The Making Of:

Tim Davy, Project Manager: A huge amount of detailed planning, head-scratching and teamwork to ensure that all the elements come together. As the project manager my role is to arrange the schedule and orchestra logistics, and work with the creative and filming teams to ensure that we can deliver a beautiful, festive Christmas concert. Particularly at the moment we need to ensure it is all done in a Covid-secure way.

David Jackson, LSO Percussion: Half the struggle with percussion playing is organising your 'station' of instruments, especially at the moment when we have to socially distance within the section. Having all you need close by is important for swiftly changing instrument.

When recording multiple takes for audio and visuals, you need to be aware when you're on camera. Often the visual director will give you a heads up … so you know when to look at your best! More often than not, colleagues will try hard to make you laugh at times like that. Fortunately in the middle of Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson, a smile – or even a full on laugh – is not out of place!

Angela Barnes, LSO Horn: Because of the pandemic, we’re having to approach things rather differently this year, but for many of us this means we get to be involved in our first ever LSO Christmas concert (in recent years, our Christmas offerings have tended to involve just the LSC with a small brass ensemble). For recorded performances like this, we'll spend a couple of days rehearsing. Then we have a whole a day where we run and record the entire programme a couple of times, or if there are significant changes and stage moves we record each piece over a couple of sessions. We can also patch any little sections that need fixing along the way.

Joanna Gill, composer & London Symphony Chorus member: For a recording I wanted to make sure that I knew all the music I was singing off by heart, so I could focus on delivering as best a performance as possible. This meant attending rehearsals on Zoom, which was new but delivered brilliantly, and making time to learn the music well ahead of the day.

Sumita Menon, LSO Choral and Schools Project Manager: This production is a big team effort! Logistics, planning and other practical things aside, we spent a lot of time ensuring that the hall looked festive and Christmassy (which felt very strange as it was October!).

Joanna: As an avid Christmas music fan it doesn’t take much persuasion for me to get into the festive period early. I must admit following the first rehearsal I couldn’t resist buying a mince pie to get me in the mood!

David: Members brought mince pies into rehearsals … some of us may even be partial to mulled wine in October…

Tim: Mince pies and Christmas jumpers too, of course! And my Christmas playlists on Spotify on my commute.

Angela: I've been eating mince pies since they first appeared in shops in early September (I think, in 2020, anything goes!), so I can’t claim to have marked the occasion in that way. But most years I make sure to invest in another Christmas jumper to add to my collection – what better way to get into the spirit of Christmas than by donning a woolly jumper covered in multicoloured diamanté sparkles?

Sumita: Tim and I met to collect two Christmas trees and lots of decorations on one of the rehearsal days, and a few of us spent hours wrapping ALL the empty boxes we could find to put under the tree, as well as decorating the trees themselves. We also strung fairy lights behind the trees and tinsel on the conductors stand. You can't help but feel festive after so much decorating!

Tim: There are so many! There’s a certain madness about filming a Christmas concert in October that you just have to embrace! I certainly turned a few heads wheeling a giant glitter ball down Whitecross Street …

David: Seeing LSO St Luke’s festooned with Christmas trees in early October was something surreal. After this year, it didn’t matter where the joy came from!

Angela: The day we recorded this concert was actually the first time I'd ever attached fairy lights to my horn – I'm considering making them a permanent fixture! I was up in the balcony, which meant I was able to appreciate all the fairy lights, the recently installed Christmas tree and various colour washes of light from my lofty vantage point. LSO St Luke's really is a beautiful building and it looks spectacular 'dressed' for Christmas!

David: Sleigh Ride is always a favourite. I think I’ve played it every year for over 40 years and I always seem to get the sleigh bells to play! I've changed my technique in recent years – I've gone from holding and hitting to vigorous shaking instead. Yes … that’s right … there is technique involved!

Joanna: I really enjoyed singing Joanna Forbes L’EStrange’s Carol of the Crib – for me it encompasses the real meaning of Christmas that Christ has come (and the alto line was particularly enjoyable to sing).

Tim: Babe of Bethlehem – I didn’t know this carol before the recording and I just love the melody, this performance, and being able to hum along with Away in a Manger.

Sumita: All the singalong pieces are great but I also particularly love Babe of Bethlehem. I think that our soloist Abigail really shines in this!

Angela: They’re possibly not my favourite pieces to play, but the pieces I'm most looking forward to watching are the traditional carols towards the end. When I was at school we had a Christmas service in Manchester Cathedral and I absolutely adored singing the descant parts for the carols.

Sumita: Sophia (LSO Choral and Schools Co-ordinator) and I are going to organise a Zoom get-together with our Community Choir beforehand. In ‘normal’ times the Christmas concert is a moment for all of our choirs (LSC, Discovery Youth choirs and LSO Community Choir) to come together, so we wanted to watch it with them!

David: I'll definitely tune in on the 13 December and will chat online in the YouTube live chat – get ready with your questions!

Joanna: I will definitely be tuning in. I have all my family prepped to watch from Scotland as well as friends here in London.

Tim: I’ve always loved Christmas music and carol concerts so I’ll be watching and singing along at home with my wife and son and our dog (he’ll probably be singing too!), enjoying some mince pies in front of the fire. 

Angela: I'll be watching it closer to Christmas (as it's available for 90 days), probably with my family when I go up north for the holidays.