Christmas music Icon John Rutter;

Largest orchestra in the World.

It’s “This Week in Classical Music”—an update on what’s happening in the classical music world—I’m Randy Kinkel.

One of the composers you’ve probably been hearing a lot of this holiday season, especially here on KBACH, is John Rutter.  Unlike most of the composers we play, Rutter is alive and well and living in Hemingford Abbots, England.

Rutter’s music is so identified with Christmas that he’s all but earned a place in the manger scene with the wise men and shepherds.

Rutter said “…I’m not unhappy to be associated with Christmas: better than famine, flood or war; when people come up and say, ‘You’re the guy who wrote “What Sweeter Music” or the “Shepherd’s Pipe Carol,” that’s fine, Hopefully they’ll get to know I’ve written other things, as well.”

While still a college student Rutter published his first Christmas carol which was then recorded by EMI.

Shortly after, He set up his own choir, the Cambridge Singers, who for more than 30 years have been recording Rutter’s output for his own CD label, Collegium Records.

 “The privilege of writing my sort of music is that people choose it for the days they remember,” he said…” It’s like being their guest. And my response is always ‘Thank you for inviting me.’ ”

The More the merrier, especially when you’re trying to break the record for The largest orchestra in the world.   More than 8,000 musicians performed recently at the Skydome in Seoul, Korea, setting the new world record for the largest orchestra ever assembled.  the orchestra was made up of amateur musicians from Churches across the country and played a medley of Marches by Elgar, the national Anthem and hymns for a concert that totalled aboyut 7 minutes. 

The performance’s organizers said the event was meant to promote the upcoming PyeongChang Olympics and give a performance opportunity to amateur musicians in local church orchestras.

Official Guinness World Records adjudicator Solvej Malouf was at the scene to verify the record and announce its success to the orchestra.

8,076 Orchestra players were recognized by Guinness World Records in this new, largest orchestra in the world, trumping the previous  record in Brisbane, Australia of 7,224 musicians. 

 For more on these and other items and events, go to the website, K-B-A-C-H dot org; Be listening each week at this time for another update. Follow us on Facebook and twitter, and also listen every weekday at Noon for the Most Wanted Hour with Linda Cassidy, playing your top 100 classical hits.  I’m Randy Kinkel for KBACH’s “This Week in Classical Music”; Member supported 89.5 KBAQ Phoenix and HD, a service of Rioo Salado College and Arizona State University.