An Irish amateur orchestra is set to realise their dream of performing on the stage of the National Concert Hall in Dublin when they play a specially composed piece of music commemorating the Helen Blake maritime tragedy where nine lifeboat crew lost their lives off the Irish coast. The Wexford Sinfonia will play the ‘Heroes of the Helen Blake’ Suite on the main stage this May to raise funds for the RNLI, the charity that saves lives at sea.
Volunteer lifeboat crewmember and orchestra Chairman Keith Miller approached Wexford composer Liam Bates a few years ago to commemorate the incredible events during three days in 1914 where nine lifeboat volunteers lost their lives and ten sailors were saved when the Mexico struck rocks. After working with the Sinfonia's musicians and researching the history of the shipwreck and tragic rescue, Liam wrote a five-part suite: ‘Heroes of The Helen Blake’. It was premiered in front of a sell-out crowd at the Wexford County Hall in 2014 and the dream of the orchestra has been to bring it to the National Concert Hall in Dublin. Now two years later it is finally happening and the musicians hope it will be a sell-out.
The orchestra was founded in 1993 by a group of music teachers and is the only Irish amateur symphony orchestra based in a county town. The musicians range in age from 14 to 80 and come from all walks of life. They share a common interest of performing music together to the highest possible standard.
To promote the upcoming concert the orchestra wanted to do something different and turned to their clarinettist Alan Mahon to take a photograph with a difference that would reflect all the emotions behind the piece of music. Pictured are members of the Wexford Sinfonia with their instruments alongside RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew standing looking out to sea. All profits from the concert will go to the work of the RNLI in Ireland, saving lives at sea.
Commenting on the event RNLI crewmember and orchestra Chairman Keith Miller said, ‘We have waited two long years to bring this incredible piece of music to a larger audience. The National Concert Hall is the perfect venue for it and we are very excited to finally play it here. It was also very appropriate that we do it on Mayday which is the RNLI’s annual fundraising appeal day. ‘
‘Nine lifeboat crew lost their lives that day but ten shipwrecked sailors were brought home safe. As a lifeboat man and a musician I feel we should acknowledge these events in our history. There are many descendants of the lifeboat crew from that time living and volunteering on RNLI lifeboats today who feel tremendous pride in the achievements of their ancestors. We would love to share this story with a wider audience and we hope that people will join us for what promises to be a great afternoon of music and the maritime.’
Heroes of the Helen Blake will be performed in the main auditorium of the National Concert Hall on Sunday 1 May at 3pm. Tickets are priced at €20 (students €15) with funds raised going to the RNLI. Tickets can be purchased at the National Concert Hall Box Office or by booking online at www.nch.ie