One of the reasons I play so many different instruments is that I really enjoy performing in pit orchestras for musical theatre productions. In these ensembles, each individual woodwind musician is frequently called upon to swap between 3 or 4 instruments, and this practice of ‘doubling’ allows orchestrators to maximise the palette of sounds available …
I’ve got to the point now where I’ve played in a fair few musicals, however one that’s doing the rounds at the moment but had eluded me until recently was ‘The Addams Family’. This all changed last month though, when I got the chance to play Reed 2 for the show and find out what …
The other week I had a delightful time performing with pianist extraordinaire Jack Mitchell Smith for a wedding in Tabley House (near Knutsford). But if you don’t believe me, I HAVE EVIDENCE! Here are some videos taken from our performance on the day, as well as a couple of clips from our rehearsal: There’s …
I’ll readily admit that I’m a little behind the curve with this news, as the aforementioned album was actually released a few weeks ago now. But you know how it is – you’ve been busy, I’ve been busy, etc. etc. At least I got round to it eventually. The album in question is …
HEY GUYZZZ!!! I did a couple of zhowz recently, and made a couple of videoz zhowcazing zome clipz of my playing. Zo I thought I’d zhare them with you in caze that’z the zort of thing you’re into for zome reazon. Ready? Zteady? GO!!! Oliver! Footlooze
Now that Peter Pan-tomime is officially finished (and believe it or not we managed to get through the full 66-show run without a single cancelled performance!) I think it’s high time I made some attempt to publicise it. So here is a selection of piccies I got over the course of my festive season at …
Ahoy tharrr! Shiver me timbers! That’s just a small preview of the kind of banter you can expect to enjoy if you attend Lichfield Garrick Theatre’s 2021 pantomime: All-New Adventures of Peter Pan! And as if that wasn’t enough, you can also expect to hear: Me playing the clarinet. Me playing the …
Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great pleasure that I announce the premiere performance of the U.K.’s newest and quite possibly greatest ever musical ensemble: The Dunleavy & Dimplesauce Showtime Orchestra! Yayyyyyyyyy! The orchestra was formed in mid-2020 by the legendary (and also mythical) characters of Beatrice Dunleavy and Ericona Dimplesauce. Their mission was a …
You may not have realised it yet, but today is a very special day and this is a very special blog post! For this is the 100th post I have written since starting this venture way back in 2017. To celebrate, I’ve been looking back into the mists of time and working hard to put …
It’s back, and it’s bigger than ever! But enough about my student debt – I’m really here to talk about this week’s Transcription Tuesday But On A Wednesday, which takes the form of a live performance by Lester Young of ‘A Foggy Day’ by everyone’s favourite Gershwins: The Gershwins. It’s not a foggy day where …
