Shropshire Star

Prague Philharmonic Orchestra to perform at Blue Planet II: Live in Concert in Birmingham

The award-winning City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra will perform the live score that accompanies Blue Planet II live in Birmingham.

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Prague Philharmonic Orchestra

Accompanied by the original immersive music score by Bleeding Fingers Music, composed by Hans Zimmer, Jacob Shea and David Fleming, the concert will be performed live by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, and conducted by Matthew Freeman.

Talking ahead of the show, Hans Zimmer said: "The idea is to depict the abundance of life as well as the movements and vibrations of the ocean.

"By using the orchestra in an unconventional way, we wanted to create ‘living’ chords that ebb and flow throughout the series”.

Matthew Freeman added: “With the winning combination of a live symphony orchestra of 80 musicians and some of the most stunning underwater images ever seen, Blue Planet II Live in Concert brings together inspirational visuals with magnificent original music.

"It’s a moving experience and a privilege to conduct this unique concert".

Matthew Freeman is an award-winning conductor, arranger and pianist who has conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on various occasions around the world.

He has conducted over 50 albums with the BBC Concert Orchestra, Danish Radio Orchestra, Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester, Prague Symphony, Metropole Orchestra of Amsterdam and the NRK Oslo, and has been personal music director for Shirley Bassey, Michael Crawford, Frankie Vaughan and Mary O’Hara.

Founded over 60 years ago, the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra is a world-renowned symphony orchestra that has provided music for various projects including the TV series Black Mirror and David Lynch’s 2001 film Mulholland Drive, as well as live shows around the world which, in 2010, saw the orchestra perform to over 20,000 people in Santiago.

The orchestra features predominantly Czech classical musicians with guest players selected from musicians studying at the Conservatoire in Prague.

Blue Planet II: Live In Concert will come to the Genting Arena next year, featuring a selection of clips from the BBC series projected onto 200 sq metre 4K Ultra HD LED screens.

The iconic show first hit television screens in 2001 after a team of wildlife filmmakers from the BBC’s Natural History Unit set out to make a show that explored the world’s oceans.

After receiving a multitude of accolades, including BAFTA and Emmy awards, The Blue Planet returned with a second series that aired last year.

During the four-year filming of Blue Planet II, teams embarked on 125 expeditions, travelled to 39 countries, and filmed on all of the Earth's continents and in every ocean.

They spent 6,000 hours deep-sea diving, 1,000 of which were on underwater boats.

Blue Planet II: Live In Concert will come to Birmingham's Genting Arena on March 16, 2019.

For more information and to buy tickets, click here.