Song of Contagion: Audience Feedback

Below is the extensive feedback collected from Song of Contagion Audiences at Wilton's Music Hall, June 13-17 2017. (Those marked with an asterisk are from the first night, and often highlight shortcomings which were subsequently addressed and mostly eradicated.)

Music

• *Made me feel proud to be in London with so much beautiful music from all across the world under one roof. Fantastic.
• *Amazing musicians, really impressive range of styles
• *Some wonderful musicians
• *Joyful noise
• *A musical extravaganza. Brilliant.
• *Amazing musical talent. All the audience were bopping in their seats.
• *Made me feel I should listen to more music.
• *Great musicians and singers. A treat.
• *Great to hear GUO back at Wilton's.
• *The music was amazing and thoroughly uplifting.
• *I think the vocal arrangements should have more harmony singing, at present unison singing predominates.
• *Wonderful music.
• *Excellent musicians.
• *I really enjoyed it, the musical diversity, the different moods it brought to us and (cherry on the cake) the fantastic venue.
• *Excellent performance. Ridiculous amount of talent among musicians.
• More pastiche than composition.
• A superb evening, not only because of the astonishing music but the extraordinary message.
• Thank you.
• Amazing. Love all the different sounds/styles and all the clever thought/ choreography/brilliant singers/musicians very talented and obviously passionate. Loved the first and third pieces, esp the merengue – felt like getting up and dancing – very difficult to remain seated. The second piece felt like I was in New Orleans – not that I have ever been.
• Loved the energy of all the musicians and singers! The transition from one genre to the other was a bit harsh and out of tone though. As well as playing all instruments. Every time the orchestra is better and better.
• This show is mesmerising, incredible energetic, gracious and moving; I loved the mix of ethnicities, instruments and of course the background story. Keep on with the good work.
• Powerful percussion and brass
• The calibre of the musician was incredible!!!
• Refreshing performance
• Made me feel privileged and happy to hear such an amazing band.
  I absolutely loved the music.
• Loved the jazz parts. Loved the improvisation!
• Great vibe and energy and superb musicianship. I really enjoyed it.
• Made me feel VERY HAPPY (I loved the mosquito songs! AMAZING! )
• Fun, fabulous and a great sound.
• Sections 1 and 2 were hard to follow- particularly the words. But everything took off with the arrival of the mosquito – then it really starts to make sense. It got a lot more fun musically.
• Loved the music
• Amazing musicians: true musicians that loved music
• Music – PRO! Content – well …
• Crazy fusion of instruments and styles
• Enjoyed the mixture of the music and the songs
• Really varied musically – subject matter interestingly portrayed
• Diverse, jazzy, fun, clever. Blown away by the standard of the musicians, especially the two tenor sax players.
• A great amalgam of music
• Incredible mix of very cosmopolitan & talented musicians and vocals
• Some fabulous music, exciting and innovative. Love the bhangra and Zika tune particularly.
• You should tour it.
• Brilliant musicians – lovely mix of different genres of music – worldwide music at its best.
• Amazing music and musicianship. Thought provoking lyrics.
• Great energy! The drummer in the first song was amazing.
• Amazing – especially Silence is Consent and the 5 drummers drumming.

Sound and lyrics

• *One point: the balance between orchestra and singers, the poor singers were a bit drowned out. 
• *Words not easy to hear.
• *Needs surtitles
• *Would have been great if balance was slightly better. Tough to hear the lyrics at some points.
• *I felt the words were lost slightly, but didn't matter too much as the music and musicianship carried everything fantastically
• *Couldn't hear lyrics properly. Was a shame.
• *One thing that could have been better would be to enhance the English lyrics where they are, as it was hard to hear at times.
• *2 things I would change: Sound engineer needs to be more on the ball. Commentators not nearly professional enough. However, extremely impressed.
• Story telling was not very clear; spoken word would have been clearer.
• My only slight niggle is that what it came to Africa and the Caribbean the lyrical content appeared to be not as strong as other areas if you didn't listen closely you may not have realised that it was the mosquitos that were dancing and not the people who were suffering the effects of dengue, zika and malaria.
• The keyboard could have been louder. I speak as a professional jazz musician. But well done.
• I really wish I'd been able to hear the lyrics; sounded like there was interesting stuff there but…
• Rip-roaring talent. Overall the sound was awesome, but the vocals needed a bit more on the mics. Absolutely loved the diversity of the genres and instruments.
• Acoustics could be improved.
• A little loud – were microphones necessary for the instruments?
• Incredible. As always, Grand Union impressed with London’s top line-up of musicians. A really interesting concept and songs, which I’ll be singing for days to come!

