Interview: Conductor & musical director Anthony Brown on THE FULLTONE ORCHESTRA WITH KERRY ELLIS concert
This September, a spectacular one-night-only concert at Cadogan Hall will bring together West End powerhouse Kerry Ellis with the acclaimed Fulltone Orchestra for an evening of iconic songs from stage and screen.
We spoke to musical director and conductor Anthony Brown, who also founded The Fulltone Orchestra, to find out more about this very special event.
What can audience members expect from this concert?
A glamourous night of music from stage and screen. It’ll be songs that you’ve probably never heard Kerry sing before with a few surprises in there too, performed by a large orchestra rather than a small band. You will feel this music from the first note of the evening until the very last chord.
You've worked with Kerry Ellis before, performing the music of Queen. What makes your collaborations successful?
It comes down to the people involved and the chemistry that we have on stage. Last time we did a big Queen set on a festival stage with no rehearsal time together, talk about living on the edge! But we loved it and had a blast. It wasn’t just producing the songs, it was a really enjoyable experience and we’ve kept in touch ever since. So, to do a concert inside and at such a wonderful venue as Cadogan Hall is going to be special.
How did you and Kerry decide which songs you would perform for this concert?
We just keep chatting and texting, it is very much a collaborative process. We probably started with 3 or 4 songs that were firmly on the “must-do” list and then build from there. We’re including a couple of moments of just the orchestra playing, which adds to the musical flow of the evening. Take the audience on an emotional journey, make them smile and make them cry and let them leave with wonderful memories.
What inspired you to found The Fulltone Orchestra?
I had done lots of local shows and musicals with smaller bands but my musical tastes are very wide. I had an itch to create something much bigger, having our roots in the classical world is really important to me. Producing big classical music and bringing it to audiences who wouldn’t normally listen to this type of music is really special. We do this whilst also producing more popular style concerts involving wonderful guests like Kerry. I also wish we could reverse the trend in the West End of smaller orchestras and bands, I like to remind audiences what some of the West End songs used to sound like when done at scale.
What's next for you and the orchestra?
As I just said, we keep our foot in the classical world so in the Autumn, we’ll bring the first of our Planets and Stars Wars concerts. Working with our choir, we’re also due to do Verdi’s Requiem in 2026 but then we are also working on Symphonic Elvis, Enya’s Watermark Album, A Rodgers and Hammerstein night, and an IBIZA style concert with a DJ.
