World Premier of ‘Mince Spies’

Paul Willett, Sarah Killian-Johnston, Lawrence Killian, and Jonathan Rowe at St Mary’s Centre, Banbury UK

Conductor Paul Willet and the Banbury Symphony Orchestra gave an energetic and enjoyable first performance of ‘Mince Spies’ for Narrator and Orchestra in Banbury last night.

Dressed in Puritan black and white, Jonathon Rowe narrated the script with suitable gravitas and a touch of comedy. His portrayal of Ivy Johnston's exploits with the devious mince spies perfectly captured the story.

To the delight of those who attended the concert, Sarah's newly published children's book 'The Mince Spies' was on sale after the performance.

I was delighted with the performance and incredibly grateful to Paul for commissioning ' Mince Spies' for this concert. It was a delightful project as a composer, with the bonus of working with my highly talented daughter, Sarah.

Bravo, and thank you to all of the players in the orchestra, particularly the timpanist, who had a lot of crucial moments to navigate throughout the piece.

CONCERT REVIEW - hear the music at: www.lkillian.com

“On Saturday afternoon (9th December 2023) there was a veritable feast of Christmas music provided by Banbury Symphony Orchestra in St. Mary's Church, Banbury. Under the skilled baton of Paul Willett we were treated to magnificent music-making which was definitely designed to put us in the Christmas mood.

This orchestra continues to go from strength to strength, and their performance of seasonal orchestral music demonstrated a broad string sound, lilting melodies from the woodwind soloists, an impressive brass section and extremely precise percussion underpinning the whole ensemble. As you would expect at Christmas time, there were plenty of sleigh bells in evidence and the opportunity to sing some much-loved Christmas carols which the audience joined in with enthusiasm.

The real highlight of the afternoon was the first ever performance of 'Mince Spies', a superb musical production composed by Lawrence Killian who was present in the audience. 'Mince Spies' tells the story of a young girl looking forward to Christmas during the years of the English Civil War when the Puritan government banned the celebration of Christmas festivities in 1647.

The narrator, Jonathan Rowe, recounted the imaginary story (written and beautifully illustrated by Sarah Killian) from the pulpit with clear diction as he built up the suspense of the cancelled Christmas. The watchmen, the Mince Spies, were ordered to stop the festive fun. However, the townsfolk crept off into nearby woods to celebrate Christmas in secret, and as they grew more confident, they celebrated in their houses behind locked doors. Inevitably the revellers were caught by the Mince Spies, but the whole street rebelled and attacked the spies with Christmas food. Without spoiling the story, there was a happy ending!

The narration of the story was interspersed by musical picture painting which made full use of the symphonic orchestra, and the inspired use of instrumentation added to the power of the story telling. This was a really exciting premiere of a new seasonal composition, and you can find out more on www.lkillian.com/mince-spies

Many congratulations to Banbury Symphony Orchestra on a highly enjoyable afternoon of Christmas music-making, and huge thanks to the arts team at St Mary's for hosting such an enjoyable event.” (Review by St Mary’s Church, Banbury)