Urban Soul Orchestra (USO) will be sporting a new look and sound for the Olympics and the Queen’s Jubilee. USO Director and top London string arranger, Stephen Hussey, has arranged a new “Best of British” set especially for London 2012.
The ultimate in “Cool Britannia”, Urban Soul Orchestra features young, culturally diverse players who also happen to be some of the best classically trained musicians in London yet play genres as diverse as brit pop to dub step and drum and bass.
The string quartet features Kwesi Edman, Miles Brett, Mandhira de Saram and Roxanna Pope. The group all now live in London but between them have heritage from St Kitts, Poland, Grenada, Nigeria and Sri Lanka. They studied music at some of the most prestigious educational institutions in the UK, including Oxford University and The Royal Academy of Music.
No strangers to the sporting arena, Miles currently has a residency at Lords Cricket Ground, Roxy was in the Great Britain Ultimate Frisbee Women’s Squad and Kwesi performed on a podium with David Beckham at the Closing Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. The “Best of British” set can also be booked as an all female ensemble.
The “Best of British” set will be performed at corporate events around London 2012. The quartet will play their own unique dubstep version of Chariot’s of Fire, as well as iconic British songs such as Wonderwall by Oasis and Viva La Vida by Coldplay. Performing these anthemic pieces in their own unique style, USO hopes to drum up enthusiasm for the games.
Urban Soul Orchestra have a long history of performing at exclusive sporting events and venues, including The Wimbledon Ball (2010, 2011 and 2012) The Queen’s Club 125th Anniversary Ball and The Opening of The Emirates Stadium.
As Jo Arthur, Head of Hospitality at the Lawn Tennis Association, explains about the group:
“We have just booked USO for the LTA Wimbledon Ball for the 3rd consecutive year. They are utterly fabulous, hugely fun and entertaining and the perfect band for any party”.
Kwesi performing at the Closing Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics with David Beckham:
