Students commemorate Titanic sinking

STUDENTS from the University of Chichester Music Academy (UCMA) are raising money for impoverished seafarers at a concert on Sunday April 29 in Pulborough to commemorate the loss of the Titanic.

‘The Wreck of the Titanic Concert’, which will take place at Windlesham House School, with the West Sussex Gifted and Talented String Academy, the Charterhouse Orchestra, Shoreham Singers-by-Sea, William Penn Primary School and members of West Sussex Music Service, is expected to attract 500 people.

Based in Chichester, the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society supports retired and impoverished seafarers and made regular and one-off grants in 2,644 cases amounting to over £1.5 million last year.

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The performances, part of the Shipley Arts Festival, will feature David Bedford’s composition for youth ensembles,

The Wreck of the Titanic, which was composed for Liverpool Music Service as a way of bringing young musicians of all ages and abilities together to create a large-scale commemoration of the tragedy which took place 100 years ago.

The concert will also include Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture and Vaughn-Williams ever popular The Lark Ascending.

Dr Adam Swayne, Senior Lecturer in Music at UCMA which is aimed at young people aged 8–18, made the decision to support the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society.

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“We are a university situated by the coast and so we are all too aware of the dangers of the sea. Given the subject matter of these concerts, we felt the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society would be a worthwhile cause to support. Fundraising for the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society was also a personal decision, as I was brought up on cruise ships myself, my parents both worked on the P&O Canberra liner before it was commissioned for the Falklands conflict in 1982, so I have firsthand experience of both the entertainment and military side of cruise ships.”

Chief Executive of the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society, Malcolm Williams, said: “The Society handled 729 new applications for assistance last year which only goes to show help for the often vulnerable retired seafaring community is still very much needed. It is therefore fantastic to receive support from the University of Chichester Music Academy to allow us to continue providing financial assistance to seafarers and their families across the whole of the UK.”

As well as providing grants, the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society also supplies household items such as washing machines or disabled adaptations in times of need.

Tickets for the concert are available from The Capitol Theatre Horsham, North Street Horsham, West Sussex County RH12 1RG. Tel: 01403 750220 www.thecapitolhorsham.com

For more information about the work of the Society visit www.shipwreckedmariners.org.uk or call 01243 789329

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