EDINBURGH 2017: BWW Q&A- Vikki Stone

Tell us a bit about Concerto for Comedian and Orchestra.

Well, The Concerto for Comedian and Orchestra is a piece of music I've written.

A concerto simply means a piece for solo and orchestra, and I got the idea of writing my own concerto when I watched Ben Folds perform his own piano concerto with The Hertitage Orchestra at the Barbican, so I thought I'd write one for myself!

Basically, I'm bringing a 27 piece orchestra to The Pleasance Grand for one night only, and not just any orchestra, The National Youth Orchestra Camerata - one of Scotlands finest young orchestras.

The piece has it's world premiere at Glastonbury Festival, and taking an orchestra to Glasto has to be one of the coolest things I've ever done.

Why bring the two (comedy and orchestra) together?

There's a great tradition of orchestras and comedy coming together, it's just that it doesn't happen that often anymore. In the past you often had comedians working with orchestras on mainstream telly - think of André Previn appearing on Morecambe and Wise, or the Hoffnung concerts.

Nowadays you don't see it as much, and I'm trying to change that.

Will there be viola jokes?

I couldn't possibly say. I'm not one for spoilers.

You've been away from Edfringe for a couple of years- what have you been up to?

Last summer, like this summer I've been working at the BBC Proms where I present The Proms Podcast and do a weekly Proms round up on BBC 6 Music. It's meant that I don't have the time to do a full Edinburgh run, but thankfully this year I've managed to squeeze in a big "One Night Only" show.

Who would you recommend comes to see Concerto for Comedian and Orchestra?

I wrote the piece to appeal to both music fans and comedy fans alike - I wanted it make classical music more accessible to people that may not ordinarily go and watch a concert, equally, I wanted to bring people that never normally go to comedy into this world.

So to summarise; it's for everyone.

What's next for you after the festival?

I'm straight back to the BBC Proms for more presenting duties straight after the Edinburgh Festival, then I have a few weeks off before I start rehearsals for a theatre show I'm not allowed to announce yet, so watch this space....

Timings and ticket information for Concerto for Comedian and Orchestra are available on the edfringe website.

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