Gaspard's Christmas: 4 (Gaspard the Fox)

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I hope the underlying message of kindness and the value of community stays with children long after they leave the concert hall. James – I think the snowy city skyline will be fun, I can be quite free with that. But I expect the audience will be excited to see the characters appear, so I’m looking forward to their reactions as I draw live…

Gaspard’s Christmas in Edinburgh | James Mayhew

Join him on Classic FM from 7pm on Monday 26 December, and from 8pm from Tuesday 27 to Friday 30 December. Music for the Festival of Lights with Rabbi Thomas Salamon Another wonderful tale of the exciting adventures of Gaspard, our urban fox friend, beautifully told and illustrated. A real treat’. Dame Patricia Routledge ‘‘This is a lovely story, beautifully illustrated and speaks to the hearts of all children, young and old.” James Mayhew lives in the Suffolk countryside, surrounded by wild animals and nature, with big skies, full of light - perfect for artists. Aside from the Gaspard the Fox series, his other titles for independent Welsh publisher Graffeg are: The Knight Who Took All Day (adapted as a work for narrator and orchestra by Bernard Hughes) and illustrations for the M ouse and Mole series (by Joyce Dunbar), animated for television with the voices of Alan Bennett and Richard Briers.After an eventful year, during which we’ve celebrated 30 years of Classic FM, 90 years of John Williams, The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and plenty more, it seems only right that we should see 2022 out in style. James – Christmas pud for me – I love it. Also, Christmas cake and mince pies – I’d eat them all year round if I could! The RSNO were one of five commissioning orchestras for Gaspard’s Foxtrot. Their performances of it during and just after the pandemic have been seen by over 100,000 Scottish schoolchildren, which is incredible. They completely embraced the work and are a joy to work with, so I was delighted when they suggested adapting Gaspard’s Christmas too. I love Scotland, so I need no excuse to jump on a train. Not this year, I’ll be flying to Mexico on Christmas Day. But they do have foxes, the kit fox ( Vulpes macrotis), so I may make friends with one of Gaspard’s distant cousins although I will need to brush up my Spanish!

Zeb Soanes — Zeb Soanes joins Classic FM

Zeb – I do love The Lonely Goat-Herd scene where Maria and the children present a puppet show for the Baroness — and when I was a very young child I briefly believed my mother was Julie Andrews. It was an instant choice for Peter the Cat’s favourite Christmas film. YouTube sets this cookie to measure bandwidth, determining whether the user gets the new or old player interface. Organist Anna Lapwood plays epic Bach at Royal Albert Hall The Classic FM Hall of Fame Feast, with Aled Jones and Margherita Taylor Jonathan and the RSNO have previously collaborated on “Gaspard’s Foxtrot”, which reached thousands of Scottish school children over the last two years.Gaspard boards the Number 38 bus and sets off on a musical adventure through the sights, sounds and smells on London. This tale in the delightful Gaspard the Fox series is narrated by the book’s author, Zeb Soanes with live on-stage illustration by James Mayhew. The perfect way to introduce children to a live orchestra through images and storytelling. The festive December period also sees the end of the religious festival of Hanukkah, and at 9pm on Monday 26 December Rabbi Dr Thomas Salamon presents a special programme to mark the occasion. Salamon, who is Rabbi Emeritus at Westminster Synagogue, features classical music connected to and celebrating the Jewish faith, including part of Handel’s oratorio Judas Maccabaeus and Prokofiev’s Overture on Hebrew Themes. The Classic FM Hall of Fame Feast, with Aled Jones and Margherita Taylor Zeb Soanes introduces our new book, ‘The Very Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra’ Classical Music Unboxed with John Suchet