A World of Singing for Stroke

16^th June 2015

A World of Singing for Stroke

A special evening of music has been organised to raise funds for the Stroke Association. Over 150 performers from the City of Bristol choir, Bristol Youth choir and the Royal Mail choir will be singing in a special concert on the 25^th June 2015 at St Georges in Bristol.

The concert will feature a selection of music for all ages; ‘green’ songs, choral masterpieces along with some favourites from film and theatre. The concert is raising money for the Stroke Association as they are Royal Mail’s charity of the year.

• The Royal Mail Choir was formed by Gareth Malone in 2012 for the BBC Two series Sing While You Work, and is made up of postmen and women, delivery office, mail centre staff and managers from the Bristol area. Since its formation the choir has gone from strength to strength, performing across the country and internationally in order to support and promote a various charities.
• Bristol Youth Choir (formerly Bristol Schools Chamber Choirs) is run by Bristol Plays Music, the Arts Council England’s Music Hub for the city of Bristol, a partnership between Bristol Music Trust and Bristol City Council. The Bristol Youth Choir includes choirs for Juniors for children aged from 7 to 11 years, and Seniors for singers aged from 12 to 18 years. The choirs sing a wide range of repertoire from action songs and songs from the shows, to classical works, and take part in three concerts per year.
• City of Bristol Choir was founded in 1991, and appointed David Ogden as Music Director in 2000. Under his direction the choir enjoys a busy schedule of concerts and events. The choir is made up of 90 auditioned adult singers, rehearing regularly throughout the year and giving four or five concerts annually in Bristol and around the South West.

Conductor David Ogden said “We are looking forward to a fantastic evening of song. There are some real treats in store for the audience including some audience participation. On a serious note over 150,000 people have strokes each year and we want to use the concert to raise awareness of this condition. On the evening our audience will have the chance to get their blood pressure checked for free.”

High blood pressure remains the single biggest risk factor for stroke, contributing to over half (54%) of strokes in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Sarah Miller, Area Manager from the Stroke Association said:“High blood pressure is often referred to as the silent killer because it doesn’t present symptoms and many people have no idea their health may be at risk. Events like this concert are important because over 9 million people in the UK are currently registered with high blood pressure but estimates suggest there could be up to almost 7 million people who are currently undiagnosed and at risk.”

Tickets for this amazing event cost £6 for adults and £2 for anyone under 18 yrs old (transaction and postage fees may apply).You can buy them from St Georges box office online www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk or by calling 0845 40 24 001.

To find out more about the Stroke Association you can visit www.stroke.org.uk

Ends

For further information: please contact Cheryl Randeria on 07810 697957

Notes to Editor:

David Ogden

David Ogden is a professional conductor and composer. He conducts Exultate Singers, City of Bristol Choir, the Royal Mail Choir and in his post of Head of the Bristol Choral Centre, he conducts the Bristol Schools Chamber Choirs. He is Director of Music at Holy Trinity Church, Westbury-on-Trym in Bristol. For over 25 years he has worked with numerous professional and amateur groups of all shapes and sizes in many fields of music making, including church music, concerts, musical theatre and opera, community projects, primary and secondary level educational workshops, from small children’s groups to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. In his work with the BBC he has conducted choirs on BBC Radios 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and the World Service, and worked as conductor, arranger and music adviser on BBC TV’s Songs of Praise. He is religious music adviser for the BBC’s hit series Call The Midwife, and worked with the Royal Mail Choir in the BBC Two series The Choir: Sing While You Work. His compositions are published by the RSCM and White Light Publishing, and are performed in schools and churches worldwide.

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