Video: Born to Uke debuts with the mighty Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra
By Kevin Coughlin
If the New Zealand Tourism Bureau ever needs ambassadors, the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra is an obvious choice.
These curiously clad ukulele evangelists are so nice that they welcomed everyone to Morristown about 20 times on Thursday–and it’s our country.
Their Kiwi courtesy even extended beyond the paying customers at the Mayo Performing Arts Center to a hastily assembled bunch of wannabes ukesters.
How hasty, you ask? So hasty that we chose our collective name, Born to Uke, two minutes before taking the stage, where we had been invited–graciously, of course–by the Wellies.
Our new best friends from Down Under even presided over the christening, in the wings of the theater.
The orchestra made us feel right at home during the afternoon sound check, too. Co-founder Age Pryor and front man Andy Morley-Hall made a few suggestions about projecting our vocals, and other members of the eight-piece band offered encouragement from the front row.
Video: ‘Born to Uke’ sound check with the Wellies
Our crew was recruited by Mendham guitar teacher Sheri Alexander, who did an admirable job whipping us into shape with just a handful of rehearsals. Some of the recruits were new to the ukulele; they tackled the challenge with gusto.
Born to Uke consisted of some of Alexander’s students from Gill St. Bernard’s School and West Morris Mendham High School; a member of The Dirty Blondes rock band; three staffers from MPAC (“After nine years here, I’m on stage!” exclaimed House Manager Erin Pach); and three members, including yours truly, of the Uke-A-Likes, from last month’s Morristown ONSTAGE contest.
Samantha Alexander, a 17-year-old who sings with MPAC’s Performing Arts Company, ignored a nasty cold to give lively performances on lead vocals–in a pre-show mini-concert outside the theater, and onstage for our featured number, Jessie J’s Price Tag.
“I think it turned out very well,” the singer said. “Everyone really had a sense of teamwork.”
“I didn’t expect such a big sound from such tiny instruments,” added Paul Kruger, a senior at Gill St. Bernard’s who is a gifted guitarist.
The Wellies, whose wardrobe looks like it fell off a Ringling Brothers bus, gave inspired, multi-layered treatments of tunes one generally would not associate with the instrument of Don Ho and Tiny Tim.
They romped through the Stones’ Honky Tonk Women and Thin Lizzy’s The Boys are Back in Town, and gave impassioned renditions of Dolly Parton’s Jolene and Bonnie Tyler’s It’s a Heartache. They also dusted off an early Beatles chestnut, In Spite of All the Danger, and dedicated it to the recently departed George Martin, legendary producer of the Fab Four.
My only criticism, really, is that the Wellies’ Bek Coogan mistook my genuine imitation George Washington tri-corner for headgear of “the pirate, Captain Cook.”
We’ll forgive that; Bek’s not from around here.
As Sheri Alexander observed, “The ukulele brings out the best in people.”
Which may be the problem. If the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra keeps winning converts, we may have to discover a new “cool” instrument.
Anyone up for the Morristown Theremin Jam?
