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Composer John Wilson is a man with a lot of patience. He had to be to take on one of the most astonishing tasks in recent musical history, as he explains to Dave Owens

AS stories go, it’s scarcely believable. In 1969, the world famous MGM Studios made the decision to destroy the scores to their legendary film musical catalogue, which included such classics as High Society, The Wizard Of Oz, Meet Me in St Louis and An American in Paris.

Justifying that it took up a lot of space, one morning at the tail end of the 1960s they ordered its destruction.

The whole lot was taken and buried under a golf course. Every note of every film made for every MGM musical since the late 1920s and early 1930s, was destroyed.

Previously lost forever they have now been resurrected by world renowned British conductor, arranger and film music expert, John Wilson, who was given permission by Warner Bros, then rights holders to the MGM film catalogue, to reconstruct the scores to the classic MGM film musicals.

It’s been a painstaking voyage of rediscovery for the music man from Gateshead, Tyne and Wear – conductor of the now internationally renowned John Wilson Orchestra. A journey that started more than a decade ago.

“It would have been about 10 or 12 years ago,” remembers John. “I formed my orchestra in 1994, and we were always looking for things to play.

“It was always in that idiom, film music of the 1930s and 1940s, and right at the top of the tree were those MGM films. They represent the summit of composers writing for orchestras. I then had to spend a lot of time finding out who owned the copyright to those scores. I eventually found out all the scores had been destroyed in 1969, and used as landfill in a golf course. I think it’s one of the greatest acts of cultural vandalism ever. The Wizard Of Oz, High Society and Singin’ In The Rain were all in there. Shocking.”

All that remained were the piano reductions, or “short scores”, which had been lodged for copyright purposes in the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.

When Warner Bros. granted John permission to reconstruct the lost arrangements, it was to these short scores that the 39-year-old turned, using them as the basis for the herculean undertaking of transcribing the original orchestrations by ear from the soundtrack recordings. A task that took several years.

The resulting album, That’s Entertainment: A Celebration of the MGM Film Musical was released to glowing reviews earlier this year. The feedback from Warner Bros and MGM was similarly glowing.

“They have extended every courtesy to us, which has been great,” enthuses John, who counts Gormenghast, The Gathering Storm and Beyond The Sea among his TV and film musical credits. “They’re very happy with the work, and made it very easy to make this record. I’ve had thousands and thousands of letters from fans.”

When pressed on the favourite musical score he worked on John confesses: “It’s difficult, but there are a handful that I’ve really enjoyed. Singin’ In The Rain, because it’s a great movie, and The Wizard Of Oz. In terms of individual songs, I wouldn’t know where to begin choosing a favourite.”

The great British public have an opportunity to enjoy these classic creations on the live stage when the John Wilson Orchestra sets off on a nationwide tour entitled Hooray For Hollywood! A Celebration of the Golden Era of the Hollywood Film Musical.

“I try to mirror the old studio orchestras, so I have a dance band in the middle of my orchestra,” says John, explaining the live set. “I don’t have symphonic brass, I have a brass section from a dance band. It’s for the flexibility, so we can do everything from a Tom and Jerry score and a Fred Astaire ballad to a Gene Kelly tap routine.”

Ironically, the conductor reveals he’s not the biggest fan of stage musicals.

“I don’t really like stage musicals,” he laughs. “I’ve been to about four in my life, the last being Brigadoon in about 1988. My area of interest is movies, but I did love the music from films I saw as a kid, and believe that music should be performed.”

Has he got a favourite musical I ventured.

“I think My Fair Lady, which is basically the Marriage Of Figaro of the 20th century,” he muses. “It’s a faultless classic, and as well as the songs being perfect, they also push the narrative forward.”

During the course of the chat John lets slip he’ll be collaborating with Family Guy creator Seth Macfarlane who has performed with the John Wilson Orchestra on several occasions

“The drummer in my band, Matt Skelton, is a big fan of Family Guy, and I heard Seth’s voice on the show,” explains the composer.

“I knew a friend of mine knew him, so we got in touch and asked him if he’d like to come and sing with us. He loves what we do, and maintains we’re the most authentic-sounding orchestra of its type in the world. For that reason he flew over to sing with us twice. And since then I’ve done an arrangement for music on the show.”

The John Wilson Orchestra appears at St David’s Hall, Cardiff, on Sunday, December 11. Tickets priced £22.50 to £42.50 are available from the box office on 029 2087 8444 or via www.stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk