An eclectic mix: Brixton Chamber Orchestra at Clapham Park Cube

Matthew O’Keeffe and Brixton Chamber Orchestra in action at Love Clapham Park Fun Day

Brixton Chamber Orchestra, musical director Matthew O’Keeffe is coming to the end of its 2024 Summer Estates tour, appearing in community venues around the borough. On Saturday 27 July 2024 they popped up in the afternoon at the Love Clapham Park Fun Day at Clapham Park Cube, where people took a break from browsing the stalls, sampling the amazing food and watching the carnival to listen to an eclectic set from O’Keeffe and the 30-piece orchestra which managed to get everyone dancing and ended with an open mic session. 

Love Clapham Park Fun Day

The music moved easily between classical and contemporary, including jazz, dance and rap (performing styles such as rap and grime with orchestral backing is one of the orchestra’s specialities). The sound system was pretty impressive too, and there was no sense of loss of quality because we were out of doors, whilst the carnival attendees made a keen audience.

The set mixed Respighi, Lully, Beethoven, Walton, the overture to Rossini’s The Barber of Seville and Offenbach’s can can from Orpheus in the Underworld, with Donald Grant’s The Way Home, jazz standards, rap, The Special’s Ghost Town, a dance medley and Abba’s Dancing Queen. The vocals were share between two guest vocalists and rapper, Samson, whilst music director Matthew O’Keeffe helped out as well. For The Killers’ Mr Brightside, the audience had to get singing. At the end there was an open mic session with a couple pretty impressive soloists.

The Mayor of Lambeth, John-Paul Ennis, at Love Clapham Park Fun Day

The orchestra’s tour finishes this weekend with a gig tonight at St Matthew’s Church, but they’ll be back.