Sir Lenny Henry goes from comedy to classical for concert
Sir Lenny Henry took to the stage in a special concert in Birmingham to introduce youngsters to classical music.
The Dudley-born actor, writer, comedian and charitable campaigner appeared at Birmingham City University's Royal Birmingham Conservatoire last Friday to narrate Sergei Prokofiev's 'Peter and the Wolf'.
Sir Lenny, who is the chancellor of Birmingham City University, appeared alongside the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Pops Orchestra, playing the various characters in the performance.
Alongside 'Peter and the Wolf', the orchestra transported the audience to 'a galaxy far, far away' with music from the original Star Wars film trilogy.
Conducted by Chris Houlding, the musicians also conjured images of darting through the skyscrapers of New York with Danny Elfman's 'Spider-Man' theme, and then whisked them into the domain of cowboys, cowgirls and the American West with 'Hoe-Down' by Aaron Copland from the 1942 ballet 'Rodeo'.
Ahead of the event, Sir Lenny said: "Being the Chancellor of Birmingham City University is a great gig. Not only do I get to mingle with all the fantastic students and see first-hand how our research is transforming lives, they also let me take centre stage at our new £57 million Royal Birmingham Conservatoire!
“I first narrated ‘Peter and the Wolf’ in 2000 and it was so much fun. I’ve been longing to perform it since and to be able to do it here on home turf is just brilliant.”
Following Sir Lenny's appearance, the opening festival will welcome world-class artists to Birmingham, including Julia Donaldson, Peter Donohoe, Orkest de Ereprijs, Laura van der Heijden, Nigel Kennedy, Nitin Sawhney and Jacqueline Wilson.
A spokesman said: "The festival will see international stars grace the Conservatoire’s five performance venues, there will also be a focus on the rising stars and grass roots artists of the local music scene, as per the institution’s commitment to nurturing talent and providing a hub for performing arts in the city."
The public show of ‘Peter and the Wolf’ at 7pm was proceeded by two sold-out performances for schoolchildren in the afternoon.
The Conservatoire was granted a Royal title by The Queen in September, with the bestowment following The Earl of Wessex becoming the college’s first Royal patron in March 2016.
The Earl officially declared the building open on March 11 this year prior to the royal opening gala concert in his honour.
