AAM to perform at Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant

At high water on the afternoon of 3 June 2012, up to a thousand boats will muster on the River Thames in preparation for Her Majesty The Queen to lead the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant - an occasion which "will be better than the Olympics", according to Mayor of London Boris Johnson. The Academy of Ancient Music, conducted by Music Director Richard Egarr, will be positioned on the second of the ten musical barges which will intersperse the procession.

The music which the AAM will perform is particularly fitting. The Water Music was composed for a similar royal procession which King George I took along the Thames in 1717; and the Music for the Royal Fireworks was commissioned in 1749 by King George II for a national celebration in Green Park to mark the end of European war.

Richard Egarr, AAM Music Director, said "this is a thrilling opportunity for the AAM, and we're relishing the chance to put Handel's glorious music back at the heart of national life, bringing it out of the concert hall and into the public arena for which it was written." Michael Garvey, the AAM's Chief Executive, added that "the AAM's appearance as part of the Jubilee celebrations will crown a spectacular year for us. In 2012 we'll become Associate Ensemble at London's Barbican Centre, and we'll also receive regular Arts Council funding for the first time — a wonderful testimony to the orchestra’s artistic excellence and vision for the future."

The AAM's performance of Handel's works will inspire the music on one of the other barges, for which ten of Britain’s most renowned film composers have each contributed a new composition using the original Water Music for inspiration. This new suite of music will be performed for the first time by an ensemble of 15 live musicians. Composers include Anne Dudley, Graham Fitkin, Gavin Greenaway, Christopher Gunning, Adrian Johnston, John Lunn, Julian Nott, Jocelyn Pook, Stephen Warbeck and Debbie Wiseman.

Artist's impression of the flotilla, by Josh Knowles

Find out more

Visit the official pageant website