Detroit Symphony Orchestra has a licence to thrill with Bond and Beyond

Hold onto your seats as the DSO and conductor Michael Krajewski rev up with signature tunes from the famous James Bond film franchise in performances titled Bond and Beyond on Apr. 15-18. The program features ‘James Bond’ and ‘The 007’ themes, and the DSO premiere of the Cell Phone Concerto with a special guest artist to be announced. The concerts take place on Thu., Apr. 15 at 10:45 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.; Fri., Apr. 16 at 8:30 p.m.; Sat., Apr. 17 at 8:30 p.m. and Sun., Apr. 18 at 3:00 p.m.

Other selections on the program include music from James Bond films Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever, From Russia with Love, Quantum of Solace, Casino Royale, A View to a Kill, and many more! Known for his entertaining programs and wry sense of humor, Michael Krajewski is a much sought after conductor of symphonic pops concerts. Michael has collaborated with an eclectic group of artists including flutist Sir James Galway, mezzo soprano Marilyn Horne, pianist Alicia de Larrocha, guitarist Angel Romero, and pop artists Roberta Flack, Judy Collins, Art Garfunkel, Doc Severinsen, Al Hirt, Cab Calloway, the Kingston Trio, Ben E. King, Mary Wilson, Patti Austin, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the Canadian Brass, Pink Martini and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. With degrees from Wayne State University in Detroit and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Michael furthered his training at the Pierre Monteux Domaine School for Conductors. He was a Dorati Fellowship Conductor with the Detroit Symphony and later served as the orchestra’s assistant conductor.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets to Bond and Beyond range in price from $19 to $71 with a limited number of box seats available for $65 to $123. Tickets may be purchased at the Max M. Fisher Music Center box office (3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit); by calling (313) 576-5111; or online at www.detroitsymphony.com. Seniors (60 and over) and students with a valid student ID can purchase 50% off RUSH tickets at the box office 90 minutes prior to concerts based on availability. For group discount information (10 people or more), please contact Chuck Dyer at (313) 576-5130 or [email protected].

PERFORMANCE

John Barry to receive Lifetime Achievement Award in October 2010

11-time James Bond composer John Barry will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the World Soundtrack Academy this upcoming October in Ghent, Belgium.

The renowned composer will be present at a special tribute concert at the Ghent International Film Festival on Thursday, 21 October 2010 ar 8:30pm to collect his award.

Full details follow in the news release below:

John Barry receives the Lifetime Achievement Award from World Soundtrack Academy

John Barry

On Thursday October 21, 2010 four-time Oscar winner, John Barry’s music will be performed live in concert at the Ghent International Film Festival. This unique, one-night-only event will be held on Thursday 21 October at 8.30 pm at ‘t Kuipke Concert Hall in Ghent. The 80 members Brussels Philharmonic will be performing selections from many of Barry’s classic scores including Goldfinger, Mary Queen of Scots, Out of Africa, Dances with Wolves and Midnight Cowboy, conducted by Nicholas Dodd. As always, the concert will be accompanied by a video presentation of film clips.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary The World Soundtrack Academy will present Barry with a Lifetime Achievement Award, their most prestigious honor.

In 1962 when Barry was hired to score the first James Bond film, Dr No he unknowingly secured a place for himself in history; the resulting Bond theme has become one of the most iconic pieces of film music and has been heard on 11 Bond soundtracks. The accomplished English born composer has penned scores for over 100 films and was honored with the Academy Award for Born Free, The Lion in Winter, Out of Africa and Dances with Wolves as well as nominations for Mary Queen of Scots and Chaplin.

With the John Barry concert, the Ghent Film Festival will be continuing its tradition of showcasing memorable, award-winning film music in the form of live concerts. Previous editions featured Ennio Morricone, Maurice Jarre, Elmer Bernstein, Hans Zimmer, Howard Shore and Alexandre Desplat among others.

In its 37th year the Ghent International Film Festival will run from October 12th – October 23rd with the World Soundtrack Awards being presented on the final night.

Tickets to the event range in price from €25 to €45. Click here to order your e-Ticket (payment: via Visa and Master Card only).

