Hospice choir join West End theatre stars on stage

On Sunday 14th July our Hospice choir, Skylarks, entertained the audience at the ‘Songs in Summer’ concert at The Robinson Theatre on Hills Road in Cambridge. They were accompanied by ‘Cloud Nine’, a vocal group who have been meeting weekly in Bottisham for five years and ‘Encore’ a special kid’s group of talented individuals ‘who just love to sing’.They were joined by Theatre stars, Lyndsey Gardiner, Ellen Jackson, Gordon Christie, Peter Crockford, Adam Robert Lewis and James Paterson many who have appeared, or are currently appearing, in West End productions such as Phantom of the Opera, Oliver! And Swing.  Skylarks, a group of charity staff and volunteers who meet every two weeks at the Hospice for signing and lots of laughter sang many popular and well loved songs including: This is Me (The Greatest Showman), Seasons of Love (Rent), Prima Donna (Phantom of the Opera), Votre Toast (Carmen), Nessun Dorma (Turandot), Your Raise Me Up (Secret Garden), One Day Like This (Elbow), Do You Hear the People Sing (Les Miserables) and Climb Every Mountain (The Sound of Music). The audience were treated to cheese and wine in the interval thanks to sponsors  Mattioli Woods Plc, Spirus, Woodfines Solicitors, Scott Bradbury, and Fletcher Thompson.The concert was held in aid of the Hospice, in memory of Micheal Bradbrook who was cared for by us in 2017 and was attended by some of Micheal’s family. Zoe Cheng, Community Fundraiser for Arthur Rank Hospice Charity, who attended on the night said: ‘We are so thankful to all the performers who took part in this absolutely fabulous afternoon, and for the support from the audience! It was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended with a buzzing atmosphere from start to finish!’A grand total of £2,833.53 was raised from the event and will go to support vital care provided by the charity.   A big thank you must go to Julie Bistrow, who leads the choirs and James Patterson for all their support organising this event. James commented: “What a wonderful sum of money to be raised for such a worthy cause. All on a Sunday afternoon when all we had to do was get together, sing our party pieces and have some fun. Thank you to everybody who came to  hear us and particular thanks to Julie, Louis and the choirs, not forgetting the kazoo band, for being so willing to join in the fun.”You can get a flavour of the event on our You Tube channel: