Guildhall Session Orchestra presents Vangelis: 'Albedo 0.39'

Celebrate 50 years of award-winning, Greek composer Vangelis’ groundbreaking, cosmic 1976 sophomore album, Albedo 0.39, in this special performance of exciting orchestral treatments, performed by Guildhall Session Orchestra and directed by Mike Roberts. 

Academy Award Winner, Evángelos Odysséas Papathanassíou (Vangelis), is widely regarded as one of the most influential and important figures in the history of electronic music. He first gained attention as a Greek pop star in the group Aphrodite's Child, but became widely known for his Oscar-winning composition for Chariots of Fire (1981) and Ridley Scott’s sci-fi masterpiece Blade Runner (1982). 

As a musician who never trained and actively avoided learning how to read or write music, he signed with RCA and released several albums, including his landmark record and his first UK top 20 title, Albedo 0.39 (1976). The album is a breathtaking, electronic avant-garde work that heavily features experimental synthesiser and keyboard, with jazz-infused and assorted rhythms for a mesmerising voyage to outer space.  

In 1976, the Earth's albedo value (a measure of reflectivity) was measured at 0.39 (on a scale of 0 to 1). It now has a measure of around 3.0, which dramatically highlights the decline of our planet's reflective power as a result of climate change over the past 50 years.

On stage will be the impressive Guildhall Session Orchestra, a dynamic professional ensemble of talented Guildhall School alumni making waves across the music world, directed by Mike Roberts.