Charity auction to win chance to conduct orchestra at Royal Albert Hall on Sunday 8th July

July 3, 2012 - PRLog -- On Sunday 8 July, The Really Big Chorus (the UK’s largest choral society) will be performing the world première of Karl Jenkins’ "Gods of Olympus" at the Royal Albert Hall alongside his most iconic work "The Armed Man". Since its foundation in 1974, TRBC has always worked alongside charities and this concert sees a new partnership with the National Autistic Society.  As part of a variety of fundraising initiatives on the day, the Society is holding an auction with lots including the opportunity to conduct Eric Coates’ "Knightsbridge March" (as played in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant) in the second half of the concert.

The March will be heard at the beginning of the evening when the English Festival Orchestra under TRBC Principal Conductor, Brian Kay, play Coates’ "London Suite" in full, giving those interested in bidding the opportunity to hear how it should be done! The concert is being recorded by Abbey Road Live, with CDs being available by the end of the concert, so the winning conductor will be able to replay their five minutes of fame.

A copy of the Gods of Olympus score signed by Jenkins and Kay will also be up for auction along with signed CDs from other artists. The concert will also support the NAS through programme sales, sponsorship, bucket collections and sales of merchandise.

A previous fundraising auction held at a TRBC concert in 2009, when members of the audience bid for the chance to conduct the "Hallelujah Chorus", raised £15,000 for the British Heart Foundation.

Autism affects thousands of families but is still poorly understood, and the NAS aims to educate and inform as well as raise funds. TRBC is proud to be associated with the Society during its 50th anniversary.

Notes for editors

1.   The concert starts at 19h30, Sunday 8 July at the Royal Albert Hall.

2.   The Really Big Chorus is the UK ‘s largest choral society with around 12,000 singing members. It began life in 1974 when Canadian Don Monro, a student at Imperial College, got together with fellow scientists to hire the Royal Albert Hall and fill it with amateur singers for the very first Messiah from Scratch®:  no rehearsal at all for the chorus, just an electrifying, adrenaline-filled performance. Our other RAH concerts in May and July (‘the last night before the Proms ‘) have rehearsals on the day, and TRBC also organises singing breaks to prestige overseas venues, and relaxing choral cruises.

3.   As well as his voice being known to tens of thousands of music-lovers through his many presentations for BBC radio, Brian Kay is conductor of Vaughan Williams ‘ Leith Hill Musical Festival in Surrey, and of the Burford Singers near to his home in the Cotswolds. He was previously chorusmaster of the Huddersfield Choral Society, and conductor of the Cheltenham Bach Choir, and he frequently guest-conducts choirs and orchestras in many parts of the country. Further afield, in New Zealand he has conducted the Orpheus Choir of Wellington and the Auckland Choral Society, and in Sheffield, Massachusetts, the Berkshire Choral Festival. He is a Vice President of the Association of British Choral Directors and of the Royal School of Church Music.

4.   The National Autistic Society is the UK‘s leading charity for people with autism and their families.  Founded in 1962, it continues to spearhead national and international initiatives and provide a strong voice for all people with autism. The NAS provides a wide range of services to help people with autism and Asperger syndrome live their lives with as much independence as possible.

5.   The concert has been awarded the Inspire Mark. The Inspire programme is run by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.  It is an opportunity for everyone to be a part of the London 2012 Games—a broad participation programme spanning sport education, sustainability, volunteering, and business opportunities and culture. New opportunities are being created to inspire young people and the whole of the UK to join in. The Inspire programme has awarded the Inspire Mark to over 1,400 different projects.

http://www.trbc.co.uk