Staging

• *Need a mosquito back projection
• *So frustrating to have a graph, and not to be able to see the legend. The staging was very scrappy and inconsistent.
• *I would have liked more visuals to understand more about these diseases.
• *We couldn't see the legend on the AIDS graph.
• Loved the chance to dance at the end
• Q&A session really made me rethink what I held as fact. Wonderful panel. More time for their thoughts and questions next time.
• It was trying to do too much with just one dimension, music (two if you count lyrics, though those were hard to hear). More graphics, video or perhaps dance would make an interesting extension.
• Would be better with surtitles.
• The members of the orchestra are very charismatic and transmit JOY with the dances.
• Thank you!
• Wish I'd read the programme notes before. I'd like to have tried to trace the musical interpretation of the AIDS graph.
• A show well done, performances by all artists excellent, enjoyable and contagious.

Content

• *Made me feel enlivened, privileged, lucky, blind to injustice, unwilling to provoke change when I can. You can.
• *It needed quite a bit of work. I don't think it actually managed to communicate much. In my opinion there needed to be something extra in order to make it more captivating/entertaining / informative.
• *Made me think about how we are all connected no matter where we are in the world.
• Made me wish I could change the world.
• *A lot of the time I had no idea what was going on. What was the last section even about?
• *A tonic for our times. Brilliant, moving and very groovy.
• *Great performance, but would have liked more science. Not clear in the music what the story was. That said, I really enjoyed it.
• *Wish I'd read the programme notes before the show.
• *Infectious diseases shouldn't be this much fun!
• *Loved the theme of the night – really contagious.
• Made me feel immune to misery. Really really well done.
• Provoking
• Clear message of need for governments to be less political about public health spending quotas.
• Made me Dance! All night, in my seat, at the end, during the talk, probably on the train.
• Breathe deep and smile, remember and learn. Think: Reflect on the stories around the data, behind the music. Wish: more art and science collaboration!
• What a wasted opportunity.
• Thought provoking and entertaining. Q&A was great, but too short.
• Wonderful show. It would have been great to hear more from Elizabeth.
• Unique, engaging, provocative.
• Thank goodness for the programme notes.
• Amazing performing, but story telling not perfectly matched. Keep it simple!
• Very creative mixture; quite romantic about science in the beginning.
• A very interesting and thought provoking event. I'm very glad I came. More projects that link the sciences and the arts, please!!
• Great music combined with a really important message – a wonderful combination. Next question – how to get decision-makers to listen. An opera at Glyndebourne perhaps.
• Great show. Definitely made me think! Tuneful and informative all in one performance.
• Well done.
• I wish the drug companies would show equality in providing drugs all over the world to alleviate illness. Most have been dealt with in the West but are not currently available in less developed countries.
• The song of contagion was a musical triumph and also managed to convey some really serious points about the discrepancy between the prevalence of disease and the amount of spending on its prevention. In the week of the Grenfell Towers fire, it was very poignant to understand that the suffering of the poor does not get top attention from governments and the elites unless forcibly brought to their attention.
• Made me feel empowered by diversity, energised by this wonderful music and inspired by how it an be combined with health to convey very interesting and thought-provoking questions.
