Wotton and District Silver Band and Round The Edge Community Choir will be performing at Renishaw’s Innovation Centre near Kingswood, Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire on Saturday, April 26 at 2.30pm.
The concert will be live-streamed, with all proceeds going to three UK ME charities – including ME Research UK.
Performers hope to show support to those affected by the debilitating illness. Ken, chair of the band and flugelhorn player, said: “We didn’t want housebound people with severe ME, like my wife Helen, to miss out altogether on the concert, so we decided to live-stream it to enable watching from home.”
Helen and Ken’s lives changed five years ago when Helen, who previously sang with the choir, was left housebound with long Covid and was subsequently diagnosed with M.E. Ken became her carer.
The concert will feature a varied programme, with the band playing music from The Beatles, Karl Jenkins, The Jungle Book, and The Sound of Music. The choir will perform a variety of songs, including Moon River, a song that holds special significance for Ken and Helen, as it was the first song they sang as choir members 15 years ago.
Ken said: “We were wondering what we could do to raise awareness of M.E. and came up with this idea for a concert, which would also go out online. The band and the choir generously agreed immediately.”
The event will be live-streamed with the help of Renishaw volunteers, who will be using their equipment, which is typically used for webinars and other communications.
Proceeds from the event will benefit the ME Association, Smile for ME, and ME Research UK.
Tickets for the concert are now on sale, priced at £5 each for in-person attendance. Those watching the live stream are invited to donate any amount.
Tickets can be purchased via the Wotton Silver Band website.
