Ready Singer One and Geeky Beats Big Band - Critical Hits
Thursday 25 June 2025
Actors’ Church, Covent Garden
A word of introduction by Peter, Founder/Chair, Geeky Beats
Thank you all for braving the heat to be with us for this wonderful celebration of geeky music.
Geeky Beats Big Band started as a couple of social media posts in the summer of 2024, looking for other nerdy musicians who wanted to play big band arrangements of pop culture hits. Within two weeks we had a full roster - along with a message of support from our Critical Hits collaborators, Ready Singer One!
I am incredibly proud of all our band members - for the music they make, and for the fun and supportive community we’ve all created. I also want to give a special thanks to our conductor Dani for picking up the baton for us last summer, for the amazing musical growth we’ve had since, and for making these shows possible.
Finally, a huge thank you to Elisabeth and all of Ready Singer One for their support and enthusiasm for this collaboration!
We hope you all enjoy listening to it as much as we’ve enjoyed making the music!
And from Elisabeth Swedlund, founder and Musical Director of Ready Singer One
Echoing Peter, we are very grateful that you all have chosen to spend this evening of music with us.
It has been an absolute delight working with Peter and the Geeky Beats team on this project. When starting Ready Singer One, my main aim was to give people the opportunity to bring to life some of their favourite music from their hobbies and downtime. The beauty of singing videogame and film music is in the exploration of so many different musical styles! We are delighted to bring you some Jazzed-up songs through this collaboration which our singers are very excited about. Enjoy!
Concert Programme
Bob-Omb Battlefield - Super Mario 64 - Music by Koji Kondo, Arr. Charlie Rosen
• Still Alive - Portal - Music/Lyrics by Jonathan Coulton, Arr. Charlie Rosen
• Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea - Gake No Ueno Ponyo - Music by Joe Hisaishi, Arr. Nishant Amatya
• Johnny C Bad - Final Fantasy VI - Music by Nobuo Uematsu, Arr. Tyler J. Mire
• All Bets Are Off - Cuphead - Music by Kristofer Maddigan
• Don't Mess With The Devil/Closing Credits - Cuphead - Music by Kristofer Maddigan, Arr. John Herberman
• Delicious Last Course - Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course - Music by Kristofer Maddigan, Arranged by John Herberman, Vocal Arrangement by Elisabeth Swedlund
• A Cruel Angel's Thesis - Neon Genesis Evangelion - Music by Hidetoshi Satō, Lyrics by Neko Oikwaka, Arrangements by Sebastian W and Quynh Lan, Adapted for GBBB x RS1 by Chris Donnelly
• Sonic Boom - Sonic the Hedgehog CD - Music by Spencer Nielsen, Vocal Arrangement by Elisabeth Swedlund, Instrumental Arrangement by Chris Donnelly
• Live Gloriously - Civilization VII - Music by Christopher Tin
INTERVAL
• Five Nights at Freddy's - Five Nights at Freddy's - Music/Lyrics by The Living Tombstone, Arr. Charlie Rosen* Melodies of Life
• Melodies of Life - Final Fantasy IX - Music by Nobuo Uematsu, Arr. Tyler J. Mire
• Mambo de Chocobo - Final Fantasy V - Music by Nobuo Uematsu, Arr. Tyler J. Mire
• Tank! - Cowboy Bebop - Music by Yoko Kanno, Arr. John Wasson
• Rain - Cowboy Bebop - Music by Yoko Kanno, Lyrics by Tim Jensen, Vocal Arrangement by Elisabeth Swedlund
• Snake Eater - Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - Music by Norihiko Hibino, Adapted by Kevin Horner, Vocal Arrangement by Elisabeth Swedlund
• Golden - KPop Demon Hunters - Music/Lyrics by Kim Eun-jae, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo, Teddy Park, Arr. Chris Donnelly
• Gotta Catch 'Em All (Pokémon Theme) - Pokémon Anime - Music/Lyrics by John Siegler and John Loeffler, Transcription by Rainn Music, Adapted by Peter Horner, Vocal Arrangement by Elisabeth Swedlund
• Jump Up, Superstar - Super Mario Odyssey - Music by Naoto Kubo, Lyrics by Nobuyoshi Suzuki, Translation by Rob Tunstall, Transcribed by Brandon Douglas, Vocal Arrangement by Elisabeth Swedlund
Our musicians and team
Elisabeth Swedlund - choir director, Ready Singer One
Peter Horner - Founder/Chair, Geeky Beats Big Band
Geeky Beats Big Band
Alto Saxophone
Carlo Pulvirenti
Max Von Motz
Tenor Saxophone
Andy Berry
Ella Sandin
Jo Orr
Baritone Saxophone
Chris Donnelly
Trumpets
Peter Horner
Rob Kaner
Marcus Body
Deb Browne
Dan Davison
Trombones
Andy Cole
Chris Wong
Jonathan Robson
David Syer
Guitar
Dante Zufolo
Bass
Alessandro Taglione
Piano
Rex Woolf
Drums
Sam Foster
Conductor
Dani Teal
Ready Singer One
Sopranos: Alina Romantsova, Deborah Landes, Emilia Abreu, Emma Dell, Frankie Atherton, Gem Davis, Hannah Bulgin, Harriet Clifford-Varley, Helene Chaumont, Isabel Afolalu, Katherine Dunn, Kathryn Wong, Louise O'Young, Rachel Dowse, Rebecca Emanuel, Sarah Clay,Shreya Ambrose,Zainab Ali
Altos: Abigail See, Aggy Burza, Alexandru Silvasan, Alison Ryan, Bella Watts, Ceri Stock, Clare Jackson ,Helena Lane, Henna Bhatti, Izzy Alexis, Jennifer Bakst, Jessica Munro, Kirsty Blythe, Leah McDowell, Luwei Li, Merlie Anne Sebastian, Nadia Eyimah, Nathalie Sahin, Paulina Morkyte, Rebecca Chircop, Vanessa Boncheva
Tenors: Ben Koh, Chris Podgorney, Franciscus Prins, Fraser Simpson, Gary Tsui, Huw Siddle, Jack Briggs, Jamie Jones, John Farrell, Paul Horgan, Yilin Wei
Basses: Alex Hall, Balazs Szaszak, Callum Palmer, Dan Pope, Demetris Drakos, Henry Crabb, James Cottam, Jeremy Lowe, Lawrence Bishop, Matthew Fitzsimons, Matthew Razzelliot, Nathan Weston, Niels Rupf, Oli May, Ryan Brock, Sam Willis, Thomas Wibberley, Will Steer, Zaheer Rayasat
Thank yous!
Our music would be nothing without the countless members who tirelessly help make these projects happen! Thank you to Chris Donnelly for his work on the musical arrangements, Deb Browne for transporting all the equipment, and everyone else who has helped behind the scenes.
Sing up to the Ready Singer One mailing list below for future concert updates! Follow @readysingerone and @geekybeatsband on instagram :)