inspiring journeys to a be tter life · 2019. 3. 4. · by rachmaninoff arr mccarthy nicho las...

INSPIRING JOURNEYSTO A BETTER LIFE

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INSPIRING JOURNEYS TO A BETTER LIFEMarking the Centenary of the end of WW1

Wars are humancatastrophes and no matteryour race, gender, colouror creed, war is also a greatleveller.

From Then Until Now isabout the human responseto conflict: our memoriesand feelings, our choicesand innate creativity, andhow we dig deep andtriumph through adversityto reach a better life.

When I met NicholasMcCarthy, I was deeplyaffected by his music and struck by how he realisedhis dream to become a concert pianist. He wasinspired by the Austrian maestro, Paul Wittgenstein,who lost his right arm in WW1, then performed left-hand alone compositions for piano to great acclaim.

Anchored in The Great War,Nicholas’s repertoire blendssympathetically with thestories and artistry of ourown servicemen andwomen – from WW2through to Iraq andAfghanistan. All haveexperienced war. Somehave overcome life-changing mental andphysical scarring, yetfound the courage andfortitude to keep going.

Tonight, as we mark thecentenary anniversary of the WW1 armistice, weapplaud our men and women who have served.We also celebrate new found ability, the humanspirit and the calling of our soul.

Thank you.

32

In partnership with

The Lund Trust and The Henry Oldfield Trust

SUPPORTED BY

BENEFACTORSGerard Leahy Daniel Quirici


Major-General (rtd) Andy Salmon CMG OBECreator, Executive Producer and Director

October 2018All information correct at time of going to print.

AUTUMN TOUR 2018Thursday 18 October 2018, 7.30pm at Clifton Cathedral, Bristol

Thursday 25 October 2018, 7.30pm at St James’s, Piccadilly, LondonSunday 28 October 2018, 7.30pm at Canterbury FestivalFriday 9 November 2018, 7.30pm at Exeter Cathedral

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RICHARDROCHESTERVETERAN, PERFORMERAND ARTIST

Commissioned to producea visual backdrop to theperformance, Richardgraduated in Fine Art fromExeter College of Art andDesign in 1991. Keen foradventure, he joined theArmy a few months laterand began an 18 yearmilitary career, initially asan army infantry officer andlater as a Royal Marine.Travelling widely he servedoperationally in BosniaHerzegovina, NorthernIreland, Sierra Leone andAfghanistan. Leaving in2012 he briefly ran aveterans’ charity projectbefore focusing his fullattention on art in Exeter.

MAURILLIASIMPSONVETERAN AND PERFORMER

“One day I will be a soldierand live where the Queenlives,” a 7 year old Maurilliatold her mother. After threeoperational tours of Iraqwith the Royal LogisticsCorps she was medicallydischarged in 2013 afteran RTA. A reserve for 2012Paralympics, competingin Warrior Games 2013,Maurillia then won Goldand Silver at the InvictusGames 2014. As a formof rehabilitation for injuredveterans, Maurillia was inThe Two Worlds of Charlie F,touring the UK and Canada.Singing gives her joy,through projects likeGareth Malone’s InvictusChoir and Gospability,the choir formed forPrince Harry and Meghan’swedding celebrations.

PAT DAVIESVETERAN AND PERFORMER

Born in 1923, Pat (neeOwtram) was 16 when warbroke out and joined theWRNS in 1942. A specialduties linguist, she wasposted to Hellfire Corner inKent to listen into Germannaval radio, transmittingwhat she heard from U Boatsand E Boats to the RoyalNavy and Bletchley Park.She remembers being underfire in the watch room andthe strain of her Lt Colonelfather being a Far East POW.Pat signed the OfficialSecrets Act in Wartime, notdiscussing her role even withher sister until decades later.Post-war Pat fulfilled herambitions and studied atSt Andrew’s, Oxford andHarvard universities. As aTV producer for Granadaand BBC she worked onnotable programmes suchas University Challengeand The Sky at Night.

