dr. who music
Sounds from Outer Space: Doctor Who at the symphony
Few BBC Proms concerts have been more exotic or vivid than the occasion in July 2008 when London's Royal Albert Hall was invaded by creatures from other galaxies. The BBC Philharmonic had to contend with an array of costumed aliens, as well as Royal Shakespeare Company actor Julian Bleach in the elaborate guise of Davros, creator of the notorious Daleks.
Another newcomer to the Albert Hall podium was conductor Ben Foster, who orchestrates and conducts Murray Gold's music for the cult TV series Doctor Who and also composes the music for its successful spin-off show Torchwood, making him perhaps the top-selling British orchestral conductor on CD these days. Numerous screens around the hall showed specially edited sequences from the show and Foster didn't miss a cue. Everything was perfect down to a fraction of a second.
No one should have been surprised by this virtuosity. Not only is Ben Foster already a highly experienced conductor; he is also a very serious musician indeed, having studied contemporary composition and conducting at the Guildhall School, where he was awarded the Lutosławski Prize. He has chaired the judging panel for the BBC Young Musician of the Year and, in October 2008, had a new commission, The Edge of Infinity, premiered by Paul Daniel and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, with whom he works on a regular basis.
Now, he takes Doctor Who Down Under, joining the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, soprano Antoinette Halloran, countertenor Tobias Cole and the Concordis Chamber Choir for a symphonic sci-fi spectacular inspired by the Proms performance.
Working on the music of Doctor Who not only fulfils Foster's childhood ambition; he also joins a list of first-class musicians who have played their part in adding drama and mystery to
the longest-running science fiction series in the world.
!doctype>