Town’s story told in jazz

A Newark musician has composed a suite of music based on the town to be performed for the first time on the opening night of Newark Jazz Festival.

Mr Nathan Bray (35) of London Road, Balderton, is a professional musician and a director of the festival.

The suite consists of six pieces of music based on different themes, including some of the town’s important landmarks and historical figures.

Mr Bray, who has written for many top names in the music industry such as Will Young, and performed on the X Factor and Pop Idol, was commissioned to do the work by Newark Town Council after contacting them last year.

The project has been financed by a £10,000 Lottery grant to cover the cost of hiring musicians, including a five-piece string orchestra, to record the suite at the Confetti Recording Studios in Nottingham.

A CD has also been produced and is expected to be finished within the next week.

Mr Bray, who plays the trumpet, said: “It will be an educational and tourist resource because it’s about Newark’s heritage.”

He hoped the town council would distribute copies of the suite to schools in the area to help them to learn about the town’s historical importance.

Mr Bray has lived in Newark for five years but started visiting as a teenager to attend a music school at the Sconce Hills High School every Saturday.

He said he had wanted to write music about the town’s history for some time.

“I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this,” he said.

The six pieces of music are based on the Newark composer John Blow, the River Trent, Lady Godiva who owned land in the town, the Great North Road and the English Civil War.

The final piece, titled A Key To The North, is about Newark’s strategic location and is a celebration of the town.

Mr Bray will be accompanied by some of the musicians and members of the East Midlands Jazz Youth Orchestra when he performs the suite at Newark Parish Church on May 16.