April Fools’ Day Concert 2023 | London

A host of stars come together for this unique concert of April Fool’s jokes and hoaxes in support of Help Musicians UK (formerly The Musicians Benevolent Fund).  Led by Rainer, Classic FM’s Zeb Soanes (formerly of the BBC) takes on an orchestrated Shipping Forecast, and Evelyn Glennie murders Saint-Saëns’s ‘The Swan’ on a percussion instrument made out of old pots and pans.  There is hilarious help from jazz comedian Earl Okin, and star Baritone James Oldfield – all in all ‘the funniest concert you’ll ever see’ (Time Out) and ‘a guaranteed laugh every four bars’ (The Scotsman).

‘Gerrard Hoffnung for a new generation’ (Daily Telegraph)
‘Classical music comedy at it’s best’ (BBC Radio 4)
‘PDQ Bach, but funny’ (Twitter)

TICKETS: Here
ONLINE TICKETS Here

PERFORMERS
Rainer Hersch – conductor/host
Dame Evelyn Glennie – percussion
Zeb Soanes – narrator
Earl Okin – jazz comedian
James Oldfield – baritone
The Rainer Hersch Orkestra

PROGRAMME
BBC Radio 4: The Shipping Forecast (orchestrated)
Beethoven Symphonies: 1-9 (in 5 minutes)
Bizet: Toreador Song from Carmen
Earl Okin: Original Songs (very funny)
Ravel: Bolero
Rossini: The Italian Girl after some Beers (Overture)
Rossini: Largo al factotum (‘translated’)
Saint-Saëns: The Swan (murdered)
Vivaldi: Concerto for vibraphone
Wagner: Ride of the Valkyries
…and more. Much, more!