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Rachel Portman has been commissioned by the Südtirol festival Merano to contribute a composition for the 2025 festival in celebration of their 40-year anniversary. The piece titled "Dolomites" will premiere at the Merano Kurhaus on the 27th of August 2025 at 20:30 and will be performed by the LGT Young Soloists including Alexander Gilman and Martin James Bartlett. Tickets for the performance will be on sale here from the 1st of March 2025.
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Rachel Portman was commissioned by the Royal Albert Hall to create a new arrangement of the Christmas carol 'Silent Night'. The carol was played as part of the "Carols at the Royal Albert Hall" concert series, performed in London at the Royal Albert Hall from the 14th to the 24th of December 2024.
Performers included the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The Royal Choral Society, The National Youth Choir of Great Britain, with conducter Richard Cook. The concerts were presented by Jess Gillam and Greg Beardsell.
A recording of the new arrangement as played on the 22nd of December can be found here.
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On December 21st and 22nd 2024 a special screening is organised of "Mimi And The Mountain Dragon", with live accompaniment by orchestra and choirs at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall. Tickets are available here.
"Mimi And The Mountain Dragon" is a popular children’s book by Michael Morpurgo, which has been adapted for screen in 2019 by Owen Sheers with narration by Michael Morpurgo and breathtaking score for full symphony orchestra by Rachel Portman. According to the composer "the performance will also include new material written for the choir. From the beginning, Mimi was conceived to be performable in concert as the storytelling is musical throughout so it’s wonderful to have the Hallé bringing it to audiences live with the film this Christmas."
The short film is also scheduled to be aired on the 28th of December 2024 on BBC Two 09:00.
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On Friday December 6th 2024 Rachel Portman's original score for Umberto Pasolini's latest film "The Return" was released through streaming media, coinciding with the release of the film in theaters in North-America by Bleecker Street Media. "The Return" is a story based on Homer's poem "Odyssey" starring Juliette Binoche, Ralph Fiennes and Charlie Plummer. After 20 years away, king Odysseus (Fiennes) washes up on the shores of Ithaca, haggard and unrecognizable. He has returned from the Trojan War, but his beloved wife Penelope (Binoche) is now a prisoner in her own home, hounded by suitors vying to be king.
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According to this message, Rachel Portman and Niklas Liepe were in the Master Chord studio in London last week to record a new album by Rachel Portman.
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In a recent interview Rachel Portman revealed she is currently finishing a new score for a film titled 'The Return'. The score was recorded in Rome. The film, set in ancient Greek times, depicts king Odysseus who decides to return home after 20 year fighting in the Trojan war, to find that much has changed in his kingdom. Directed by Uberto Pasolini, the film stars Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche who appear together in a feature film for the first time since the Academy Award winning 'The English Patient' in 1996. 'The Return ' is scheduled for release on the 27th of September 2024.
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On the occasion of Mother's Day, the German TV channel ARTE published an episode of their cultural 'Twist' series that includes an interview with Rachel Portman. The episode "Mütter - Kinder, Kunst und Karriere?" features four female artists and asks them about their challenges trying to combine their career with motherhood. In this personal interview, recorded in her London home, Rachel talks about how she started in a male-dominated profession and how she combined composing for film with raising three daughters.
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On May 3rd 2024 Hollywood Records released the soundtrack album for the Hulu-series 'We Were The Lucky Ones'. The album is only available on online streaming services, there is no sign of a physical (CD) release (yet). The main theme of the series was earlier released as a single. The music of 'We Were The Lucky Ones' is a collaborative effort of composers Rachel Portman and Jon Ehrlich.
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To promote the official album release of 'Tipping Points', Rachel Portman's violin concerto calling for the preservation of nature's beauty, Niklas Liepe released a short film on his Youtube channel which includes interviews with both artists, as well as behind-the-scene footage and in-depth explanations of the different parts of the concerto.
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Coninciding with the premiere of the Hulu limited series 'We Were the Lucky Ones' on the 28th of March 2024, Hollywood Records has released the main theme from the soundtrack on all major digital music services. The theme is composed by Rachel Portman, who also shared a recording of the theme on her Youtube-channel. The score for the TV series is a collaborative effort with co-composer Jon Ehrlich. Variety published an interesting interview with both composers, read here. A full soundtrack album of the series original score is expected for release in the next few weeks.