10-Day Music Challenge: Day 10 - my all-time favourite gig

And so to the last day of my 10-Day Music Challenge - my favourite gig!

There have been many fantastic conchs I've been to including: Meat Loaf at the NEC in themid-90s; Peter Gabriel at Earl's Court around the time of his Us album, and again, in Sheffield just a few years ago, for his Up album; Hothouse Flowers at the Apollo Theatre, Oxford when they didn't seem to want to leave the stage; Squeeze at Keble College Ball back in the mid-80s (yes, I'm starting to show my age), Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells II at the Royal Albert Hall, and the world premiere of Tubular Bells III in the rain at Horse Guards Parade; Blur at the NEC...

And, of course, I've performed in many concerts, or had pieces I've composed played in concerts, and, to me at least, these were unforgettable moments. I will always cherish the performances of In Memoriam by Nottinghamshire Education at the Albert Hall, Nottingham; the concert at the British Music Information Centre in London, given by he Holywell Ensemble, to mark my 30th birthday; and the premiere of Kitty - the diary of Anne Frank at the Holywell Music Room in Oxford particularly stand out.

There is though, one concert that will always stand out for me, and I make no apology for choosing one of my own performances (at least I'm not like Elizabeth Schwarkopf who, when invited onto the BBC's Desert Island Discs, chose 7 of her own recordings plus the prelude from an opera that she was the star to keep her company for all time!) - in 2005, I conducted the Lady Manners School Orchestra for the finale of the Schools Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London. We played music from Jurassic Park followed by Elgar's Pomp & Curcumstance March No. 1 ("Land of Hope and Glory"). I very much doubt anything will top that for me in terms of a live performance but, who knows, there's still time!

Here are both performances. Yes, there are odd mistakes but, please, don't forget, as Howard Goodall points out in the introduction to Jurassic Park, this is an 80-piece symphony orchestra from one state school.





This is the plan of my 10-Day Music Challenge - this is the 10th and final day!

Day 1 - My 10 favourite albums
Day 2 - My 9 favourite songs
Day 3 - The first 8 songs to come on shuffle
Day 4 - My 7 favourite bands
Day 5 - My 6 favourite song covers
Day 6 - 5 Bands for my dream gig line-up
Day 7 - My 4 guilty pleasures (artists or songs)
Day 8 - My 3 favourite vocalists
Day 9 - My 2 favourite music videos
Day 10 - My all time favourite gig