For further information, visit the official Ghent Film Festival website.

Keep visiting the CommanderBond.net main page and our Discussion Forums for the most up-to-date 007 coverage on the web.

James Bond concert in Costa Mesa from 16-18 June

Orange County’s Pacific Symphony has announced its 2010-11 pops concert line-up and one event is especially geared towards the James Bond music fans.

The Orange County Register reports that a special 007-themed concert will take place this June, held at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa, California.

Composer/conductor Carl Davis will make a guest appearance with the Pacific Pops leading a James Bond program, along with vocalist Mary Carewe singing hits from From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, Diamonds Are Forever, Live and Let Die and Casino Royale. Audiences are invited to get into the Bond spirit by dressing up as their favorite 007 character.

The James Bond concert will take place on 16-18 June 2010. To purchase tickets or for further information, phone 714-755-5799 or visit www.pacificsymphony.org.

Keep visiting the CommanderBond.net main page and our Discussion Forums for the most up-to-date 007 coverage on the web.

David Arnold discusses James Bond and beyond in new audio interview

A special edition of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra’s podcast for February 2010 features an all-new audio interview with five-time James Bond composer David Arnold.

James Bond composer David Arnold

The interview, with questions posed by Tommy Pearson, followed a sold-out CBSO Friday Night Classics concert featuring music from the movies in which Arnold was the special guest (music from Arnold’s scores for Independence Day and Casino Royale were performed during the concert).

Arnold talks about the thrill of hearing his music played live by a world-class orchestra in a concert hall, how he creates a score for a film, working with directors, dealing with the business of movies and what it’s like to write music for the world’s best known secret agent—having handled the music for every 007 film from Tomorrow Never Dies through and including Quantum of Solace. A revealing look into the life of one of the UK’s most successful composers.

Listen to the David Arnold audio interview
(courtesy of the CBSO Podcast)

Keep visiting the CommanderBond.net main page and our Discussion Forums for the most up-to-date 007 coverage on the web.

James Bond program shakes and stirs at Vancouver Olympics

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – South Korea’s Kim Yu-Na was the woman with the golden gun on the first night of the Olympic ladies’ figure skating competition.

At the end of a slinky performance to a medley of James Bond music, Ms. Kim, the current world champion at age 19, formed her hand into the shape of a pistol—and shot her arch-rival Mao Asada out of top standing.

Click here to view the performance at NBCOlympics.com

Judges awarded Ms. Kim 78.5 points for her short program, giving her a nearly five-point lead over Japan’s Ms. Asada, who is also 19.

Ms. Kim’s performance was a killer combination of consistently executed jumps and spins, and stylish choreography. Most skaters excel at either technical or artistic elements, but Ms. Kim managed to nail difficult triple-triple jumps at the beginning of her performance, all while demonstrating the sly personality of a Bond girl.

Ms. Kim, a Korean national hero and one of the nation’s highest-paid athletes, said she wasn’t particularly nervous going into the competition.

“I don’t know why, but I wasn’t really thinking that this is the Olympics. It wasn’t a special feeling—it was the same as like other competition,” she told reporters in English. “I was very comfortable.”

Ms. Kim proved she has nerves of steel. Despite having to skate immediately after Ms. Asada—and watch her deliver a stunning performance—she was unfazed.

“It’s very difficult not to be aware of [Ms. Asada’s] scores,” Ms. Kim said. “But I do have a lot of experience and I was not affected by her performance.”

Ms. Asada was the only woman on Tuesday to perform ladies’ skating’s most difficult move, the triple axel. But the judges gave her lower marks than Ms. Kim on almost every single component. “Usually there is a ten-point difference between myself and Kim, so when I compare it with that, I feel really happy,” she said.

“Today, I was nervous from the time I was in the hotel. The nervousness took a while to go away, but before I started I was able to calm myself down and then gradually towards the end of the program I began to feel the joy of skating at the Olympics,” she said.

