The musical genius of the Fab Four was celebrated and enhanced in a fabulous performance by Dunedin Symphony Orchestra and a top-notch team of musicians and singers in Saturday’s "All You Need is Love" show.
Led with passion and flair by arranger/conductor Tom Rainey, the performance featured superb young lead singers Luke Butson, Dominic Edmond, Emily Kerr-Bell, backing singer Ella Ruddle, and guitarist-singer Graham Wardrop, with Michael Grant (keyboard/piano), Finn Kite (electric guitar), Lloyd Williams (electric bass), and Robert Craigie (drums).
With the enthusiastic and high-spirited support of the orchestra, this talented crew took the audience on a boogie down musical memory lane with songs like Eleanor Rigby, Penny Lane, Norwegian Wood, Yesterday, She’s Leavin’ Home, The Long and Winding Road, and so much more.
In a brilliant show, the highlights for this reviewer included Here Comes The Sun and the Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End medley that ended the first half, Wardrop’s beautiful rendition of Blackbird, Kerr-Bell’s stunning vocals on Imagine, and an epic Hey Jude.
Two standing ovations and thunderous foot-stomping applause at the conclusion of the concert’s final medley said it all. The audience (myself included) loved it and went home happily humming their favourite Beatles tunes. Bravo!
