Commemorating the Aberfan and Pike River mining disasters via a concert of Sir Karl Jenkins' latest composition

By Cantata Memoria

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This campaign was successful and closed on 01/08/2017 at 10:00 PM.

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Commemorating The Aberfan And Pike River Mining Disasters Via A Concert Of Sir Karl Jenkins' Latest Composition

Project 2017-07-03 15:40:51 +1200

Mass concert in MFC

 

WITH YOUR HELP WE CAN RAISE $15,000 IN THREE WEEKS! 

We wish to crowdfund a very special concert we are bringing to Wellington on Labour Day, 23rd October, this year: The New Zealand premiere of Cantata Memoria: For the Children of Aberfan.

 

The concert is a performance of the latest composition of Sir Karl Jenkins, the world’s most performed contemporary choral composer. The work was written to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the mining disaster in Aberfan, Wales, where 116 children and 28 adults perished. The world premiere was performed in Cardiff in October 2016.

 

Aberfan and Pike River Disasters

 

 

Although Cantata Memoria: For the Children of Aberfan was written to commemorate a specific tragedy - the Aberfan mine disaster in Wales - it also relates to other heartbreaking tragedies. For example, our own Pike River Mine Disaster, where 29 people lost their lives. Both disasters were preventable, and both disasters left communities devastated by loss, grief, and anger. Family members from Pike River victims will attend the concert and see it as a fitting way to pay tribute to those lost.

 

The exquisite music communicates the journey from loss, despair, and darkness to light.

 

Listen here to the beautiful music for yourself - in a Youtube video of the recording Lament for the Valley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xGiww9TyD4

Who is performing the concert?

 

The concert will be performed by the Wellington Youth Orchestra (WYO), with an amazing line-up of professional soloists in association with combined adult and children’s choirs from Wellington, around New Zealand and overseas (over 300 performers). It will be conducted by internationally acclaimed New York-based conductor Dr. Jonathan Griffith, founder and Principal Conductor of Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY). The Wellington Youth Orchestra will also play music on its own, under their music director Simon Brew.

The concert will be performed in the Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington. This venue has been chosen because it is the only one in Wellington with enough space to accommodate all  performers. It is also the only venue with adequate facilities to screen a video that was created specifically to accompany this work, and includes archive footage from BBC Wales.

 

Why is this concert special?

Sir Karl Jenkins 

Sir Karl Jenkins’ music is loved around the world because the music symbolises love, loss, grief, anger and righteous indignation – feelings we can all understand and to which we can all relate. The understanding of the music will be enhanced by using state of the art video to show a background video during the concert. As mentioned above, this video was specifically created for this work, and includes archive footage from BBC Wales.

The concert is primarily about the loss of children, with children aptly playing a pivotal role. A large part of the score is sung by Wellington Young Voices and other youth choirs. Young people, will of course also be performing in the Wellington Youth Orchestra. This performance will be of national significance, as choristers from all over the country and from overseas will be taking part.

 

Dr. Jonathan Griffith

 

 

Cantata Memoria: For the Children of Aberfan will be conducted by the American conductor Dr Jonathan Griffith. Jonathan will rehearse the orchestra and choirs in the weekend leading up to the event and thus allows many New Zealanders to draw on international expertise. 

Dr Griffith is an acclaimed educator and conductor, who won the 2014 and 2015 American Prize in Conducting. Dr Griffith’s Carnegie Hall conducting debut was in 1989. Since then, he has conducted over 100 performances at Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Centre, two of the world’s most prestigious concert venues.

 

Why do we raise funds through PledgeMe?

 

 

Staging a production of this magnitude requires not only considerable time but also a considerable sum of money to cover costs.

 

We are very lucky to have many volunteers spending countless hours to help organise this event, and without their valuable contribution the concert would never take place. But there are still many things to pay for, resulting in a budget close to $90,000:

 

·         Hiring the costly Michael Fowler Centre, the only venue in Wellington with a stage that is spacious enough for this concert with about 300 performers,

 

·         Securing the rights to a licence - after many weeks of negotiations - for a video to show during the concert that was specifically created for this work and includes archive footage from BBC Wales,

 

·         Augmenting the orchestra with extra players - many extra players were once members of the Youth Orchestra themselves,

 

·         Engaging the contribution of an amazing line-up of professional soloists (Harp, Violin, Euphonium, Cello, Soprano, Baritone) to ensure we do justice to this magnificent work,

 

·         Preparing the orchestra and the choirs. This includes hiring rehearsal spaces, engaging accompanists and acquiring sheet music from overseas,

 

·         Paying royalties to the composer,

 

·         Transportation cost for musical instruments. Instruments will need to be transported from one place to another by professional transport companies,

 

·         Hiring door-staff, staging-technicians and other support staff for the performance,

 

·         Engaging internationally acclaimed top musical educator and conductor, Jonathan Griffith, to rehearse the musicians and to conduct the concert. We are very lucky to have Jonathan who graciously offered his services at very low costs. However, we need to pay for his flight, accommodation and other costs.

 

We are grateful for funding from Wellington City Council and we have applied for additional funding. However, we ask the PledgeMe community to raise enough funds to pay for the engagement of the international conductor Jonathan Griffith who will travel from the USA to spend time in New Zealand to conduct this magnificent concert and event.

 

We have set the PledgeMe target at $15,000 and ask you to pledge enough to reach this target and make sure that we can ”BRING CARNEGIE HALL TO WELLINGTON”. Your donation is appreciated and the rewards allow you to witness this event that you helped make possible.

 

If we raise more than the target, we will spend the surplus on making the performance even more spectacular by having a much bigger screen and higher calibre equipment for the video. 

 

We hope to see you all in the Michael Fowler Centre on Labour Day!

 

The Cantata Memoria Project Team

 

 

 

Comments

Updates 2

Less than a week to go!

26/07/2017 at 7:53 AM

We have less than a week to go to reach our target. Please look at the website http://cantatamemoriawellington.simplesite.com/435749274 to see that we need your help to get there. For the first time we have slipped slightly behind the target line. But with so many more people aware of the project, it is possible to reach our target on time.

 

Also look out for a PledgeMe blog, to be published soon.

We will include two collector's items as new rewards: An intimate lunch on Friday 20 October with Maestrao Griffith and a signed photograph with him in the Michael Fowler Centre to be taken on Monday 23 October in the morning during the dress rehearsal. BOTH NEW REWARDS HAVE A LIMITED availability, so be quick and remember: the minimum pledge to get the reward is just that: A minimum. If you pay for instance more for the photo, you can also be listed as bronze, silver, gold, platinum of diamond donor.

Let's get to the target on time!

How are we doing?

11/07/2017 at 4:57 PM

We have set a high target in a short period of time but we CAN do it if we all work together to "BRINGING CARNEGIE HALL TO WELLINGTON".

We will update you on our Web Site 

http://cantatamemoriawellington.simplesite.com/

 

    Pledgers 64

    Cantata Memoria
    01/08/2017 at 9:44pm

    "Thank you all for your enormous generosity. It would be a shame to let the ship sink with the harbour in view!"

    Shaun Workman
    01/08/2017 at 7:46pm
    Anonymous pledger
    01/08/2017 at 6:29pm
    Rosemary Shaw
    01/08/2017 at 4:37pm

    "I hope it will be a very successful concert since Wim and the volunteers are worked so hard. "

    Ruth Seeney
    01/08/2017 at 12:53pm
    Anonymous pledger
    01/08/2017 at 11:55am
    Anonymous pledger
    01/08/2017 at 7:05am

    "Good luck!"

    Anonymous pledger
    01/08/2017 at 7:04am

    "Good luck!"

    Jill Seeney
    31/07/2017 at 4:32pm
    Tanja Maya Rodingen
    31/07/2017 at 1:46pm

    "Music gives wings to my soul. May it too uplift yours."

    Barbara Vine
    31/07/2017 at 1:43pm
    Anonymous pledger
    31/07/2017 at 11:27am

    "Singing forever"

    Cantata Memoria
    31/07/2017 at 11:02am

    "Pledged on behalf of Lyndal Howley. Welcome as a diamond donor, Lyndal!!"

    Anonymous pledger
    31/07/2017 at 10:53am
    Christine Argyle
    31/07/2017 at 10:48am
    Anonymous pledger
    31/07/2017 at 9:50am
    Toni Wilson
    31/07/2017 at 9:30am

    "Looking forward to being part of this exciting project"

    Anonymous pledger
    31/07/2017 at 9:30am
    Tom Gott
    31/07/2017 at 8:18am
    Claudia Morgan
    30/07/2017 at 5:20pm
    Anonymous pledger
    29/07/2017 at 10:59pm
    Helen Borcovsky
    29/07/2017 at 11:47am

    "G&H BORCOVSKY"

    Kasia Gil
    29/07/2017 at 10:24am
    Shaun Workman
    29/07/2017 at 10:07am
    Cantata Memoria
    28/07/2017 at 8:44pm

    "This amount is pledged on behalf of Noelene Ford. Thank you so much Noelene!"

    Cantata Memoria
    28/07/2017 at 7:56pm

    "Pledge received in bank account by unknown person"

    Anonymous pledger
    27/07/2017 at 3:24pm

    "Good Luck!"

    Anonymous pledger
    26/07/2017 at 9:46pm

    "Good luck!"

    Martina Schneider-Leisser
    26/07/2017 at 9:04pm
    Inga Lane
    26/07/2017 at 2:25pm

    Followers 1

    Followers of Commemorating the Aberfan and Pike River mining disasters via a concert of Sir Karl Jenkins' latest composition

    Commemorating The Aberfan And Pike River Mining Disasters Via A Concert Of Sir Karl Jenkins' Latest Composition

    Project 2017-07-03 15:40:51 +1200

    Mass concert in MFC

     

    WITH YOUR HELP WE CAN RAISE $15,000 IN THREE WEEKS! 

    We wish to crowdfund a very special concert we are bringing to Wellington on Labour Day, 23rd October, this year: The New Zealand premiere of Cantata Memoria: For the Children of Aberfan.

     

    The concert is a performance of the latest composition of Sir Karl Jenkins, the world’s most performed contemporary choral composer. The work was written to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the mining disaster in Aberfan, Wales, where 116 children and 28 adults perished. The world premiere was performed in Cardiff in October 2016.

     

    Aberfan and Pike River Disasters

     

     

    Although Cantata Memoria: For the Children of Aberfan was written to commemorate a specific tragedy - the Aberfan mine disaster in Wales - it also relates to other heartbreaking tragedies. For example, our own Pike River Mine Disaster, where 29 people lost their lives. Both disasters were preventable, and both disasters left communities devastated by loss, grief, and anger. Family members from Pike River victims will attend the concert and see it as a fitting way to pay tribute to those lost.

     

    The exquisite music communicates the journey from loss, despair, and darkness to light.

     

    Listen here to the beautiful music for yourself - in a Youtube video of the recording Lament for the Valley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xGiww9TyD4

    Who is performing the concert?

     

    The concert will be performed by the Wellington Youth Orchestra (WYO), with an amazing line-up of professional soloists in association with combined adult and children’s choirs from Wellington, around New Zealand and overseas (over 300 performers). It will be conducted by internationally acclaimed New York-based conductor Dr. Jonathan Griffith, founder and Principal Conductor of Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY). The Wellington Youth Orchestra will also play music on its own, under their music director Simon Brew.

    The concert will be performed in the Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington. This venue has been chosen because it is the only one in Wellington with enough space to accommodate all  performers. It is also the only venue with adequate facilities to screen a video that was created specifically to accompany this work, and includes archive footage from BBC Wales.

     

    Why is this concert special?

    Sir Karl Jenkins 

    Sir Karl Jenkins’ music is loved around the world because the music symbolises love, loss, grief, anger and righteous indignation – feelings we can all understand and to which we can all relate. The understanding of the music will be enhanced by using state of the art video to show a background video during the concert. As mentioned above, this video was specifically created for this work, and includes archive footage from BBC Wales.

    The concert is primarily about the loss of children, with children aptly playing a pivotal role. A large part of the score is sung by Wellington Young Voices and other youth choirs. Young people, will of course also be performing in the Wellington Youth Orchestra. This performance will be of national significance, as choristers from all over the country and from overseas will be taking part.

     

    Dr. Jonathan Griffith

     

     

    Cantata Memoria: For the Children of Aberfan will be conducted by the American conductor Dr Jonathan Griffith. Jonathan will rehearse the orchestra and choirs in the weekend leading up to the event and thus allows many New Zealanders to draw on international expertise. 

    Dr Griffith is an acclaimed educator and conductor, who won the 2014 and 2015 American Prize in Conducting. Dr Griffith’s Carnegie Hall conducting debut was in 1989. Since then, he has conducted over 100 performances at Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Centre, two of the world’s most prestigious concert venues.

     

    Why do we raise funds through PledgeMe?

     

     

    Staging a production of this magnitude requires not only considerable time but also a considerable sum of money to cover costs.

     

    We are very lucky to have many volunteers spending countless hours to help organise this event, and without their valuable contribution the concert would never take place. But there are still many things to pay for, resulting in a budget close to $90,000:

     

    ·         Hiring the costly Michael Fowler Centre, the only venue in Wellington with a stage that is spacious enough for this concert with about 300 performers,

     

    ·         Securing the rights to a licence - after many weeks of negotiations - for a video to show during the concert that was specifically created for this work and includes archive footage from BBC Wales,

     

    ·         Augmenting the orchestra with extra players - many extra players were once members of the Youth Orchestra themselves,

     

    ·         Engaging the contribution of an amazing line-up of professional soloists (Harp, Violin, Euphonium, Cello, Soprano, Baritone) to ensure we do justice to this magnificent work,

     

    ·         Preparing the orchestra and the choirs. This includes hiring rehearsal spaces, engaging accompanists and acquiring sheet music from overseas,

     

    ·         Paying royalties to the composer,

     

    ·         Transportation cost for musical instruments. Instruments will need to be transported from one place to another by professional transport companies,

     

    ·         Hiring door-staff, staging-technicians and other support staff for the performance,

     

    ·         Engaging internationally acclaimed top musical educator and conductor, Jonathan Griffith, to rehearse the musicians and to conduct the concert. We are very lucky to have Jonathan who graciously offered his services at very low costs. However, we need to pay for his flight, accommodation and other costs.

     

    We are grateful for funding from Wellington City Council and we have applied for additional funding. However, we ask the PledgeMe community to raise enough funds to pay for the engagement of the international conductor Jonathan Griffith who will travel from the USA to spend time in New Zealand to conduct this magnificent concert and event.

     

    We have set the PledgeMe target at $15,000 and ask you to pledge enough to reach this target and make sure that we can ”BRING CARNEGIE HALL TO WELLINGTON”. Your donation is appreciated and the rewards allow you to witness this event that you helped make possible.

     

    If we raise more than the target, we will spend the surplus on making the performance even more spectacular by having a much bigger screen and higher calibre equipment for the video. 

     

    We hope to see you all in the Michael Fowler Centre on Labour Day!

     

    The Cantata Memoria Project Team

     

     

     

    Comments

    Less than a week to go!