One of the evening’s most moving performances came from Canada’s Joannie Rochette, who skated into third place with an emotional performance to tango music. Ms. Rochette’s mother died on Sunday, but she decided to continue in Olympic competition. She began crying as she finished her performance on Tuesday night, as many in the crowd gave her a standing ovation.

“I feel good,” Ms. Rochette told reporters. “But ten years from now, I’d want to come back and try this again. I have no regrets.”

The ladies return to the ice on Thursday for the longer free program, in which any of the three woman could upset the standings set on Tuesday.

As always, keep your browsers locked on the CommanderBond.net main page and our Discussion Forums for all the latest 007 news from the world of James Bond.

Ulster Orchestra to perform James Bond tribute on 20 February

The Ulster Orchestra will be celebrating the music of James Bond later this month at a special 007-themed concert.

Legendary composer and conductor Carl Davis will lead the orchestra through the near 50-year history of Bond music, from 1962’s Dr. No through 2008’s Quantum of Solace.

Carl Davis has a licence to thrill as he leads you through the hit James Bond films from the original Dr. No theme through to Casino Royale via Goldfinger, From Russia with Love and many other Bond classics. The orchestral works and songs are as much a part of the Bond films as the gadgets, girls and guns! It promises to be a full evening of smooth entertainment as Carl Davis and the Ulster Orchestra track the British secret agent through his most memorable moments.

TV’s Joe Lindsay will act as the event’s presenter, while vocalist Mary Carewe will lend her voice for classic hits such as Goldfinger and Diamonds are Forever.

The event is being sponsored by local company Metal Technology. Company chairman, Brian McKnight, said: ‘Bond songs hits the right note for film fans and music fans and nobody plays it better than the Ulster Orchestra.’

This James Bond concert will be taking place at the Belfast Waterfront Hall on Saturday, 20 February at 7:45pm.

Tickets are priced from £10 to £26. To book tickets or for further information, visit the official website.

For up-to-the-minute James Bond coverage, always turn your browsers to the CommanderBond.net main page and our Discussion Forums.

Movie Music Master Class with James Bond composer David Arnold

THE SPACE & THE DUKE OF YORK’S PRESENT
A MOVIE MUSIC MASTER CLASS

David Arnold

7th March sees The Space presenting a special movie music event with James Bond films’ composer David Arnold, as well as leading composer and arranger, Anne Dudley.

David and Anne will be discussing their favourite film music. Their interview will be illustrated with a selection of memorable and classic film scenes (no doubt, including scenes from classic Bond), highlighting the power and magic of the combination of film and music, showing how the two art forms merge to such great effect.

The special guests will also demonstrate how they have conceived some of their own compositions for film and television. There will also be an audience Q&A.

Sunday 7th March 2010 / Doors at 6:00 / Duke of York’s, Brighton / £10

DAVID ARNOLD

As a lifelong fan of James Bond, Arnold had produced an album of 007 theme covers with a range of artists including Chrissie Hynde and Iggy Pop. Praise from composer John Barry for these interpretations led to a commission to write the score for Tomorrow Never Dies. He has scored all of the Bond films since, including Quantum of Solace.

Few British composers have attained such international acclaim as David Arnold. A successful debut with The Young Americans, then sci-fi adventure Stargate led to a role scoring Hollywood blockbuster Independence Day and Danny Boyle’s A Life Less Ordinary. Arnold’s career has crossed many genres, from his collaborations with action director Roland Emmerich to his work on Zoolander and award-winning television comedy Little Britain. He recently produced the new and highly acclaimed Shirley Bassey album, The Performance.

www.davidarnold.com

ANNE DUDLEY

Composer, arranger, producer and performer, Anne Dudley is a multi-talented and critically-acclaimed musician. She has composed and produced soundtracks for dozens of award-winning films and TV shows, and was a founding member of the Art of Noise. She has contributed string arrangements to many classic albums including ABC’s The Lexicon of Love and Robbie Williams latest, Reality Killed the Video Star .Over the course of a long and varied career, she has won an Oscar, a Grammy, a Brit and most proudly of all, the Billboard award for best new Black Act for the Art of Noise! Anne was recently nominated for the 2009 Ivor Novello award for her score to Trial and Retribution.

www.annedudley.co.uk

The Space (Southern Performance and Creative Energies) is Brighton’s monthly arts and media event, which brings together the creative community with special guest interviews. Previous and forthcoming guests include Terry Gilliam, Nicolas Roeg, Jamie Cullum, David Morrissey and composer Craig Armstrong.

www.thespace.me.uk

Be sure to keep checking the CommanderBond.net main page and our Discussion Forums for all the latest James Bond-related news.

Shirley Bassey's No Good About Goodbye sparks Solace comparisons

With Dame Shirley Bassey’s brand new album The Performance being released in the UK this week, many fans are getting their first listen to the combined talents of current James Bond composer David Arnold (who produced the album) and the three-time 007 title theme performer.

James Bond composer and The Performance producer David Arnold

One such song, No Good About Goodbye, is even sparking several comparisons to what possibly/could/might/just may be a rejected Quantum of Solace title theme from Arnold and lyricist Don Black.

Of particular notice is a five-note introduction melody that is rather similar to Arnold’s output in last year’s Quantum score as well as the inclusion of the word ‘solace’ in the lyrics.

What do you think? Listen here on YouTube.

When Black was asked about the more recent James Bond title themes around this time last year, he stated: ‘They’re not about being seductive or provocative, with that whiff of the boudoir about them. They’re also not as lyrically led. I’m all for the music that makes you think of menace and drama, of spiders running across the pillow. And personally, I’d get Shirley Bassey to sing them all.’

Voice your opinion on this matter and the song in general here on the CommanderBond.net Discussion Forums.

• Order Shirley Bassey’s The Performance from Amazon.co.uk

Keep watching the CommanderBond.net main page and our Twitter feed for all the latest news from the world of James Bond.

Preview Dame Shirley Bassey's The Performance

Selected tracks from Dame Shirley Bassey’s forthcoming album The Performance are availabe to preview and download at the Daily Mail and The Times.

Produced by current James Bond composer David Arnold, The Performance features songs penned by Manic Street Preachers, the Pet Shop Boys, Gary Barlow, KT Tunstall and Richard Hawley. It is the first full studio album for the three-time 007 theme song performer in more than 20 years.

The album, due out on 9 November, also marks the reunion of Bassey with longtime Bond regulars John Barry and Don Black, who last collaborated together in 1971 for Diamonds are Forever.

Tracks available to preview and/or download include:

• The Girl From Tiger Bay (Manic Street Preachers)
• Apartment (Rufus Wainwright)
• Almost There (Tom Baxter)
• Nice Men (KT Tunstall)
• No Good About Goodbye (David Arnold / Don Black)
• This Time (Gary Barlow)
• The Performance Of My Life (Pet Shop Boys)
• I Love You Now (Kaiser Chiefs)

• Order Shirley Bassey’s The Performance from Amazon.co.uk

Keep watching the CommanderBond.net main page—and our Twitter feed—for more news on this exciting album.

Dame Shirley Bassey has a licence to thrill

More than 50 years on and Dame Shirley Bassey still has an undeniable licence to thrill.

NME reports that the three-time James Bond title theme performer wowed the London crowd on Friday night as she celebrated her longstanding music career with a Electric Proms show with the BBC Concert Orchestra.

Dame Shirley performed a selection of her classic hits along with a few new tracks from her soon-to-be-released album The Performance (which is produced by current 007 composer David Arnold and includes a composition from John Barry and Don Black amongst many other notable names in the music business).

She chose her 1971 Bond theme Diamonds are Forever to kick off the show. ‘It’s nice to be back for the first time since Glastonbury,’ she told the crowd before she quipped. ‘I gather you were all there in your wellies, like me?’

The grand event was brought to a close with a performance of the showstopping Goldfinger.

For an indepth interview with Dame Shirley, visit this article in The Guardian.

The Performance album is due for release on 9 November and can currently be pre-ordered online:

• Order Shirley Bassey’s The Performance from Amazon.co.uk

Keep watching the CommanderBond.net main page—and our Twitter feed—for more news on this exciting album.