Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain

A few days ago Erika, a very kind ukulele student of mine, wrote to say that she was in Scotland and planned to attend a concert by the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. After being quietly envious for a moment , I asked her to make sure she documented the event. A few days after the concert, Erika surprised me with a wonderful account and also sent photos and videos. Enjoy:

“Last Saturday in Edinburgh I had a magnificent experience: the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain performed at the Queen's Hall. I had been waiting exactly four years to see and hear them live; from the very beginning of my ukulele studies their videos had accompanied me, motivated me or cheered me up.

After an early dinner I arrived at the venue excitedly that evening. I photographed CDs and T-shirts, then we hurried to take our seats upstairs.

I immediately noticed that this was no ordinary venue: it felt almost like a temple of music. After a little searching I found the reason—the building was actually completed as a church in 1824 and only began to be used as a concert hall in 1979.

At 19:30 the orchestra walked onstage and the long-awaited event began. Before every number, one or two members of the group gave an introduction so funny it had us crying with laughter, explaining what the next song or surprise would be and why they had chosen it for that evening's concert.

They presented an enormous variety of musical styles: from the Broadway musical Sweet Charity through ZZ Top to The Cranberries, we heard everything. And that was not all. The group not only plays fantastically well, but sings just as brilliantly. Wheatus's Teenage Dirtbag even brought tears to our eyes, while during Blur's Song 2 the entire audience loudly and enthusiastically shouted the “Whoo-hoo” part.

One of my favourites was Limehouse Blues, in which both the bass and a mini ukulele had solos. Another was a classical-music medley in which some members of the group even “danced ballet” with their ukuleles, while we of course laughed and applauded loudly.

The encore even included Highway to Hell, which made me wonder: is there any music this orchestra cannot play? Naturally I concluded that there is not. The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain put on an incredible show combining professionalism, humour, creativity and playfulness, delighting both eyes and ears right up until 21:40.

This fantastic concert was the perfect ending to our three-week tour of the Scottish Highlands.”