Oratorio of Hope is shortlisted in the Series and Events category in the 2024 RPS Awards. Presented by London Mozart Players, Oratorio for Hope was the spectacular opening event for Croydon’s year as London Borough of Culture programme ‘This is Croydon’.
Grammy-nominated, Croydon-born composer Tarik O'Regan, composed the musical theme on which the oratorio is based. The theme, Spotlight, is a three-minute fanfare for chamber orchestra.
As part of this truly unique performance event, almost 400 local professional and amateur performers, young and old, joined London Mozart Players on stage in Fairfield Halls to present music created specially for the occasion in collaboration with local schools, communities, artists, multicultural groups and dance companies.
Motifs from the opening movement composed by O’Regan, were referenced in the seven following movements, composed by Fiona Brice, Sarah Freestone, Jeff Moore and Silvastone, which brought together dance, specially commissioned films, spoken word, choirs, visual art, Afrobeats rhythms and traditional Indian instruments in a rousing celebration of all things Croydon. Staging, colourful lighting, smoke effects and projections all contributed to the upbeat atmosphere enjoyed by the largest audience seen at Fairfield Halls for a classical concert since it closed for refurbishment in 2016.
As well as the Saturday and Sunday evening Oratorio performances in the Concert Hall, over 200 amateur Croydon performers took part in a Sunday Showcase of Croydon Talent which transformed the public open spaces of Fairfield Halls, inside and out, for one magnificent afternoon, with four stages showcasing the incredible diversity of music and dance being created across the borough.
Commissioned by the London Mozart Players, Oratorio for Hope was first performed by the London Mozart Players conducted by Jonathan Bloxham at Fairfield Halls, Croydon, on 1 April 2023.
For more details and the full shortlist for the 2024 RPS Awards see here.