    26/07/2017 at 7:53 AM

    We have less than a week to go to reach our target. Please look at the website http://cantatamemoriawellington.simplesite.com/435749274 to see that we need your help to get there. For the first time we have slipped slightly behind the target line. But with so many more people aware of the project, it is possible to reach our target on time.

     

    Also look out for a PledgeMe blog, to be published soon.

    We will include two collector's items as new rewards: An intimate lunch on Friday 20 October with Maestrao Griffith and a signed photograph with him in the Michael Fowler Centre to be taken on Monday 23 October in the morning during the dress rehearsal. BOTH NEW REWARDS HAVE A LIMITED availability, so be quick and remember: the minimum pledge to get the reward is just that: A minimum. If you pay for instance more for the photo, you can also be listed as bronze, silver, gold, platinum of diamond donor.

    Let's get to the target on time!

    How are we doing?

    11/07/2017 at 4:57 PM

    We have set a high target in a short period of time but we CAN do it if we all work together to "BRINGING CARNEGIE HALL TO WELLINGTON".

    We will update you on our Web Site 

    http://cantatamemoriawellington.simplesite.com/

     

      Cantata Memoria
      01/08/2017 at 9:44pm

      "Thank you all for your enormous generosity. It would be a shame to let the ship sink with the harbour in view!"

      Shaun Workman
      01/08/2017 at 7:46pm
      Anonymous pledger
      01/08/2017 at 6:29pm
      Rosemary Shaw
      01/08/2017 at 4:37pm

      "I hope it will be a very successful concert since Wim and the volunteers are worked so hard. "

      Ruth Seeney
      01/08/2017 at 12:53pm
      Anonymous pledger
      01/08/2017 at 11:55am
      Anonymous pledger
      01/08/2017 at 7:05am

      "Good luck!"

      Anonymous pledger
      01/08/2017 at 7:04am

      "Good luck!"

      Jill Seeney
      31/07/2017 at 4:32pm
      Tanja Maya Rodingen
      31/07/2017 at 1:46pm

      "Music gives wings to my soul. May it too uplift yours."

      Barbara Vine
      31/07/2017 at 1:43pm
      Anonymous pledger
      31/07/2017 at 11:27am

      "Singing forever"

      Cantata Memoria
      31/07/2017 at 11:02am

      "Pledged on behalf of Lyndal Howley. Welcome as a diamond donor, Lyndal!!"

      Anonymous pledger
      31/07/2017 at 10:53am
      Christine Argyle
      31/07/2017 at 10:48am
      Anonymous pledger
      31/07/2017 at 9:50am
      Toni Wilson
      31/07/2017 at 9:30am

      "Looking forward to being part of this exciting project"

      Anonymous pledger
      31/07/2017 at 9:30am
      Tom Gott
      31/07/2017 at 8:18am
      Claudia Morgan
      30/07/2017 at 5:20pm
      Anonymous pledger
      29/07/2017 at 10:59pm
      Helen Borcovsky
      29/07/2017 at 11:47am

      "G&H BORCOVSKY"

      Kasia Gil
      29/07/2017 at 10:24am
      Shaun Workman
      29/07/2017 at 10:07am
      Cantata Memoria
      28/07/2017 at 8:44pm

      "This amount is pledged on behalf of Noelene Ford. Thank you so much Noelene!"

      Cantata Memoria
      28/07/2017 at 7:56pm

      "Pledge received in bank account by unknown person"

      Anonymous pledger
      27/07/2017 at 3:24pm

      "Good Luck!"

      Anonymous pledger
      26/07/2017 at 9:46pm

      "Good luck!"

      Martina Schneider-Leisser
      26/07/2017 at 9:04pm
      Inga Lane
      26/07/2017 at 2:25pm

      Followers of Commemorating the Aberfan and Pike River mining disasters via a concert of Sir Karl Jenkins' latest composition

      This campaign was successful and got its funding on 01/08/2017 at 10:00 PM.