The People Behind the Music

Click on the links below or scroll down to find out more about the musical arrangement for Summertime and the fantastic jazz band and guest conductor...

Dominic Sewell
Sally Greaves
The Jazz Band and Guest Conductor

Dominic Sewell

Musical Arrangement for Summertime
Born in 1973, Dominic studied violin and singing from a very early age and attended Westminster Cathedral Choir School and subsequently the Oratory School in Reading. He read music at Oxford University and was taught by Susan Wollenberg, John Warwack and Bojan Bouic.

After graduating in 1994 he gradually established himself as a composer and copyist/orchestrator working on programmes such as BBC1’s Walking with Dinosaurs series with the composer Ben Bartlett, as well as albums for Sarah Brightman, music for the film A Christmas Carol and a number of TV and radio commercials.

Dominic last worked with English National Ballet in September 2006 when he was commissioned to write a short piece for the Synergy project – he worked with the choreographer and principal dancer Yat-Sen Chang.

Sally Greaves

Musical Arrangement for Summertime
Shortly after graduating with a BA Hons in 1989, Sally’s music was recorded by Central Television and broadcast regularly on ITV. Her compositions and arrangements have since been released by various record labels including Radikal/BMG, Pinnacle, Trojan and Invisible Hands/Universal.

Her writing shows an eclectic mix of musical styles ranging from drum ‘n’ bass to jazz and classical, which has led her to work with a diverse range of artists. Her broad range of work encompasses everything from transcribing Xenakis opera scores for performances at Covent Garden to working on high profile music copyright cases. Her orchestral and ensemble compositions and arrangements are also performed regularly in some of London’s major concert venues.

Sally runs her own Film and Music company with clients including the Royal Albert Hall, EMI, the Southbank Centre, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the London College of Music and Media.

Recent commissions include the Outreach and Wider Opportunities programmes for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the Royal College of Music and Musicians of the Future, written for the Royal College of Music and now in its third year.

The Jazz Band

About the Jazz band and guest conductor for Summertime
Gershwin’s famous Rhapsody in Blue has been specially arranged for this occasion by Gavin Sutherland, guest conductor for Strictly Gershwin. It has been adapted for a chamber orchestra and is one of the best known works in the orchestral repertoire. Particularly well known is the opening clarinet ‘glissando’, a rapid slide up the musical scale, leading to the first strains of the main theme.

The musicians today are drawn from English National Ballet’s own orchestra and they are delighted to be involved in Summertime. They play regularly for the Company in London and on tour throughout the UK and abroad, and are thrilled to be playing for a new generation of young performers at the Royal Albert Hall.

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