Chancellor of Birmingham City University, Sir Lenny Henry, took to the stage of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire on 4 May 2018 (aka Star Wars Day) in a performance introducing young people to the world of classical music.
The Dudley-born actor, writer, comedian and charitable campaigner appeared with the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Pops Orchestra to narrate Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf.
May the Force be with you
Conducted by Chris Houlding, the orchestra also transported the audience to ‘a galaxy far, far away’ with music from the original Star Wars film trilogy.
Other concert highlights included:
- Danny Elfman’s Spider-Man theme
- Hoe-Down by Aaron Copland from the 1942 ballet, Rodeo
- The overture from Leonard Bernstein’s Wonderful Town
The public show of Peter and the Wolf was preceded by two sold-out performances for schoolchildren in the afternoon.
Lenny Henry 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.’
Header photo: Royal Birmingham Conservatoire’s Peter and the Wolf narrated by Lenny Henry
