John Wilson revives tea dance tradition at The Glasshouse
An upbeat weekend in store
The orchestra may be called Sinfonia of London but it’s a bit of a misnomer since its inspirational director, John Wilson, is a Geordie, born and brought up in Gateshead and passionate about reaching parts of the country other orchestras don’t reach.
“Yes, we’re based in London but from the word go we’ve made working throughout the UK absolutely central to our agenda,” says John ahead of a busy weekend at The Glasshouse where he and the orchestra are artistic partners.
“I think at one point we were the only orchestra doing regular UK tours of the country, top to bottom.
“I feel really passionate about playing in my own country and always have done. I’ve never been one for jet setting and in fact have turned down a lot of what some would see as glamorous work overseas.”
He certainly pays much more than lip service to a three-year residency – which may yet be extended – at Gateshead’s international centre for music and is thrilled at the recently announced three-year partnership with the Ryedale Festival in North Yorkshire.
“Ryedale, for me, is as big a deal as anywhere else,” he insists.
At The Glasshouse on Saturday, he and the orchestra will once again dip into the treasure trove of Hollywood film scores, accompanied by singer Kim Criswell.
“You could say it’s more of the stuff I’ve been doing over the last three decades because it’s such a deep well.
“That repertoire from the old movies… it’s an embarrassment of riches really.”
Others would now nod in agreement but it wasn’t always the case. John has been something of a pioneer, painfully reconstructing the scores for famous films when no sheet music survived.
Once the film was in the can, that was often that as far as the studio was concerned. Eyes turned to the box office and then it was on to the next project. Possible future concert performances didn’t enter the reckoning.
“Thirty odd years ago, when I started this in my early twenties, I really felt as if I was the first at the coalface,” reflects John.
“Hardly anybody had done this work. Nobody was interested. Now, in 2026, music publishers have started to publish these scores. You can buy the film scores of Mary Poppins and Cinderella.
“Suddenly old movies and movie musicals are becoming a serious area of musical scholarship. I’ve been banging on about this for decades because I think these scores from the golden age of the Hollywood studio system are masterpieces. They’ll never happen again.
“But I’ve always believed in this music. Other people watch Casablanca and see the marvellous story and the great performances but I’ve always had half an ear on what’s going on in the background because of Max Steiner’s fabulous score.
“I really cherrypicked the best of the lot for this concert on Saturday and it’ll be great to hear this music appreciated on its own without the visuals.”
John says he worked hard on the running order to ensure a smooth narrative. But expect to hear from Mary Poppins, Ben-Hur, Gigi, Vertigo, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Tom and Jerry and, yes, Casablanca.
John has particularly high praise for Erich Korngold’s score for the 1939 historical drama The Lives of Elizabeth and Essex which starred Bette Davis and Errol Flynn – but never mind them. Just listen to the music.
John says his roots are deep in the North East and it’s clear his feet remain firmly on the ground.
He’s a product of the brass band movement and will hear not a word said against it.
“Brass bands are all about the pursuit of excellence and I’ve tried to make that my mantra,” he says firmly.
He started in the local band in Felling when he was eight and then in his teens joined the EverReady Band which is where he first encountered “the legendary Major Peter Parkes”.
Conductor in the 1980s of the Black Dyke Mills Band, he made himself available to prepare the EverReady for competitions.
“I remember coming to the first rehearsal with Major Peter Parkes conducting and being terrified and astonished and electrified that a conductor could take that much trouble and demand that much from a group of musicians.
“I reckon if there was one moment that determined what I was going to do it was probably that.”
John went as a percussionist to the Royal College of Music – but in many respects he was a veteran even then.
At 16 he ran his own amateur outfit, the Tyneside Symphony Orchestra. Later he would try to establish a professional symphony orchestra in the region but it never quite happened. His artistic partnership with Sinfonia of London – great musicians all – is the next best thing.
On Sunday, you might have seen, there’s to be a tea dance on the concourse of The Glasshouse. Tickets, which were free, have understandably been snapped up.
Explaining the background, John says: “We were going to be in Gateshead on May 30 and it occurred to me that in the middle of the orchestra we’ve got an old fashioned dance band.
“I thought if I could get them to stay up an extra day then why not have a community tea dance on that wonderful concourse.
“It’s got a café and a big area for use as a dance floor.
“Dancing is a primary human impulse but there’s a sort of vogue for it now. I don’t know if it’s from ‘Strictly’ on the telly but there’s been a real renewal of interest in ballroom dancing.
“The North East has a very strong heritage when it comes to that because for a decade in the 1950s George Evans had the dance band at the Oxford Galleries (near Newcastle’s Laing Art Gallery) and it was one of the truly great dance bands.
“That’s not within living memory of many people now but 20 years ago I remember doing a concert and saying, ‘Does anyone remember Ivy Barnes from the Oxford Galleries?’ and the whole audience applauded and she stood up because she was watching the concert.”
Ivy, who died in 2022, aged 99, was the popular singer with the George Evans band.
“So there’s a little bit of a nod to that deep-rooted culture in Sunday’s tea dance,” says John.
“It’s a first on the concourse and it’s looking good so far. I’d hope we could do it again.”
Other ideas are being floated as John explores how to make the artistic partnership bear fruit for as many people as possible. He has worked a little with the Young Sinfonia and is keen to have some involvement with one of the community choirs.
Meanwhile Sinfonia of London, revived by John in 2018, seems to be soaring to ever new heights.
It’s not a full-time orchestra but its musicians are accomplished and hand-picked, often playing with other orchestras or ensembles.
A reviewer for the influential Gramophone magazine said after one concert that “the level of virtuosity displayed by this band can be, and is here, absolutely jaw dropping”.
“It’s a project-based orchestra so not 52 weeks of the year. But it’s getting busier,” says John. “I think every year since 2018 we’ve almost doubled our activity
“Throughout the year we do a mixture of concerts, broadcasts and recordings
“It’s probably not for me to say but I’m going to say it anyway – the players’ level of technical brilliance and ability is astonishing. The personnel has settled to a regular group of what I consider great artists.”
You can see how great they are on Saturday at The Glasshouse – or on Sunday if you’re lucky enough to have a tea dance ticket.