An emotional concert dedicated to the memory of a singer's husband raised £1,800 for a good cause.
The Baroque Masterworks concert was given by Dorchester-based the Occasional Singers at St Mary’s Church in the county town and raised funds for Alzheimer’s Research UK.
It was partly inspired by the loss of the husband of one of their members. Susan Adams’ husband Graham died of early onset dementia, and was himself a great supporter of the choir.
Susan said: “Graham would have loved the music at the concert and would have been delighted that we performed for such an important cause.
"We were very pleased with the results, both the performance and the money raised for ARUK."
Susan’s grandmother, mother-in-law, father and mother all lived with various types of dementia – as well as Graham, so she has a particular affinity with the cause.
As Graham was renowned for wearing flamboyant socks at concerts, Susan had a pair with her at the event.
Music lovers turned out en masse for the concert, which featured short Baroque masterworks for voices, oboe and strings and saw the singers joined by the Soprano Alison Rose and the Tenor Lawrence Thackeray.
The performance saw them run the gamut of emotions from the gentle romantic passion of Handel’s duet As Steals the Morn to the high drama of Vivaldi’s Magnificat.
The choir, which always raises money for various causes at its concerts, was keen to support research into dementia as one in three people over 65 in the UK will die with some form of the condition.
James Warren, regional fundraising officer at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “We’re so grateful to Susan and all of The Occasional Singers for supporting Alzheimer’s Research UK. Dementia affects a significant proportion of the population – more than half of UK adults know someone who has been diagnosed with dementia. Fantastic fundraising efforts like this will help us to make life-changing research breakthroughs for people with dementia.”
For further information about Alzheimer’s Research UK, or to find out more about fundraising for the charity, call 0300 111 5555 or visit www.alzheimersresearchuk.org
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