Wizard, I'm an amateur through and through. I'm one of those dudes who end up teaching as a profession and relegating his passions to hobby status, when it should ideally be the other way around, hehe. Seeing the pathetic state of music and performing arts education in the public school system, and the general lack of music appreciation these days (orchestration? What's that?), makes me regret not doing what I love most. Ah, well.
I wouldn't charge a penny because I do this on the side for my own pleasure, but that's also the reason I think you'd best turn to a more timely source as I don't do this full time and don't have the time to render an entire musical in a few weeks with satisfactory results. If you have trouble locating tracks for several songs, then I'd be happy to fill in the gaps. Just let me know.
In the meantime, I can help with some Karaoke tracks I purchased years ago (but have since lost) that are now available online for a small fee. They are probably the same ones you already have, and were produced by a company called Priddis Music. It's only a small selection of some of the best known songs from the show, "How Could I Ever Know," "Hold On," "The Girl I Mean to Be," "Wick," and "Lily's Eyes." You can purchase them here:
http://priddis.sourceaudio.com/#explorer?s=secret%20garden I got my [cassette] copy ages ago and they were impressive back then for how accurate they were to what is heard on the OBC recording. They don't use a real orchestra but their synthetic one sounds better than most. I haven't sampled the tracks currently on offer online, but I'm assuming they're the same ones.
CATSNYrevival, I would call that a company ill-equipped to present a show at all. I believe putting on a show is a fantastic educational opportunity, but not when nobody knows what they're doing. That could only lead to a disastrous and embarrassing situation for all. The kind that finds its way onto YouTube and becomes the laughing stock of the performing arts world!
It's hard to believe that finding a suitable pianist is impossible these days, what with all the starving artists out there in a world that doesn't care where their music comes from or how it's produced; it no longer holds people's fascination. It's all taken for granted and expected to just "be". Sad.
It is a tough situation, not having the proper resources. But that should be a reminder of the unique nature and artistry that goes into live performance and shouldn't be dealt with as an obstacle that people who don't know what they're doing have to find ways to 'overcome.'
Recreation of original John Cameron orchestration to "On My Own" by yours truly. Click player below to hear.
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