'Music is our first love, and it'll be our last, / Music of the future and music of the past'.
If you can remove Johannes' headphones for long enough to have a decent conversation, you are just as likely to overhear the 'fa, la, laa' of Morley as the 'tsk, tsk, ba ba doom' of Motown. His unceasing iPod pumps out as much of Domingo's 'aaaah' as it does 'dmmm, dmmm, dmmm, dmmm' from the Ministry of Sound.
Oh yes, he likes his music loud, he likes his music varied and, even more, he likes it LIVE!
- Solo and duo appearances (including Burns' Nights) are available to book from January 2010.
- 3 to 16-piece ensembles are available to book from July 2010.
Harold (appearing as a vocalist), accompanied by one of the Friends on piano, is available with a wide repertoire to appear at weddings, cocktail parties and corporate events.
Booking now for dates throughout 2010 and beyond.
From ballroom to the Beatles and Schubert to Sinatra, Johannes Factotum and Friends is proud to present an exciting flexible line up of small ensembles, available to book from July 2010.
The varying line-ups of instruments have been carefully chosen to enable the band to perform a wide range of musical styles:
- The core of the band is a rhythm section with piano, bass (also lead vocalist) and drums. You can hire the band with just these three members or add ...
- one or two obbligato instruments; flute (doubling saxophone), trumpet, french horn and violin are all available in varying combinations to augment the rhythm section's sound and feature in solo spots.
We have a wide range of different repertoire which you can choose from and are also able* to create bespoke arrangements to ensure that your evening's entertainment contains your favourite numbers.
From ballroom to the Beatles and Schubert to Sinatra, Johannes Factotum and Friends is proud to present an exciting new 9-piece band available to book from July 2010.
The line-up of instruments has been carefully chosen to enable the band to perform a wide range of musical styles:
- two violins and a cello for that unmistakable live string sound which is an essential part of so many Sinatra standards, soft rock pieces or any of our classical covers ...
- trumpet, french horn and flute (doubling saxophone); our versatile wind section includes an indispenable trumpet for those jazz numbers (and as a substitute for lead guitar in many rock covers), flute (doubling saxophone) and, crucially, a french horn which blends so well with both the trumpet and the sax ...
- piano, bass and drums for a tight rhythm section that is the rock steady backing to every number we perform.
And, of course, Johannes's lead vocals.
We have a wide range of different repertoire which you can choose from and are also able* to create bespoke arrangements to ensure that your evening's entertainment contains your favourite numbers.
From ballroom to the Beatles and Schubert to Sinatra, Johannes Factotum and Friends is proud to present an exciting new 16-piece band available to book from July 2010.
The line-up of instruments has been carefully chosen to enable the band to perform a huge range of musical styles with that unmistakable rich sound that only a full band of live instruments can provide:
- a string quartet for those lush accompaniments in swing or soft rock styles, and for exciting, fast-moving lines in up-tempo numbers ...
- a brass quartet featuring two trumpets, french horn and trumbone for everything from screaming solo lines to swelling, romantic supporting parts ...
- a wind quartet featuring two alto saxophones, one tenor sax and a honking baritone; essential for all those call and response tricks in the swing repertoire. At least one of the saxes doubles on flute for softer numbers ...
- the rhythm quartet; the backbone of the band, featuring piano, rhythm/lead guitar, bass guitar and drums.
And, of course, Johannes's lead vocals.
We have a wide range of different repertoire which you can choose from and are also able* to create bespoke arrangements to ensure that your evening's entertainment contains your favourite numbers.
One of Simon Cowell's most oft-repeated taunts is that X-Factor contestants sound like they're singing in a wedding band. Well, he obviously hasn't heard the band of Johannes Factotum and Friends yet!
We're proud to be a wedding band, because we firmly believe that your wedding day should be the most special day of your life and that music should play an integral part in it.
YOUR ONE-STOP WEDDING MUSIC SOLUTION
Hiring musicians for a wedding can be a nightmare! After all, you need to think of:
- an organist (and possibly choir) if you're having a church wedding or, if not, some other suitable music for the ceremony ...
- a small ensemble to play during the drinks reception ...
- a dance band to play live music for the first dance and the start of the evening ...
- a DJ for the disco to round off the evening.
The bands of Johannes Factotum and Friends can take all the stress out of this, by providing you with one single wedding music package:
- our keyboard player for the day will be an expert organist, who will take care of all the music at the church. Johannes can sing an appropriate solo during the signing of the register, and some of the brass players will also be in attendance to add some ringing descants to the sound of the organ. Couples with a Scottish connection may wish for the bride to be played in on the bagpipes (Johannes is also an expert bagpiper). We can also fix you a choir, should you wish to add strength to the congregational singing ...
- meanwhile, the other musicians are setting up over at the reception venue, ready to provide music during the drinks reception ...
- we take a break during the wedding breakfast, but the whole band comes together for the first dance. We can provide any type of music for the first dances, but we strongly recommend that you consider having a section of the evening devoted to Scottish Country Dancing, because it's a great fun way for everyone to join in, no matter what their dancing experience!
- towards the evening we slip further into the realms of cheese as Johannes gets out the ABBA and disco charts ...
Johannes started learning the Highland Bagpipes when he moved to Scotland, aged 8. His enthusiasm for Scottish music continued to develop during his teenage years, when he won numerous prizes for his performances of songs by Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns.
Since moving back to England, he has continued to tune up his pipes every winter, as a bagpiper is now seen to be an essential part of a good New Year's Eve party and there is immense international enthusiasm for dinner parties ('Burns Nights') celebrating Robert Burns each year in the fortnight each side of his birthday on January 25.
Johannes is also in demand as a piper for weddings throughout the year, particularly (but not exclusively) where the bride or groom has a Scottish connection.
He is now also very excited to be adding a Scottish Country Dance (or 'Ceilidh') band to Johannes Factotum and Friends' musical offer.
Work in education is a core part of Johannes Factotum's activity; we're always delighted to receive requests from schools and colleges, whether it be to deliver a workshop, to perform at a special event, or to undertake a residency.
mail@johannesfactotum.com
Harold raitt
aka Johannes Factotum
Harold is a versatile musician who is equally at home in the worlds of jazz, rock, pop and musical theatre as he is in the 'classical' domain.
Following a choral scholarship in the choir of St John's College, Oxford University, Harold was a tenor for five years with the London Symphony Chorus; with the LSC he has sung in major concert venues throughout the UK, Europe and the USA in repertoire from Bach and Beethoven through Mahler and Wagner to John Adams and James Macmillan. Conductors under whom he has performed include Sir Colin Davis, Sir Simon Rattle, Valery Gergiev, Bernard Haitink, Pierre Boulez, Sir Mark Elder and Daniel Harding. As a soloist, he has performed some of the most challenging repertoire for the tenor voice, including Schubert's Winterreise and the tenor solos in Handel's Messiah
Despite these credentials, he considers 'popular' music to be as much of a challenge as the most demanding 'classical' repertoire. Through producing detailed transcriptions of performances by great artists like Sinatra (and his arrangers like Don Costa, Nelson Riddle and Gordon Jenkins), Elvis, the Beatles, Queen, Michael Jackson (and Quincy Jones's fantastic productions) and Benny Andersson/Björn Ulvaeus, Harold has a detailed understanding of a wide range of styles, which combine with his charismatic stage presence to produce evenings of unforgettable music.