Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain fuses joy, musical expertise and a whole gang of ukes in unique performance style

from CU Presents -- Spring 2023

Alumna builds career on multifaceted CU Boulder experience

By Adam Goldstein

ranging from ABBA to ZZ Top, and from “Tchaikovsky to the Beverly Hillbillies” for Boulder audiences. They’ve also offered mass audience participation, hosting a ukulele playalong for the crowds. Their flair for theatrics, audience engagement and pure joy is bound to repeat when the orchestra returns to Macky Auditorium on April 18.

This dynamic—a carefree approach combined with wellhoned musical expertise—has remained consistent over the decades of the group’s existence, even as the ensemble has shifted in size and personnel. Each player performs on a uke in a different register (soprano, concert, baritone, bass, etc.)

Seven may seem like a humble number for the title of “orchestra,” but Hinchliffe insists that they earn the status through their dedication to their instruments and the sheer range of their repertoire.

“The idea of an orchestra playing only ukuleles would have seemed amusing in itself in the early days,” he says.

“Currently this is less remarkable, though the orchestra is known as the first group of ‘ukuleleators’ calling itself an orchestra in history.

“We often perform music that plays with the conventions, such as combining several songs simultaneously or changing the genre of the music.

“When the music is played more faithfully to the original styles, the works range from Wagner to Heavy Rock, from Lady Gaga to Otis Redding and from Jug Bands to Billie Eilish,” he adds.