The Animal Kingdom - Fancy Dress Family Concert 2025

By Cellist Karen Adams

The March concert was a family fancy dress themed event with a diverse repertoire based around the Animal Kingdom. This billing promised a sense of fun and participation that would begin long before the baton went down for the very first note.

WhatsApp chats came alive with costume designing and planning, which on the day, saw orchestra sections converted to groups of penguins, flamingos, pink panthers and more, led by our dazzling and be-sequinned musical director Seb Farrall.

On the day, a short time after our very last rehearsal, the venue doors were flung wide open and in trooped over 450 happy guests, many of whom were small animals, some more immediately recognisable than others, but all of whom responded adamantly to the call; ‘come as an animal’.

The invitation proved irresistible.

Upon entering the hall, there was a sight most welcome, and one that I had not previously seen; a soft play baby area for the most recently born animals among us, and their parents. Truly, this was commitment to the family theme.



So, at 3pm the baton went down and the air filled with the exciting sound of a deep bass trill, lifted by the violins and swiftly followed by flutes and a fine brass fanfare, leading into the military-esque vibe of the theme tune to the movie ‘Chicken Run’. You could have mistaken this for an entirely serious piece of music until  the comedic clues emerged in the pizzicato from the cello section and the squawking of the plastic duck-sounding thingy (which I believe, is it’s technical term).

The fun had truly begun.

The smallest of the animals did not hold back. Music was for dancing and dance they did.

And where there are children, there is talking. This concert was wholly irreverent if you equate reverence with silence, however, the background low hum of vocal family management, offered a relaxing backdrop and sense of togetherness at this concert, at which children, I mean, small animals, could be seen AND heard.

This was truly a concert for animals of all ages, stages and tastes.

In the first half of the programme, we moved from the comedic sounds of Chicken Run to the serene beauty of Tchaikovsky’s opening movement to Swan Lake, showcasing the orchestra’s versatility by item 2. Swan Lake was followed by a change in tempo and mood with ‘Herdin Cats’ performed by the orchestra’s Jazz Ensemble, who had the entire building nodding and foot-tapping along.

After a brief pause, a French horn played by Fran Farrall, responded to the audience’s quiet anticipation with a solemnly beautiful solo. We had entered the gates of Jurassic Park to the iconic sound of John Williams, who masters beautifully, orchestral storytelling for wide screen film production. The violins sang out hope and blue skies, while beneath, the bass section teamed up with the timpani drums to deliver themes of warning and foreboding – a piece that was moving and exhilarating to play and hopefully, to listen to. One of my guests said afterward; ‘it sounded exactly like the film’. This is always good to hear.

The mood lightened from here onward toward the end of the first half, with upbeat and danceable tunes that saw the smaller animals stomping and prancing, and included; Baby Elephant’s foot stomping rhythmic sound which saw the small animals squealing with delight to the sound of bright brass. Next, we played from the film The Jungle Book. A clip I heard afterward sounded fantastic. This was a party!

Next we had the retro cool sound of The Pink Panther..

The first half closed to the calypso sounds of Disney’s ‘Under the Sea’, with bubbles floating down on delighted and happy animals of all sizes, and the hall was filled with joy, talking, dancing and the happy sound of Calypso, a musical genre from the land of my parents. Dad would have been proud.

The concert paused and took a break. It was a time to meet our guests, chat with their small animals, take some photos and prepare for the second half, which began with a fancy dress competition sandwiched between two renditions of Tom and Jerry’s theme tune. There were many animal entrants. I would not have liked to be the one to choose…

We had a run of fun pieces next, including an interactive Old MacDonald Had a Farm, which converted to Young Seb Farrall Had a Band, an importantly educational and interactive session that taught our guests about the different orchestral sections. The small animals got to cast votes this time, selecting their favourite orchestral sections. And of course, those pesky first violins were the resounding winners. Violas didn’t fare as well…

The fun continued with the jazzy, strutting sound Promenade (Walking the Dog), featuring an excellent Clarinet solo from our very own Morag Clark, followed by Memory, a song from the musical ‘Cats’ by Andrew Lloyd Weber, performed beautifully and movingly by Abby Rhodes to loud cheers and applause.



Baby Shark, the world’s most watched music video at 15 billion views, saw the young animals jump back to their feet in excited recognition of their early-years anthem.

We were now just 3 items away from the end of the concert and the mood became more grounded and fantastic as the orchestra performed The Birds by  Respighi – a 3  minute piece of bird-like wonder, pomp and joy, where the violins performance was reminiscent of birdsong and fluttering wings, the flutes sounded as cuckoos and the oboes as doves, culminating in a medieval dance before returning to the opening theme.




Onto our penultimate piece then, and Seb Farrall extends an invitation to get to know the sound of an organ in Saint-Saëns’ organ symphony ‘Finale’, also recognised as the theme tune in the Movie ‘Babe’ about a pig who becomes a sheep dog.
This is a grand work. A daring piece that took some of us to the edge of our comfort zones. It is a bold, audacious and ostentatious piece that includes 2 pianists, of course, an organist; our very own 1^st violinist-come-Saint-Saëns organ soloist; David Rhodes, together with full orchestra. The sound is grand, decisive and regal in the opening bars, giving way to the famous and beautiful melody to which the following words have been ascribed in a song by Scott Fitzgerald and Yvonne Keeley;

‘If I had words to make a day for you
I’d sing you a morning golden and new
I would make this day last for all time
Give you a night deep in moonshine…

…but staying with our performance, and with Saint-Saëns, the organ boomed beautifully, resonantly, commandingly. This piece required fast and precise finger work from the strings and involved many moving musical parts intertwining to form the huge sound. This musical masterpiece from Saint-Saëns led him to declare that he could not possibly write anything else that would surpass the brilliance of this piece. Given the loud cheers received (with the audience on their feet!) at the end of this performance, I think it is safe to say that Saint-Saëns’ Finale has not been toppled from its perch!

The concert concluded to the theme tune from the Lion King; ‘The Circle of Life’, in a rousing, majestic and moving performance by the orchestra, to a finale of loud firecrackers and confetti which rained down on the venue.

A true celebration and feel-good afternoon.

Footnote:

I’ve made mention of some of our soloists who performed in the spotlight, however, there were several more solo performances, each bringing flavour, and flair:

Chicken Run Kazoo Soloist: Annette Ball
Swan Lake Oboe Soloist: Judith Pollacco
Herdin' Cats Tenor Saxophone Soloist: Joe Reynolds / Baritone Saxophone Soloist: Colin Charman
Jurassic Park French Horn Soloist: Fran Farrall
Baby Elephant Walk Violin Soloist: Jenny Waters / Piccolo Soloist: Ruth Powell
The Jungle Book Oboe: Judith Pollacco / Flute: Stacey-Anne Miller / Trumpet: Ian Bode / Trombone: Jon Webber / Clarinet: Morag Clark
Promenade (Walking the Dog) Clarinet Soloist: Morag Clark
Memory Vocal Soloist: Abby Rhodes

Our thanks go to photographer Kelvin Lang for expertly supplying these photos, and also to all the technicians, stewarding, and support team. It takes a lot to put on a concert like this!