltese participants. They ran outreach projects in Maltese schools, gala concerts in some of Malta’s finest venues and performed 52 pieces from all over the Commonwealth in their unique, pan-Commonwealth project PANORPHEUS.

Click here for details and photographs.

We shall soon be able to reveal our exciting plans for 2016, including a study tour for 7 musicians from Nigeria, new projects and partnerships and some additional touring programmes to visit our longstanding Commonwealth musical partners.

More information soon!

Roderick Lakin MBE

lakin-2We are all deeply saddened by the untimely, tragic death of our wonderful Patron, Roderick Lakin MBE, Director of Arts at the Royal Over-Seas League. Roderick has helped and supported The Commonwealth Resounds over the years in so many ways.

Without his vision, inspiration and leadership, it would have been much more difficult for us all to run projects in Uganda, Trinidad, Australia and Sri Lanka as well as the UK. He has also generously spent time helping us to develop the vision and profile of our organisation.

Roderick will never be forgotten, and we are hoping to find many ways to celebrate his life and achievements through music.

PANORPHEUS – A fascinating project featuring Commonwealth flutes and harps

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This unique project will be presented in Malta by The Commonwealth Resounds as part of CHOGM 2015 on Thursday November 26th.
There will be five concerts, each featuring new pieces and composers from different regions of the world performed by brilliant young Commonwealth musicians

Altogether, we are planning to present 53 newly commissioned pieces on this day!

Please click here for more information

A CALL TO COMMONWEALTH COMPOSERS

Selected composers will be given plenty of publicity and exposure as part of this exciting project. If you would like to be considered as the composer to represent your own country, please email Alison Cox on tcr2015@btinternet.com

Malta in November

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A large team of musicians and singers from The Commonwealth Resounds, including the Royal Over-Seas League, The Commonwealth Festival Orchestra and Choir, The Purcell School and Chethams School of Music will be visiting Malta this coming November to take part in performances, outreach events, school workshops and masterclasses, collaborative events with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, the Malta Youth Orchestra, Keltica and other Maltese choirs and special projects created and developed by musicians from The Commonwealth Resounds