The Ian McMillan Orchestra

2012-01-28T07:05:00.001-08:00

Last night a great one with the Black Dyke Band, Manchester Chorale and Yorkshire Youth Brass. A powerful performance from Ian McMillan as well. Thanks to everyone who performed in it, those backstage who made it possible, and to the audience for coming. Here's to three more performances and the radio broadcasts!

2012-01-26T04:53:00.001-08:00

Ian and Luke are at The Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester tomorrow for the premiere and BBC R3 recording of their new piece 'Pure Gold: A 4x4 Relay'. Have been to a rehearsal of it this week and the Black Dyke Band and Manchester Chorale sound incredible. Very exciting.

http://www.rncm.ac.uk/whats-on-mainmenu-47/explore-whats-on-mainmenu-95/icalrepeat.detail/2012/01/27/870/413/rncm-festival-of-brass-2012-black-dyke-band.html

2012-01-26T04:52:00.001-08:00

On our way to Wakefield Theatre Royal for tonight's gig. If you're in the area, its at 1930.

2012-01-06T03:11:00.000-08:00

The Ian McMillan Orchestra

Luke and Ian have been commissioned to write a piece for The Cultural Olympiad. It's part of a project run by the PRS Foundation called 20x12. There are 20 pieces in the project, all of which celebrate sport and culture in the UK in 2012.

http://www.prsformusicfoundation.com/Partnerships/Flagship-Programmes/New-Music-20x12

Our piece is called Pure Gold: A 4x4 Relay. It's written for one of the most prestigious brass bands in the UK: The Black Dyke, and the singers of The Manchester Chorale. Luke was interviewed by The Guardian about the project and part of the interview features here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/dec/22/bridging-music-sport-cultural-olympiad?newsfeed=true

The first piece in the project was broadcast on New Year's Day on Radio 3: Howard Skempton's lovely piece for Church Bells: '5 Rings Triples'.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b018mp23/A_Peal_for_New_Years_Day/

Next up is Anna Meredith's 'Hands Free' which premieres in Liverpool and London this week.

The first performance of our piece is at the Royal Northern College of Music on the 27th January. More details to follow.

2011-10-10T14:50:00.000-07:00

Ian and Luke have a piece of music being performed in the Olympic Celebrations next year by The Black Dyke brass band. It's one of 20 pieces being written by composers in the UK for the games. It's finished now and awaiting rehearsal. There's a little bit of press coverage of the whole project here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/oct/09/2012-olympic-music-project?INTCMP=SRCH

2011-10-10T14:49:00.000-07:00

The October leg of the TIMO autumn tour is now over. Thanks to everyone who came to the shows, and to everyone who helped organise them. We were treated like Kings and a Queen everywhere we went!

2011-09-29T04:16:00.000-07:00

Second gig of tour at Great Torrington, The Plough Arts Centre.
www.theploughartscentre.org.uk/

2011-09-29T04:13:00.000-07:00

Autumn Tour starts this Sunday Oct 2nd in Exeter Northcott Theatre.

http://www.exeternorthcott.co.uk/

2011-09-12T02:07:00.001-07:00

Today's Buxton Opera House gig has been moved to the new Buxton Arts Centre on Water Street, SK17 6BE.

http://www.buxtonoperahouse.org.uk/pavilion-arts-centre

Hope to see you there!

2011-09-06T12:31:00.000-07:00

The Ian McMillan Orchestra are playing at Buxton Opera House this coming Monday, 12th September. It's the last gig we do with our lovely bass player Nathan Thomson. He's off to colder climes in Finland with his family. He's won a scholarship to the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, and we wish him all the luck in Scandinavia!
http://www.buxtonoperahouse.org.uk/whats-on/the-ian-mcmillan-orchestra

2011-07-21T03:43:00.001-07:00

Autumn 2011 dates announced!

Look just to the left....

