This July, conductor Niall Kinsella brings his 42-piece orchestra to Wexford and Dublin for a pair of special concerts celebrating the life and music of a true American musical icon - below, Niall revisits the magic of the incomparable Judy Garland.
There are certain voices that seem to live forever. For me, Judy Garland’s is one of them. I first heard Judy’s singing as a child: either from seeing The Wizard of Oz on TV or from my grandmother who was a devoted fan. But for the last few months I have been listening to Judy Garland’s recordings on repeat in preparation for two upcoming concerts celebrating her music, and it has been truly illuminating.
Judy Garland didn’t just sing songs, she lived them. The emotional immediacy of her performances is what continues to draw people to her music generation after generation. With Judy, there is no barrier between the emotion of the song and the listener. She is that kind of legendary artist who poured their life experience into everything they sang, much like Maria Callas did in opera.
It is a special thrill to bring American singer Joan Ellison to Ireland to perform two concerts celebrating Judy’s legacy. In Joan, we have the perfect torchbearer for Judy’s art. She has an extraordinary connection to Judy Garland’s music, not just vocally, but emotionally, underpinned by a deep respect and understanding of Classic American Popular Song (often called The Great American Songbook). While Joan doesn’t imitate Judy (I mean, who could!?), she perfectly honours her style of singing and of the legendary singers of the ’40s and ’50s.
I hope this concert evokes the spirit of one of the greatest artists of the 20th century.
In addition to singing these songs, Joan is also an archivist working on restoring Judy Garland’s original orchestral arrangements (the very ones you hear on Judy’s original films and recordings). Sadly, a lot of that music was discarded after it had served its purpose and was never archived for posterity. The MGM music library being the prime example – where every note written for every MGM film was infamously sent to landfill in the 1970s! Joan’s work is invaluable in preserving this cultural past for present and future audiences.
This sensibility of authentically recreating the sounds past is hugely interesting to me, and its what my own orchestra, The Niall Kinsella Orchestra, will specialise in. These Judy Garland concerts are our first outing, and I’m so excited to bring 42 of the top professional orchestral musicians in the country together to realise this sound.
There’s such variety in the programme, meaning it will be a very fun concert to conduct! We have tender ballads like The Boy Next Door (from Meet Me in St Louis), and Over the Rainbow (The Wizard of Oz), to full on swing numbers like Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart, Get Happy, and heart-stopping emotional numbers that Judy was famous for: Stormy Weather (my personal favourite), and the unforgettable The Man that Got Away from Judy’s triumphant 1954 screen comeback, A Star is Born.
I hope this concert evokes the spirit of one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. I’m truly looking forward to sharing this timeless music, and the magic of Judy Garland, with audiences in Wexford & Dublin.
Get Happy! The Judy Garland Songbook with The Niall Kinsella Orchestra and Joan Ellison is at National Opera House, Wexford on Friday 18th July, and the National Concert Hall, Dublin on Saturday 19th July.
