Almost £1000 raised for Chestnut Tree House
23 July 2024
We have been proud sponsors of the Festival of Chichester for four years and this year saw even more hands-on involvement from our Founder, Edward Cooke. Edward teamed up with other talented musicians for two highly successful events on this year’s bill.
Raising £1000 for Chestnut Tree House, Sussex’s Children’s hospice
First up was an evening of piano and organ duets, performed by Edward Cooke and his professional-musician brother, Matthew Cooke. The pair curated and performed a varied programme to include Fingal’s Cave overture by Mendelssohn, the Petite Suite by Debussy, the Capriol Suite by Warlock, an organ duet by Chichester composer John Marsh and an engaging suite for piano and organ by Canadian Composer Denis Bédard. The event was held at St Paul’s Church and Parish Centre, and guests were able to enjoy afternoon tea following the concert.
The event was held in support of Chestnut Tree House, Sussex’s children’s hospice, which the firm have supported since our inception. The Cooke brothers were absolutely thrilled to raise almost £1,000 to support the vital work of the Hospice.
Choral Evensong led by Jamie W. Hall
Edward was also delighted to play the organ to accompany local singers, led by Jamie W. Hall, conductor, composer, baritone, and a full time member of the BBC Singers, for a ‘Come and Sing’ Choral Evensong on 14 July.
The event included an afternoon rehearsal to which all local singers were invited, followed by the service of Choral Evensong which began at 6.30pm.
The event was well supported and included music by Stanford, Balfour Gardiner, and one of Jamie W. Hall’s own compositions.
Looking forward to Festival of Chichester 2025
The Festival of Chichester will be back for 2025 and will run from Saturday 14 June to Sunday 20 July. We look forward to enjoying all the Festival has to offer next year and perhaps even taking part again.
For more information in the meantime, please visit the Festival of Chichester website.