• Fantastic seed/spore of an idea. Cannot wait to see what comes next.
• How welcome to see such a diverse collaboration of different people in a week when London is really suffering from inequality!
• Thought-provoking and great performance. Such a unique way to convey messages to raise awareness.
• What a delightful evening. Great music and best discussion. Wish it was longer because it was really interesting.
• Interesting concept, songs about illness/disease. Some of the pieces were easier to understand than others. Where was Ebola? Thanks for an interesting evening.
• Fantastic Q&A
• I was taken in from the first word sung. great story! I appreciated that the performers were diverse reflecting the Cable Street area and the world and the diseases.
• Made me feel that music still as a lot of space to explore to convey meaningful messages.
• Made me think about the world
• Difficult idea, but great success!
• Made me dance, itch and feel guilty all at the same time. Intriguing contradiction: to be "moved" by, almost embrace disease, i.e. a contradictory contagion.
• The common cold not good enough for a song, eh! Shame, aaa atchoo! Could do with some lemsip
• I felt uplifted by the performances, excited by the rhythms, engaged by the vocalists, intrigued by the concept. Let the theatre feeling that I'd seen and participated (the dancing!) in a very unique performance which gave food for further thought. Loved the final poem and felt that to be a poignant ending carrying the message.
• Really excellent, interesting subject matter and thoughtful.
• Exquisitely executed. Funny & chilling.
• It was just brilliant.
• Really entertaining. A very interesting idea.
• It was a great experience and should carry on.
• Educative, invigorating and entertaining.
• A really clever integration of disease, politics, people with ? music – brilliant!
• Thrilling to see such talent and originality in a disparate group of individuals.
• Great concept and inspiring playing. I loved the mosquito song and drum section.
• Integrating concept, words and music could have been better.
• Great musicians. PTSD piece good except for Coda. … full page of comments, none of which I can read.
• V. Interesting concept, well executed. I liked the balance of instrument and voice.
• Really enjoyed it. Unusual theme, but rarely explored in music.
• Great – dream come true. A scientist & such an expression in art.
• An exceptionally interesting and original theme for a gig, and wonderful performances all round. Thanks for a wonderful evening.
• I’m hard of hearing – lyric sheet would be good for folk literature.
• Sheer beauty – life affirming. Outstanding orchestra! Tears of joy and sheer joy.
• Terrific & worthwhile blend of entertainment & serious message.
• Very tasty, a peng pot of decadent delight, pardon the pun, but it was music to my ears!
• A truly refreshing way of discussing a hidden political world with the aim of impacting real lives. This should be seen by everyone and I will remember this for a long time.
• Wonderful fusion of styles, ages, people. Musically great. Political messages too!
• The (perhaps unknown) story of disease and the world’s response to it was a springboard for an inspiring and moving set of music and lyrics from an outstanding group of musicians. A wonderful evening in a unique setting.
• Really great energy, informative, great to hear new compositions.
• Vivacious, energising, chaotic, original maintained the GUO spirit! Dance the Dengue!
• It was fantastic, amazing, quality of performance world music at its best, themes that made you look at world events from a different angle.
• Vibrant, engaging, infectious (!) fascinating concept brilliantly interpreted. Visually arresting, exciting performances from musicians and very engaging singers.
• I think it is very creative, and reflects all the different musical styles of the performers and also different instrumental techniques.

