Marking 20 weeks since theatres across the country went dark, the organisers of the Song For Our Time competition have unveiled the winning song recorded by West End and Broadway star Hadley Fraser.
Written by Amir Shoenfeld and Caitlyn Burt, ‘Looking At The Moon’ was chosen from nearly 300 entries from songwriters from across the world who answered the call to create an inspirational song issued by award-winning producer Danielle Tarento and actor/producer Paul Wilkins.
Unveiling the new song, Tarento and Wilkins said: “We were absolutely overwhelmed at the response to this search, with over 260 submissions from across six continents. The standard was incredibly high, with new songs from world-class songwriters from all four corners of the globe.
“Narrowing them down to a shortlist of three was unbelievably difficult and we are so grateful to Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown for helping us to make the final decision. We are delighted with the chosen song, ‘Looking At The Moon’ and thank Amir and Caitlyn for sharing their message of hope with us.”
With all proceeds going to theatrical charity Acting For Others, the recording is introduced by Acting For Others’ ambassador Samantha Bond.
Backing vocals are supplied by Lizzie Bea, Danny Becker, Caitlyn Burt, Natalie Chua, Christopher Dickins, Laura Frances, Gabriela García, Natalie Green, Alex Hammond, Tom Hier, Sarah Ingram, Devon-Elise Johnson, Kurt Kansley, Shane McDaid, Gemma McMeel, Manuel Pacific, Sam O’Rourke, Ben Sell, Samuel Thomas, Laura Thomson and Paul Wilkins.
The band includes co-writer Schoenfeld on keys, Jessie May Smart (violin 1), Victoria Stephenson (violin 2), Rosalind Asprey (cello), John Gregson (guitar) and Diane Hammond (clarinet).
Orchestrations and vocal arrangements are by Schoenfeld with musical supervision by Mark Aspinall and artwork by Rebecca Pitt. The video was filmed, edited and mixed by Ben Robbins for The Umbrella Rooms.
When they announced the project, Tarento and Wilkins said: “We want to do something useful, that not only raises money for the self-employed in the performing arts who have been so hard hit by the current situation, but also that creates something utterly meaningful.
“We are joining forces with a host of wonderful humans in order to create something inspiring that harnesses the incredible talent our brilliant industry has to offer. We welcome submissions from anyone… and we mean ANYONE. Whether you’re an established musical theatre writer or an emerging artist, we would love to hear what you have to offer.”
On behalf of Acting For Others, chairman Stephen Waley-Cohen added: “We are delighted to be supporting ‘A Song for our Time’ and thrilled to hear that the incredible Jason Robert Brown is onboard.
“We can’t wait to hear the song and thank all of the composers for supporting. It is wonderful to see so many people joining together and supporting Acting for Others at this difficult time.”
Acting For Others provides financial and emotional support to all theatre workers in times of need through 14 member charities.
Angela Thomas
www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lookingatthemoon
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