Prestigious London orchestra to perform former Luton music teacher's concerto

The former head of music at Cardinal Newman, John Rand, is still reeling from the news that a concerto he wrote for his wife Eileen is to be played by the prestigious New London Orchestra in London in November.

Prior to that, another of his concertos will be performed at the centenary concert of the Croydon Symphony Orchestra at St John’s Smith Square in Westminster on Saturday, June 24. His sixth opus – penned for his Irish wife Eileen – will be played by the New London Orchestra at St James Church, Westminster on Wednesday, November 16.

John said: “I based my wife’s concerto on three Celtic tunes – The Parting Glass, The Fields of Athenry and The Wraggle Taggle Gypsies. It’s quite easy to listen to and I was delighted when I heard that the fully professional New London Orchestra – who have quite a pedigree – would be including it at their concert in November.”

All six of his previous concertos have been performed in public and he has also composed for several movies, including the score for a full feature film entitled Experiment.

John – who lives near Wardown Park – was born in St Albans and spent 20 years teaching at Cardinal Newman.

He recalls producing several large-scale musicals at the school, including Jesus Christ Superstar which featured a young David Arnold on lead guitar. David went on to fame and fortune as the composer on five James Bond movies, as well as Stargate, Independence Day and Godzilla.