Personnel: Skaila Kanga (harp); Emlyn Singleton (violin); Peter Lale (viola); Anthony Pleeth (cello); Karen Jones (flute); Chris Cowie (oboe, horns); Stephen Maw (bassoon); John Barclay, Andrew Crowley (trumpet); Michael Thompson , Richard Berry , Nigel Black, David Pyatt , Richard Watkins , Martin Owen (French horn); Richard Edwards , Andy Wood (tenor trombone); David Stewart , Sarah Williams (bass trombone); Owen Slade (tuba); Stephen Henderson (timpani); Frank Ricotti (percussion).
Recording information: Abbey Road Studios, London; Audible Images Recording Studios, Pittsburgh, PA; East West Studios, Hollywood, CA; LionShare Studios, Los Angeles, CA.
Photographer: Glynis Selina Arban.
Arrangers: Humberto Gatica; William Ross .
Pittsburgh-based prolific 12-year-old vocalist (and classical crossover powerhouse) Jackie Evancho's fourth studio album, the 12-track Songs from the Silver Screen, eschews the usual assortment of carefully timed holiday classics and goose bump-inducing arias for a set of celluloid favorites. Evancho's effortless and expressive voice lends itself well to the project, which offers up renditions of some of Hollywood's most iconic tunes, including "Pure Imagination" (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory), "The Music of the Night" (The Phantom of the Opera), "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (The Lion King), "Some Enchanted Evening (South Pacific), and, of course, "My Heart Will Go On" (Titanic). Arranged by Bill Ross and produced by Ross and longtime David Foster collaborator Humberto Gatica, Songs from the Silver Screen finds Evancho more than up to the task, displaying maturity, poise, and a sincere love for the genre. ~ James Christopher Monger