Interview: Married Composers Laura and Dan Curtis Discuss Upcoming Concert at Royal Albert Hall on Oct. 14
By: Louisa Brady Sep. 24, 2014
The married, song-writing duo Laura and Dan Curtis has had an exciting past year of work, which isn't slowing down anytime soon. The couple has a concert coming up at the Royal Albert Hall on October 14th, which will feature the music from the popular album, LOVE ON 42ND STREET (For tickets, click here.)
Laura and Dan took the time to chat with BroadwayWorld this weekend about their upcoming concert, the amazing work they've done over the past year, and their exciting plans for the future. Read the full interview below, and find access to several video links!
Tell me about your upcoming concert at the Royal Albert Hall.
Laura: The concert takes place on the 14th October at the Royal Albert Hall and on the night we will be performing music from our 'Love on 42nd Street' album along with a number of songs being premiered that night. We have a fantastic live band and fifteen incredible guest artists which include: Alexander Hanson (A Little Night Music, Stephen Ward, Jesus Christ Superstar), Rebecca Caine (Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera) and Lucie Jones (Les Miserables).
We have been meaning to put on a concert for a long time and we were delighted when the Royal Albert Hall offered to present an evening of our work. We are currently working on some other dates for the UK and in talks with a producer who would like to present an evening of our work in New York City.
Is there a particular moment of the concert that you're especially looking forward to?
Laura: Having our work performed somewhere as historic as the Royal Albert Hall will definitely be among the highlights but hearing the amazing artists involved singing our songs live is going to be very special.
What was the process of making "Love on 42nd Street" like?
Dan: The idea started when we visited New York City back in 2010 and Laura's feet were really causing her trouble (due to me making her walk excessively). It is only when you slow down in a fast paced city that you really see what is going on around you. We overheard someone break up with someone, saw people on dates, all the new mums walking in Central Park and also visited the 9/11 Memorial and heard the stories of those who lost loved ones on that day. We knew then that we wanted to put together an album that covered all these different emotions associated with love. We started writing songs and contacting artists and it took quite some time to piece it all together. Lea and Sierra recorded in NYC but everything else was done in London or back in Wales. It was an exciting process and we look forward to working on a new album in the future.
How does it feel having such reputable performers, such as Simon Bowman, Sierra Boggess, and Lea Salogna, sing music you've written?
Laura: We feel very honoured that such incredible artists agreed to be part of the album. Lea Salonga has been hero of ours forever, getting to work with her was very special and something we'll always cherish. I think one of the most special moments was our rehearsal with Lea at the studio where it was just us three sat round a piano, running through the song and experiencing first hand her astonishingly beautiful voice. Sierra Boggess is so unique - there really is nobody like her in either voice or personality, she is wonderful! Simon really wanted to be part of the whole process, he came round our house very early on to try out the song before and we got to try out the song before it was orchestrated and it was great hearing Simon's thoughts and adding those into the song.
You collaborated with Ramin Karimloo on the single "Why Am I Falling." What was it like to work with him?
Dan: Ramin is not only an amazing human being but an amazing artist and songwriter as well. Working on 'Why Am I Falling' was great fun as we wrote the song for Ramin and it was brilliant that he wanted to be involved with the song writing process and co-wrote the lyrics with us. The making of video has seen over 100,000 hits on YouTube and shows some behind the scenes footage from the recording. What the video doesn't show is just how hot it was that day! The studio in London had a glass front and I think it was the hottest I've ever been - and we weren't the ones singing! [The video is here.]
We were overwhelmed by how well Why Am I Falling was received by theatre fans and we loved watching the covers of the song people uploaded. We have had choirs and vocal groups cover the song and it is currently being translated into Spanish. We are working on a new classical arrangement of the song with the music being be recorded by the Glasgow Phillarmonia, which is an orchestra of incredibly talented young people that we have the great privilege to be patrons of.
Your album is in aid of BBC Children in Need. What inspired you to choose that particular organization to benefit?
Laura: BBC Children in Need has always been close to our hearts and through the appeal show every November it really highlights the great work that the charity does 365 days a year. Their main vision is to ensure that every child has a childhood that is safe, happy and secure and allow them to reach their potential.
Your most recent single, "When You Smile," was written specifically for Laura Osnes. What inspired you to write for her specifically, and how did that change your writing process?
Dan: The first time that we heard Laura sing we were completely blown away by how beautiful her voice was and a few weeks later I was sat the piano and thinking of the kind of song that we would write for Laura and 'When You Smile' just came to me. We hadn't spoken to Laura about working together at this point and we were having some interest shown in the song and we were really in two minds about if we should hold on the song or allow the song to be used. We went with our heart and was delighted when Laura wanted to work with us on the single. Laura is a very special talent and I hope we get to do work together again in the future. We love writing for an artist specifically and we find that the best source of inspiration.
Besides writing, you also perform together. What do you prefer, performing or writing?
Dan: We have had some incredible experiences performing with the highlight being performing at West End LIVE in 2010 and 2011 to a crowd of 15,000 people. The atmosphere out there in Trafalgar Square was electric and it was a really unique experience. A lot of our performance work surrounds the preservation of The Great American Songbook and ensuring the composers who inspired us like George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers and Cole Porter continue to be heard and appreciated. We setup a schools programme which was really successful and was invited on the BBC One Show with the legendary Tony Bennett to discuss the importance of these songs and composers. The schools programme also received the support of two of our other heroes Alan Menken and Richard Sherman.
Both of us agree however that we prefer the writing over performing. There is no better feeling for us than hearing someone sing one of your songs. We get some lovely messages from couples who have played one of our songs at their wedding or from someone who has performed a song at a concert or audition. The wonderful part of writing songs is that they start off being very personal and you are incredibly protective over them but you then hand them over to the world and can only hope that people enjoy them as much as we have done writing them.
What is it like writing in a partnership? Have either of you ever composed anything solo before?
Dan: Writing together in a partnership and being married actually seem to go quite well together - it means we can be absolutely honest with each other about what works and what doesn't - although we don't always agree initially... almost every song starts with me writing the framework of the melody and some block lyrics. I then hand it over to Laura who then adds extra music and adapts what I have written. We then sit back together and have a healthy debate about what should stay and what should change but we always agree in the end about the song. We then write the lyrics together.
Laura had written some classical music when studying but had never really considered song writing. I had written songs for many years but could never play an instrument so I was always recording bits of melody on my phone or asking friends to write down the notes for me. It was only when I taught myself to the play the piano that it all came together.
I read that you're currently working on a musical about the life of Richard Burton. What has that process been like so far?
Dan: Richard Burton has been someone who has fascinated me for as long as I can remember and he was born about 20 miles away from where I was brought up in a very small place called Pontrhydyfen in South Wales. I used to spend hours listening to his interviews and was amaze how everything he said sounded poetic. If you look at Richard's life you have everything in it that makes a great musical from romance, tragedy, and everything in-between. The process so far has been purely based around the music which we have set against our story-ark. We are planning to hold a concert version first off in New York City and one in London for some producers who have shown interest in what they have heard so far. We have had some incredibly well respected actors ask about playing Richard Burton and we are excited to see where this may lead in the future.
The idea for the musical came after we wrote a song called 'A Miner's Song' which featured over 300 people but for the first time we were allowed to us the voice of Richard Burton with thanks going to Dick Cavett who personally granted us the rights to use clips from his interview with Richard. On the song Richard can be heard opening and also in the middle section along with Michael Sheen [listen here]. We were very recently given the honour of being invited to be introduced to HRH Prince Charles for our work on the song.
Are there any artists that you haven't recorded with yet that you are dying to work with?
Laura: There are so many wonderful artists that it would be a privilege to work with and we really hope that one day we get to write for as many of them as possible. The one artist who inspires us a lot with our more traditional writing is Audra McDonald and we would love to get the chance to work with her. Hugh Jackman (are we being too ambitious?) and we would love to do something for Kristin Chenoweth.
Besides the musical you're writing, do you have any upcoming projects?
Laura: We are currently working on a number of singles to release over the next 12 months which we hope to be able to share the first one with you very soon. As an exclusive to Broadway World we are just starting work on a one man musical called 'In My Own World' which is being written for cabaret venues. There is a song that we wrote for Alexander Hanson called 'Twenty Years' which sparked the idea. The musical will explore the human condition as they reflect on their life and future. We hope to have it ready for a first performance next year.
The one night only intimate concert will take place on October 14th and features an array of West End performers including Alexander Hanson, Sabrina Aloueche, Nadim Naaman, Rebecca Caine, Mark Moraghan, Chloe Hart, and many other special guests. Tickets are available now from the Royal Albert Hall Box Office: http://www.royalalberthall.com/ 0845 401 5034.
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