2011-07-21T02:58:00.000-07:00

Homing In has been released by Proper Distribution and can now be purchased through Amazon and other online outlets. You can also order it in your local HMV.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Homing-Ian-McMillan-Orchestra/dp/B0056H0SFO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311242159&sr=8-1

2011-06-27T15:31:00.000-07:00

Holmfirth and Nottingham shows were fab.Thanks to everyone who came and made it all possible. Ian and Luke also had a performance of a new commission "Sweet Holmfirth Air" for the last day of The Holmfirth Festival on Sunday. Several hundred people came to hear, sing and play brass in an outdoor performance of it. The sun shone, voices were fiery and the brass was golden. A lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

2011-06-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

Homing Review in SONGLINES World Music Magazine.

http://www.songlines.co.uk/

The Ian McMillan Orchestra

Homing In

Taith RecordsTRCD00012

60 mins

****

Homing In is the second album by the poet Ian McMillan and his Orchestra, five musicians led by accordion player Luke Carver Goss, who composes most of the music. But this is not the simple recitation of verse to music. Not at all. McMillan’s words and his delivery of them make him an instrument as much as Clare Salaman’s nyckelharpa or Nathan Riki Thomson’s double bass, which evocatively accompanies ‘First Gig’. In this memoir McMillan’s first band entertains a jumble sale until the rector draws the curtain on their performance, and his career as a drummer. He now plays percussion on the language, using all its resources of meaning, melody and rhythm.

The Orchestra is homing in, but ranging widely on the flight. ‘Ten Forgotten Moments of History’ is a chronicle of events that didn’t happen, perhaps should have, or that we just didn’t notice, such as “The moment just before Neil Armstrong stepped/Onto the Moon”. In ‘Song of Stanage Edge’, an elegy for his father, McMillan is softly stroking the drum-skin of language with a brush. But ‘And the Word Was Music’ is a joyous series of linguistic cymbal crashes. There is great wit, too, ‘iPod’ recreates vocally the torturing “chikka chikka ka chikka” leaking from the iPod a few seats away, in a rap that somehow celebrates what it attacks.

A range of instruments - fiddles, guitars, a hurdy-gurdy - and spoken and sung vocals all combine to create something that isn’t simply music, nor poetry, but a realisation of the potential of both, freed from the straitening conventions of their usual forms and our expectations.

Julian May

2011-06-22T04:54:00.000-07:00

Review of Homing In from Delyth Jenkins in Welsh Folk Mag TAPLAS.

http://www.taplas.co.uk/

"A familiar voice to listeners of Radios 3 and 4, Ian Mcmillan is the champion of accessible performance-led poetry. Sometimes it is full of pathos and often bursting with humour. With his orchestra including musicians such as Luke Carver Goss, who also writes most of the music, violinist Oliver Wilson-Dickson and Dylan Fowler, you know you're in for a treat.
For humour listen to iPod and First Gig and Worst Gig. On a more serious note, Curtain Down reflects on the effect of cuts. Other songs are obviously of personal significance, with one about missing his father and another about receiving news of his mother's death. Impressive production numbers are And the Word Was Music and the title track.
This album is a brilliant coming together of words and music."

2011-06-22T03:38:00.001-07:00

TIMO summer tour starts 23rd June at Tewkesbury Roses Theatre. We then whizz up to Ribchester near Preston on the 24th, then across to the Holmfirth Festival on the 25th. We finish at the Nottingham Theatre Royal on the 26th. Hope you can join us at one of these!

2011-05-30T04:53:00.000-07:00

Ian and Luke have completed a new commission for the Holmfirth Arts Festival. Entitled 'Sweet Holmfirth Air' it's the festival finale piece and will be performed on 26th June. It has been written for massed brass bands and choirs, and is an uplifting celebration of Holmfirth, its landscape, people and history. If you live in the area you can take part!

See here for more details:

http://www.holmfirthartsfestival.co.uk/event-detail/event-1-32.html

2011-05-24T08:43:00.000-07:00

The Ian McMillan Orchestra's New CD 'Homing In' is now available for download from iTunes.
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/homing-in/id439342451

You can also download it through our own website's bandcamp music page. It's cheaper here! http://theianmcmillanorchestra.bandcamp.com/

Watch this space for our review in Songlines Music Magazine and for the CD's release on Amazon through 'Proper Distribution'.

2011-05-17T12:47:00.000-07:00

TIMO summer gigs:

June 23rd: Tewkesbury Roses Theatre.
tel: 01684 295074 www.rosestheatre.org/
June 24th: Ribchester Festival.
tel: 01254 878881
http://www.ribmusicfestival.co.uk/
June 25th: Holmfirth Festival. www.holmfirthartsfestival.co.uk/
June 26th: Nottingham Theatre Royal.
tel: 0115 9895555 http://www.royalcentre-nottingham.co.uk/

2011-05-17T12:30:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to the new Ian McMillan Orchestra website. Created by Charlie Beresford, we think that it will be a great way of staying in touch with the band. We have a live feed to Facebook and Twitter, but you can also contact the band here on our blog site if you prefer. Happy Words and Music! Luke.