Downshire Brass took its first steps into the world of live, online broadcasting on the weekend with their concert in support of the Northern Ireland Hospice.
Target surpassed
It was the culmination of 10 weeks of concerted activity during which they had also produced a series of 40-minute weekly online concerts for band members and their families.
The finale which featured Besson euph star David Childs and Frank Renton has already been enjoyed on repeat thousands of times and has helped the band more than meet its £1,500 fundraising target for the Hospice.
David gave stunning performances of 'Carnival of Venice' and 'Hot Canary', as well as a moving rendition of 'Benedictus' which was realised remotely with Downshire during recent weeks.
Other featured music on the broadcast included John Ireland's 'Love Unknown', and a full-on 'Sweet Caroline' which included vocal contributions from members of the public!
With so many banding events cancelled and in turmoil, we wanted to encourage the talents and creativity of our members, and to find ways of sustaining their playing standards and performing abilitiesMD, Michael Alcorn
Love cannot fail
Band member Hannah Calderwood also performed 'Love Cannot Fail' — an appropriate piece which was featured at her socially-distanced wedding ceremony the previous week, whilst Gary Dodsworth's sensitive performance of Peter Graham's 'The Holy Well' was also featured.
Looking back on the successful initiative, MD Michael Alcorn, told 4BR: "With so many banding events cancelled and in turmoil, we wanted to encourage the talents and creativity of our members, and to find ways of sustaining their playing standards and performing abilities.
We've all been turning to new platforms for communication — creating socially distanced performances, experimenting with multitracking, performing online solos and duets, learning new skills in audio and video editing, and shifting our music-making from face-to-face to online."
Full programme:
The full programme is available on the following YouTube link: https://youtu.be/PLhZ1u0lJdU
Contributions can still be made to the Hospice campaign at the following Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Downshire-brass
