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Bury Bach Choir raise a record sum for the Samaritans

The Bury Bach Choir raised £4,500 for the Samaritans at their successful fundraising concert on 21 October at St Mary’s Church.

An audience of over 500 enjoyed Fauré’s beautiful Requiem and a selection of short pieces including John Tavener’s The Lamb and Song for Athene, Mozart’s Ave Verum and three ethereal Bruckner motets.

2017 is the year of ‘Sing for Samaritans’ as a flagship fundraising campaign. Presenting the cheque, Choir Chair Tess Wright said ‘We enjoyed singing for the Samaritans, who do such great work in the Bury area, and we’re delighted that we raised so much money from ticket sales’.

Samaritans Deputy Directors
Vivian Bewley (2nd from left) and Claire Couché (right)
accepting the cheque from Tess Wright (left) and
Pam Reed (2nd from right) of Bury Bach Choir
Vivian Bewley, the Samaritans’ Regional Fundraiser, said ‘It was a wonderful evening, a lovely way to raise money, and we are so grateful to the Bury Bach Choir. We raised another £800 from the sale of refreshments at the concert, so it was extremely worthwhile’.

The concert was conducted by Philip Reed, with soloists Fae Evelyn (soprano) and Tom Asher (baritone), who performed for no fee, and the accompanist was James Recknell. All profits from the concert were donated to the Samaritans.

Bury St Edmunds Samaritans has been running for over 40 years, providing a day and night telephone and email listening service for the local community and further afield.

The Bury Bach Choir’s next concert is on 16 December at Lavenham Church, where they will sing part of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, joined by the period instruments of the Suffolk Baroque Players and four outstanding soloists: soprano Fae Evelyn, mezzo-soprano Valerie Reid, tenor Anthony Gregory and baritone Tom Asher.

‘The Christmas Oratorio is a joyful and uplifting experience - the perfect way to begin the celebration of Christmas’, said Tess Wright. Tickets are available from the choir's website.



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