Page 237 - FINAL_Guildhall Media Highlights 2019-2020 Coverage Book

17 May 2020

Winchester musician brings together virtual orchestra pit

By Sophie Day @ChronicleSophieMultimedia reporter

Virtual performance of 42nd Street pulled together by George Shrapnell

A WINCHESTER-born musician has pulled together a band of artists for a
digital collaboration to raise spirits of the theatre and music community.

George Shrapnell was inspired by a number of virtual concerts on social media to put
together an ensemble to perform an upbeat and complex collaborations.

42nd Street's Overture is legendary in the musical theatre world, so was an obvious
choice for the former Hampshire Music Service student, currently studying
Saxophone at Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

He said: "The show is so appropriate right now, set in time of national sorrow (the

great depression) everything in this show, especially the overture, just puts a massive
grin on my face and I don’t know a theatre musician out there that doesn’t get a kick
from playing it!

"It’s a classic, feel-good score with inspiring tap routines which makes it so

memorable - it really is the epitome of a musical theatre spectacle."

He even managed to get a dancer to learn and record themselves performing the tap
routine from their garden.

The dancer in question was 12-year-old Jazz Richardson from Hartlepool in the North

East, who currently holds the title of English TDCI Junior Tap Champion.