Places are limited, so book early
An exceptional evening – not to be missed
Welcome by Elaine Bedell - Chief Executive of Southbank Centre
Join alumni from Wharton, UPenn and other leading schools for an exceptional evening of music at the Royal Festival Hall as legendary composer Michel Legrand performs and conducts 60 years of music and movies with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. For the first time in the UK, three-time Oscar winner and five-time Grammy Award winner Michel Legrand performs and conducts his most cherished film scores. Performing with the internationally renowned Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and a world-class rhythm section, the ensemble plays live to scenes from Legrand's classic films.
There will also be an opportunity to meet Ms Elaine Bedell, Chief Executive of Southbank Centre. Elaine has enjoyed a twenty-five year career in the media, working in senior roles at the BBC and at ITV where she commissioned and produced some of the UK’s most popular titles including Strictly Come Dancing, The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent and Top Gear. Elaine has won a BAFTA and a British Comedy Award.
Join us for an evening of spellbinding music performed by some of the world’s most accomplished musicians and network with your fellow alumni club members.
Date and Time:
Tuesday, 18 September 2018, 6:30pm arrival for 7:00pm start
Schedule:
6:30-7:00pm – Drinks reception and light snacks in private function room (Level 3 Sunley Pavilion)
7:00-7:20pm – Introduction by Elaine Bedell, Chief Executive of Southbank Centre
7:30-9:30pm – Concert
Intermission drinks
Venue: Royal Festival Hall
Michel Legrand’s impact on 20th century music cannot be overstated and this once-in-a-lifetime concert celebrates the unforgettable scores from The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Yentl, Summer of 42, and Wuthering Heights.
The evening also features tributes to Jean-Paul Rappeneau (The Scoundrel, A Matter of Resistance), Steve McQueen (The Thomas Crown Affair, The Hunter, Le Mans) and more.
Beginning his meteoric rise to fame as accompanist to Maurice Chevalier, Legrand went on to be at the forefront of the French New Wave, collaborating with Jean-Luc Goddard and Jacques Demy, with whom he invented a new genre of film music.
His worldwide reputation was cemented with ‘The Windmills of Your Mind’ from The Thomas Crown Affair, and no other European composer has a filmography that includes Orson Welles, Marcel Carné, Clint Eastwood, Norman Jewison, Louis Malle, Andrzej Wajda, Richard Lester, and Claude Lelouch, to name just a few.
His songs have been sung by Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Louis Armstrong, Liza Minnelli, Kiri TeKanawa, Yves Montand, Charles Aznavour and Barbara Streisand.
£75pp - Concert tickets (Rear Stalls Rows GG, HH) and drinks reception
£50pp - Concert tickets (Balcony Rows GG, HH) and drinks reception
£25pp - Welcome and Intermission drinks reception only
WELCOME BY ELAINE BEDELL, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF SOUTHBANK CENTRE
Elaine Bedell is the first woman Chief Executive of Southbank in its 66 year history. Elaine has enjoyed a 25 year career in the media, working in senior roles at the BBC and at ITV where she commissioned and produced some of the UK’s most popular and original factual, entertainment and comedy titles including Strictly Come Dancing, The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent and Top Gear. She became a BBC producer at the age of 23, making talk shows and documentaries for BBC Radio 4. In 1995, she set up her own production company, Watchmaker, which 7 years later she sold to the Chrysalis Group, staying on for a further two years as MD of Chrysalis Entertainment. After a stint as the Managing Director of the newly formed commercial arm of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Elaine eventually returned to the BBC as Controller of Entertainment, moving across to ITV as Director of Entertainment and Comedy in 2009.
Elaine has won a BAFTA and a British Comedy Award and was Executive Chair of the Edinburgh International TV Festival for four years. She was appointed a Trustee for the V&A Museum by the Prime Minister in 2015.