Tou r. Also featuring: World premier - Tchaikovsky s Nutcracker Suite animated film

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1 No. 2 in The Guardian s Top 10 things to do at Christmas 2014! Tou r Also featuring: World premier - Tchaikovsky s Nutcracker Suite animated film Treat the whole family to a music box of delights this Christmas. as they witness the magic of The Snowman film on a big screen, brought to life by some of the UK s finest musicians.

2 .bringing The Snowman to life Following on from their acclaimed 27 performance tour last year, Carrot Productions are delighted to invite you to a unique and special event suitable for all ages - a screening of the much-loved film, The Snowman. The timeless film will be projected onto a large screen accompanied by a live, 26 piece professional orchestra. A perennial favourite, the highlight of the film for many is the evocative Walking in the Air, sung by a young soloist. Not a dry eye in the house!

3 A wonderful opportunity for the whole family to create lasting memories... Tonight was sheer brilliance The most amazing concert ever. Everyone was enjoying it, even the orchestra. You could tell because every single person had a big smile on their face! It was the best thing ever and it made my day. I can t believe I saw a real orchestra with my own eyes. It was like an angel singing in the clouds Wonderful evening. Impeccable timing of orchestra to the film. We loved it A truly amazing, spiritual experience. Thank you! Fabulous, enchanting and very, very Christmassy! Wow! Absolutely breathtaking! Absolutely wonderful for children of all ages

4 The most amazing concert ever Carrot Productions are delighted to announce the world premiere of animation by Tom Scott to accompany Tchaikovsky s Nutcracker Suite ; surely the most Christmassy and popular of all seasonal music. Coupled with The Snowman, it s a winning combination. We will be the only orchestra in the world performing this Christmas favourite with animation, with the visual elements complementing and enhancing the beautiful music. We have secured exclusive rights until For a sneak preview of the Nutcracker Suite trailer visit: Everyone was enjoying it, even the orchestra. You could tell because everyone had a big smile on their face! Also featured in the concert is a Festive Guide to the Orchestra, where the instruments are presented in a fun and approachable way, offering the children the valuable experience of seeing - and hearing - the instruments individually. These include seldom seen instruments such as the celeste, cor anglais and bass clarinet. Popular favourites tend to be the harp and the very naughty drummer! With other Christmas crackers including a visit from a surprise conductor! - it truly is a memorable experience for all ages. The Paragon Film Orchestra comprises a group of exceptional musicians - all of whom play for major British orchestras such as the Hallé and BBC Philharmonic - skilfully conducted by the BBC Symphony Orchestra s Steve Magee. This is no mean task, as he has to synchronise the orchestra perfectly with what s happening on the screen. Incredibly, in 2014 the orchestra performed almost a quarter of all the performances in the world. This year they will top this, with a whopping 33 performances!

5 The Snowman Tour 2015 For more detailed information on this year s tour dates visit:

6 Derbyshire Music Education Hub Performances For more detailed information on this year s tour dates visit:

7 Royal Manchester Children s Hospital It is with immense pleasure that we are able to announce a very special performance at Royal Manchester Children s Hospital this Christmas. Thanks to the incredible generosity of The Oglesby Charitable Trust - who are funding the entire performance - we are taking our spellbinding concert into the heart of the hospital on Sunday the 6th of December. The concert will be open and free of charge to all children staying in the hospital, with staff and volunteers bringing children down in wheelchairs or beds if they are stable enough to be moved. For those unable to move, we hope to conduct a live transmission of the whole performance, relaying to TVs in the rooms of children unable to attend. We are also inviting children who have chronic conditions resulting in them being in hospital on a regular basis, along with their families. In addition, we will invite all hospital staff on duty that day to join in the magical experience, extending the invitation to those not in work if space allows. We have been granted the rights to use the film and music freely for this performance by Penguin Books Ltd and Music Sales Limited. At the end of the performance each child will be invited to speak to the musicians, look at the various instruments and - most excitingly - have a cuddle and their picture taken with our very own Snowman! Finally, an explanation as to why Carrot Productions was so passionate about making this performance happen: We are regular visitors to the hospital as my son, Patrick, attends many appointments there and has stayed overnight on numerous occasions. The level of commitment and dedication shown by all the staff on each and every occasion has been truly humbling. As I have witnessed the profound effect the concert has on children of all ages - providing a truly magical and life-affirming experience - I would love to share this as a way of saying thank you. Rachel Whibley, Managing Director Derbyshire Music Education Hub For the third year in a row we are delighted to have been asked once more by Derbyshire Music Education Hub to stage performances of our show throughout Derbyshire towns and cities for local children and families. We will perform 13 performances at 5 different venues over 6 days this coming Christmas, reaching over 7,000 schoolchildren. Uniquely, we audition children local to each of the concert venues, offering them a once in a lifetime opportunity to sing Walking in the Air with a live, professional orchestra. A truly incredible experience. Please visit their website: to learn more about their pioneering partnership with Carrot Productions.