Other Zeitgeist

• *A very interesting performance; well done to all
• *A wonderful and unusual evening.
• *They should get you on the radio
• *Made me wish you would tour Europe and perform. It was awesome and inspiring.
• *What a great spirit we have in London. This is multiculturalism at its best.
• *I thought it was a wonderful show which gave me a lot of good feeling.
• *Fantastic. Bring back,
• *Fantastic.
• *Utterly fantastic
• *Absolutely brilliant everyone.
• *The cider was amazing.
• Brilliant
• Made me wish that more funding was made available for projects like this
• Excellent. I would like you to visit Poland.
• Some experiments work and some don't, but that's no reason not to do them. Very brave.
• Very useful and happy event
• Thank you for supporting this event.
• Totally absorbing
• Really great! Loved it.
• First time I've heard Grand Union. A revelation! Fantastic, it's what London is about.
• Joyful, marvellous, Thank you.
• My favourite show by GUO of the last 5 years
• Made me feel very grateful to the Wellcome Trust for funding this event. The world is a better place because of your generosity. Thank you.
• It was a fun evening, but I really wish I had read the programme before the show. I would have got so much more out of it.
• I wish more people could see this. What an amazing exercise in communicating complex messages to diverse audiences.
• Made me feel educated, inspired, moved.
• Thank you for supporting expert mental connections between art and science
• We loved it. We think this is something school children should see. Bravo!
• Fun, but I think it was a bit kitschy.
• Thank you Wellcome Trust. I understand a bit more now.
• Made me think what an excellent and worthwhile project this is, and wish that it gets a wide audience.
• It was an incredible musical concert. Keep up the good work.
• Very innovative approach which, to my mind, offers a genuinely effective approach for these issues.
• This was amazing. Congratulations to the musicians and the writer. I hope there will be many more performances.
• Made me feel hope for the future bringing people together from all nations to find solutions together to global problems.
• Made me feel #loveforRichardScott
• Made me feel united as a human among humans, colours, sounds, moved. Dancing vibration hitting our conscious being on a level beyond the mind, celebrating of simple short existence. I felt the smile between the flowing connections of the musicians astounded in themselves.
• Made me feel happy and intrigued.
• Made me feel like I wanted to dance.
• I came today from Germany (Frankfurt) to see the show! THANK YOU!
• First half was uplifting, depressing, made me want to dance and cry! Second half was moving and mellowing. Wonderful evening!
• Brilliant. Fun and thought-provoking.
• It was marvelous. I am 89 on loads of drugs and drink sherry.
• I feel these feedback forms will be difficult to analyse! Apologies. ; - )
• Great concept.
• Contagion was totally contagious
• Made me feel itchy and uplifted
• Best show in a long time.
• Made me feel lively and engaged
• Is anything this contagious?
• Made me feel elated
• Made me think how music can communicate important issues
• Made me wish for a healthy world
• Made me wish the whole world could collaborate so joyfully, at the same time as being on the right side of the debate
• The PTSD song was incredibly powerful … amazing musicians … fantastic music
• Wonderful show, lots of energy and brilliant playing! Can’t wait for more!
• Should go on tour!
• I thought you were all amazingly soulful, beautiful and a delight to take 2 hours to travel to see! Thank you lovely talented people!
• Worth crossing the Atlantic for! (from Canada)
• I have never been disappointed.
• I wanted to dance and cry throughout.
• Wish there could have been more space/opportunity to dance!
• Yummy, scrumptious, spicy, magnificent, orgasmic, PENG!
• Such a beautiful representation of the diverse people of London and the music of the world and the different kinds of music.
• Just brilliant – such talent!
• Blown away!
• Brilliant! The performers clearly love what they are doing.
• Great idea and a fantastic way to bring it all to life!
• Really nice, so powerful.
• Energising. Brought back lots of memories!
• Enjoyable, interesting, food for thought.
• A wonderful gathering of human beings playing together for humanity and love, regardless of what their past is. Beautiful.
• Uplifting, timely, relevant, diverse, fantastic musicians from a variety of backgrounds.
• Beautiful, exceptional – I want everyone I know to see it. It’s important.
• Very informative & impressively executed, complex concept. Such great soloists.
• Great concept, fantastically performed.
• I like the idea of different genres put together.
• Always original & fascinating & inspiring.
• Cool, fun, talented musicians, great atmosphere, brilliant energy.
• I thought it was everything I love! You all transported me all over the world and made me care more!
• Brilliant!! I live in Paris. Paris and London are the cities most hit by terrorism at the moment. Seeing musicians from all gender/age/ religious/ethnic backgrounds making wonderful music.
• Pure joy! I cannot thank you enough. Exactly what we need in times like these. Thank you!