Summer concerts are coming to Portsmouth’s Guildhall Square!
As the weather heats up, we caught up with Pete Harrison, Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra who will be leading the new ABBA and John Williams Film Music outdoor concerts in Portsmouth this summer!
What are you looking forward to most about the summer concerts?
The thing I’m looking forward to the most about playing these summer concerts in Portsmouth is putting this wonderful music to the good people of Portsmouth. John Williams has simply written the best film scores ever and I love the fact that when we play audiences are transported straight back into lovely films such as Jurassic Park and Star Wars. And ABBA, for me, are one of the greatest pop bands ever. When you put an ABBA concert on everyone is up and dancing within a couple of minutes! It’s just a fantastic, fun evening.
Which music do you prefer to conduct – film music or the music of ABBA?
I don’t have a preference between film music or any of the pop concerts that we play. I think they’re all as much fun as each other. The film music allows you to get into the emotions of the films and the stories a lot more, but the pop concerts are just brilliant fun and people dance and sing along, which is fabulous as well.
How will playing outdoors differ from playing inside the Guildhall?
There’s no huge difference between playing indoors or outdoors for us. People might bring their picnics to the outdoor concerts and enjoy themselves with a glass of wine; I’ve seen people bring great big tables all laid out with champagne! But sitting under the stars listening to some brilliant music is always a lovely thing to do. We have so much fun playing these concerts and enjoy it a lot.
Is anything more difficult when you play outdoors?
It’s a different feeling for us playing outside, we don’t have the acoustic around us, but we’re in the very good hands of wonderful sound engineer Chris Caton who makes it sound just as good outside as it would do inside. There’s nothing like the sight and sound of a real orchestra playing, it’s one of the greatest evenings out you’ll ever have.
What is it like playing to fireworks?
Funnily enough as a conductor I never get to see them as they’re always going on behind the stage! But I’ve been to concerts where I’ve been out front and when you get to the big finales of these concerts. Just seeing the fireworks and hearing them go off is an extra bit of excitement, and they often go really well with the music too; it can be quite spectacular.
Who do you think would enjoy the Summer Concerts in Guildhall Square?
I think absolutely everybody! The John Williams concert has something for everybody, there’ll be some new stuff as well you might not have heard and it might inspire you to watch the films; it’s certainly very family friendly. ABBA is just the greatest pop music of all time in my opinion, and even if you don’t know every track, you will do by the end of this concert!
Don’t miss THE events in Portsmouth this summer, with a limited number of tickets now available at just £25 each – once they’re gone, they’re gone! (No code needed – just head to the website)