8 Biographies Rachel Whibley - Managing Director Rachel Whibley is a professional bassoonist, a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music, and has worked extensively with many of the top UK orchestras including the BBC Philharmonic, Hallé, RLPO, Northern Chamber Orchestra and Manchester Camerata. In addition, she has worked for several international orchestras including Tenerife Symphony Orchestra, European Union Chamber Orchestra and Bolshoi Ballet. She spent 4 happy years in Dublin working with the RTE Symphony and Concert orchestras, and in Belfast with the Ulster Orchestra. It was during this period that she first encountered The Snowman score played along to the film; it proved to be a moving experience, fuelling her desire to develop and extend the experience to others. Rachel has had the privilege of working on eduction projects with many orchestras, relishing the opportunity to introduce music-making and composition into the lives of many children. After staging 5 sell-out performances of The Snowman in her home town of Glossop in 2013, Rachel set up Carrot Productions. Last year s tour encompassed 10 different venues, 27 performances and a combined audience of over 15,000 children and families, all to great acclaim. Incredibly, the performances of The Snowman given by Carrot Productions in 2014 amounted to almost a quarter of all the performances given in the world! Carrot Productions are extending the tour further still this year - 33 performances in total - including some exciting new venues, and Rachel is especially excited about the new animation by Tom Scott to accompany The Nutcracker Suite on the big screen. It s going to be magical... Dan Whibley - Artistic Director Dan Whibley is a musician, composer, arranger, presenter and Artistic Director of Carrot Productions. He is co-principal double bass in the BBC Philharmonic orchestra, having previously held positions in the RTE Symphony and Hallé Orchestras. His current position involves extensive recording for radio and television as well as performing around the world. Dan started playing the double bass when he was 10 years old, later studying at Chetham s School of Music and Royal Northern College of Music. As a musician, Dan has worked with the likes of David Essex, Barry Maniloe, Pavarotti, Russell Watson, Alfie Boe, Elmer Bernstein, Robert Redford, Boy George, Petshop Boys, Jimmy Somerville and John Grant. As a composer, Dan has been commissioned to write music in a diverse number of styles, including music for the BBC Philharmonic, an album of childrens songs (featured on CBeebies), incidental music to accompany a childrens book, and orchestral music for last year s Snowman concert. This year Dan will present the Snowman concert in his usual inimitable style, introducing the ever popular Festive Guide to the Orchestra, where Dan introduces the audience to the instruments and sounds (not to mention the various characters) of the orchestra. It has been said that, at 7 feet tall, Dan is the tallest double bass player in the world!

9 Biographies cont. Tom Scott - Animator Tom Scott studied piano at Chetham s School of Music before studying on the joint course at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) and at The University of Manchester, where he gained a first class honours degree in music and also won the Musicales Prize, the Shirley Cattarall Award for piano, the Hargreaves Academic Prize, the Proctor-Gregg Prize for performance and the Sir Thomas Beecham Medal for outstanding achievement. He completed a Masters degree in electroacoustic composition (supported by a 2003 PRS Foundation Scholarship)in which he received a distinction. He completed his PhD in electroacoustic composition at The University of Manchester (supported by AHRC funding). As a composer, Tom s work ranges from instrumental works to acousmatic compositions and audio/visual works. He was awarded the Musiques & Recherches residency prize in Metamorphoses 2006 (Belgium) and his film The Projection of Dreams (2007) was screened at the Exposures Film Festival. His work has been performed at festivals in Belgium, Mexico, Spain and Germany. Tom currently lectures in electroacoustic composition at RNCM. As a pianist, Tom made his concerto debut with the Hallé orchestra at Manchester s Bridgewater Hall playing Prokofiev s Piano Concerto No. 1. He has had concerto engagements with Chetham s Symphony Orchestra and the RNCM String Orchestra, with performances at The Bridgewater Hall, the RNCM, and at Lichfield Festival. Tom has recently completed a UK tour as guest solo pianist with English National Ballet, playing Rhapsody in Blue over forty times in their production of Strictly Gershwin. His extensive and wide ranging performance career has led to performances throughout the UK and Europe. His playing has been featured on TV documentaries for Granada and BBC Television, as well as on many BBC radio broadcasts. Tom regularly appears as a pianist with the Hallé and BBC Philharmonic orchestras. A busy keyboard duo recital with his brother Jonathan Scott, as Scott Brothers Duo, has taken Tom to many UK concert halls and visits to major UK festivals. Scott Brothers Duo have recorded several CD s on their own label (recorded and produced by Tom) to great critical acclaim. The discs have featured on BBC radio 2 and 3, and both Duos for Harmonium & Piano and Duos for Piano & Organ achieved editor s choice in Organists Review. After studying the relationship between sound and visual media during his PhD research, Tom began to create animations to accompany live classical performances. This creative journey has led to many exciting commissions (including commissions by the BBC to create animations live orchestral concerts) and concert performances by orchestras/ensembles worldwide. For more information visit:

10 Contact us... Further information on any aspect of the performances, to request images or to arrange interviews please contact: Jo Mohan: Rachel Whibley: Tel: / Registered office: Oakfield, off North Road, Glossop SK13 7AU Telephone: / Web: Managing Director: Marketing: Facebook: Twitter: rachel@carrotproductions.com marketing@carrotproductions.com Company number: Registered in England and Wales VAT number: