The Voices for Hospices Choir is a not for profit company, (No:<a href="tel:09339136">09339136</a>) set up in 2014, to continue the work of the Voices for Hospices movement, started at the Princess Alice Hospice, Esther, Surrey, in 1986, and is eligible for Gift Aid. &nbsp;(EW35408). The original aims of which were to raise awareness and funds for Hospices primarily through singing.John Sutton (the conductor of this concert) and his wife Jenny have been taking part and organising massed Come and Sing concerts since 1986. In fact, they &nbsp;performed in the very first concert! (Jenny singing and John on his double bass) Our performances to date have raised many thousands of pounds for our chosen Hospices. Our last two have been solely for Hampshire Hospices. The concert in 2019, in Winchester Cathedral,( where we were their nominated Charity Concert of 2019)raised over £25,000.John was awarded an MBE in the NY Honours 2023, for his work as Director of Amateur Choirs and Charitable Fundraising for the past 50+years. He was amazed and delighted to have received this honour. John says”Although my name is attached to the honour, it is in recognition of the many who have had the pleasure and privilege of singing, playing and supporting the numerous, wonderful concerts in UK and abroad, and in performances for many and various charities during the past &nbsp;50 years. My heartfelt thanks go to friends past and present who have made it all possible.&nbsp; &nbsp;This year's concert we are supporting eight Hampshire Hospices:-Countess of Brecknock, Andover; Mountbatten Hampshire, West End;Mountbatten, Isle of Wight; Naomi House and Jacksplace, Sutton Scotney; Oakhaven Lymington; Rowans, Porstmouth; St Michael's, Basingstoke; Winchester Hospice. They, as all UK Hospices, rely totally on donations to supply the services so necessary to patients as they face life limiting and end of life issues. These services can be supplied at the Hospices, as day care, or in a patient's own home. In these challenging times, raising these funds (often in excess of £8m each) is proving exceedingly difficult.Tickets for singers and audience alike are £25 each. (It is the aim of VfH Choir that all ticket money and donations on the day go directly to our eight Hampshire Hospices.)All the other necessary costs (orchestra, soloists, venue hire, flyers , posters, sound, lighting, admin etc) are raised by many voluntary VfHChoir activities during the year. These include, Donations, Auctions, Raffles, Bridge Afternoons, Folk Dancing, Coffee Mornings, A Colour and Style Day, Recitals and Concerts.Everything is organised by a very active team (our yellow sashed VfHers!) who freely give of their time, both before concert day, and especially on and during the concert. Our concerts are held in unusual settings where numbers of singers are often greater than those in the audience!Our venues have included such places as Kempton Park Racecourse, Eastleigh Football Club, Romsey Abbey and Winchester Cathedral, and now the beautiful Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, with around 1000 singers and audience.They are hugely enjoyed by audiences and our Hospices. Some of our singers have been singing with us for nearly 50 years!We at VfH Choir wish to give something back for the joy and satisfaction that a good sing can give us! What better place to send our money to, than our Hospices! We look forward to our performance with you and thank you for your generous supportWe show our flyer/poster for the &nbsp;next VfHChoir Concert on 2nd September 2023. (link to two sided flyer, to print off or send to their singing contacts) The emblem of the hospice movement worldwide is the sunflower, and it is fitting that we use this flower, in the mouth of the dove, on our advertising literature, for it is also the National Flower of Ukraine. Our chosen work for the concert is "The Armed Man-A Mass for Peace" which itself is dedicated to the victims of the Kosovo conflict. These symbols of hope, strength, happiness and peace, combined so magically in the masterpiece by Sir Karl Jenkins will inform the centre of our performance.

&nbsp;Voices for Hospices Choir are delighted to announce that after their wonderful concert held at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens on 2nd September 2023, they raised an amazing £26000 for Hampshire’s Hospices.On a lovely sunny and warm day, around 700 singers met in the Gardens for the only rehearsal, for the evening performance of “The Armed Man- A Mass for Peace” by Sir Karl Jenkins.Singers were joined by friends and family for a lively picnic at the top of the performance arena before the concert start at 7.00pm.All were invited to visit our Hospice Village, where all eight of our Hospices had a presence.The CEO of both Mountbatten Hospices, Nigel Hartley, spoke movingly of the need for Hospice care and the necessary preparedness of friends and family, which together with our VfH Choir Chaplain, the Rev Marion Dodd, and a message read out from Sir Karl, combined together to start a moving and exciting concert.&nbsp;John Sutton conducted &nbsp;the VfH Sinfonia, a small group of virtuoso instrumentalists, who accompanied sensitively and with great excitement for the various movements in the work. Together with our four soloists, they all achieved a standard not normally associated with a “Come and Sing” performance.&nbsp;As daylight turned to dusk and then to dark, the singers switched on their mobile phones and torches, which together with the purple up lit trees and bushes made the whole experience magical for all present.&nbsp;“Spine tingling” “Gave me goosebumps” “So moving” “An amazing sing” are just a few comments from the hundreds of emails received by VfH Choir.Thank you all for your presence and contributions to this amazing cause.The official hand-over of the money raised will be at mid-day on the 1st December at the Mountbatten Hants charity chalet at Winchester Christmas Market. Do come and see it, and visit the market as well!&nbsp;VfH ChoirAbout the GardensThe magnificent 180-acre Sir Harold Hillier Gardens is world famous for its arboretum and gardens. Open all year round, the Gardens offer beauty and inspiration throughout the seasons. Outstanding attractions include: the iconic 250m long double summer border, Pond, Bog Garden and one of the largest Winter Gardens in Europe. Established by the distiguished plantsman Sir Harold Hiller in 1953, it is home to 14 National Collections, over 600 Champion Trees and 42,000 plants from temperate regions. It is one the most important modern plant collections in the world. The Gardens were left under the sole trusteeship of Hampshire County Council in 1977. Run as a charity, the Gardens are continually developed to further Sir Harold's Philosohy of horticulture, conservation, education and recreation. There is something different to see in the Gardens every day. Whether it is the changing season or a new exhibition, trail or workshop, there are always things to do for the whole family. Sadly singers won't have the time to visit the gardens for a tour on concert day, unless they arrive in the morning and pay for a day ticket, or return the following morning! But the views from the performing &nbsp;area are stunning! A beautiful background for our picnics.

"The Armed Man – A Mass for Peace" by Sir Karl Jenkins

VfH Choir &nbsp;is continually &nbsp; raising money for Hampshire Hospices.&nbsp;Since the amazing “The Armed Man” in Sir Harold Hillier Garden &nbsp;we &nbsp;had a &nbsp;memorable Christmas Carol Service with Naomi House and Jacksplace Hospice, in the beautiful venue of Winchester College Chapel.&nbsp;We have also had a fundraising Soup and Cheese lunch, and a Singday singing “Joseph and the Amazing Colored Dreamcoat”, raising over £1000. This will shortly be donated to Mountbatten Hospice.Until we confirm a venue and programme for 2025 (the usual VfH Choir concert is every two years) we will continue to raise funds. Our concerts themselves take time to raise the money to pay for musicians, venue hire etc! Our valiant team of volunteer VfHers spend much time and effort to raise this money. They are wonderful!We aim to continue to support the hospices that are within the area of most of our team ie Winchester, Romsey, Botley, Twyford, Eastleigh. Namely, &nbsp;Mountbatten Hampshire, Noami House and Jacksplace, and Winchester Hospice.All UK Hospices rely totally on donations to supply the services so necessary to patients as they face life limiting, end of life and bereavement issues. In these challenging times, raising these funds, (often in excess of £8m p.a.) is proving exceedingly difficult. We at Voices for Hospices Choir wish to give something back for the joy and satisfaction that a good sing gives us!&nbsp;What better place to send our money than to our Hospices?Our eight nominated Hampshire Hospices are: Countess of Brecknock, Andover; Mountbatten, Isle of Wight, Mountbatten Hampshire West End; Naomi House and Jacksplace, Sutton Scotney; Oakhaven, Lymington; Rowans, Portsmouth; St Michael's, Basingstoke and Winchester Hospìce, Winchester. If you wish to help us raise our set up costs, please visit Goodhub (link below)

Fundraising

To support through music, and particularly singing, the wonderful work done by Hospices to provide help to  those with life limiting illnesses, end of life and bereavement services.

Voices for Hospices Choir

Helen Bailey

Soprano

Fiona MacKay

Alto

Gilly Slot

Piano

Mark Gubbins 

Tenor (Call to Prayer)

Andrew De Silva 

Bass

The Linda Bridges

Accompanist

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