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JON WHITEVETERAN AND PERFORMER

Jon White was injured byan Improvised ExplosiveDevice while serving asa Captain with 40Commando Royal Marinesin Afghanistan, and asa consequence lost bothlegs above the knee andhis right arm at his elbow.His high level of skill andphysical fitness has allowedhim to be a full timeprosthetics user, not usinga wheelchair since June2011. He project managedthe construction of hisown home which featuredin Channel 4’s GrandDesigns. He now runs aconsultancy in leadershipdevelopment, is aninspirational speaker andexecutive coach.

DAN ELLIOTTHE OLD SOLDIER

Dan’s passion isremembrance of the menand women that took partin the ‘war to end all wars’.Dan, along with Al WebbRM, co-founded OldSoldier Media with amission to give theGreat War an immediacynot always found incontemporary images andliterature. He works with theveteran support organisationRock2Recovery, spreadingawareness of its work andadvising on mental healthwithin the military. Danhas written and will beperforming the openingmonologue.

MARK WARRENCREATIVE CONSULTANTFOR STORY

Mark Warren is a story andcommunications director,scriptwriter and copywriterwith extensive experiencein performance, TV,advertising and digital.He has worked with AndySalmon on a range ofprojects including JourneyThrough Conflict, Iraq.As creative consultant forstory and performance hisrole in From Then UntilNow has been to help theteam shape and tell theirown individual, inspiringpersonal stories.

BECKDONALDSONASSISTANT PRODUCER

Beck works with musicians,artists and communitygroups to produce inspiringperformances and is aFounding Trustee of theCheltenham Christian ArtsFestival. A former tutor intheology, she now producesarts events with a diverserange of performers, fromrenowned tenor JamesGilchrist to the LondonCommunity Gospel Choir.A conviction that free accessto high quality live music insacred spaces is a powerfulsource of wellbeing isbehind the regular daytimecoffee concerts she presentsin the Cotswolds. If youwould like further informationabout the performances andwork of Journey ThroughConflict, please contactBeck at [email protected]

DR NICK GRACEOBEASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Nick retired from theRoyal Marines in 2017as the Principal Directorof Music. His extensive35 year career includedservice on HM YachtBritannia, operational dutyin Iraq and leading majornational and internationalceremonial events.Alongside numerousrecordings, he conductedthe world première of therestored film The Battlesof Coronel and FalklandIslands, the BAFTA winningQueen’s 90th BirthdayCelebration and theWW1 commemorationsfor Gallipoli and Jutland.Awarded the OBE and aDoctorate of Musical Artsin 2013 he is now a musicconsultant and conductor.

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Royal Marines Bugler playsThe Alert

The Old Soldier & Royal Marines Bugler

WW1 The RecruiterThe Old Soldier

Roses of Picardyby Haydn Woodarr McCarthy

Nicholas McCarthy

IntroductionAndy Salmon

Over the TopThe Old Soldier

Prelude in G Minor Op.23 No.5by Rachmaninoffarr McCarthy

Nicholas McCarthy

March Past the CenotaphAndy Salmon & Royal Marines Bugler

Letter to the WifeThe Old Soldier

Morgen! Op.27 No.4by R. Straussarr Mann

Nicholas McCarthy

Into WW2Andy Salmon

Recollections of WW2Pat Davies

We’ll Gather Lilacsby Ivor Novelloarr McCarthy

Nicholas McCarthy

Growing Up – Falklands 1982Andy Salmon

Etude Op.25 No.12 ‘Ocean’Chopin/GodowskyNicholas McCarthy

Life or DeathThe Old Soldier & Royal Marines Bugler

Conflicts of the 90sAndy Salmon

A Wood In FranceRichard Rochester

Etude Op.2 No.1by Scriabinarr Crimmino

Nicholas McCarthy

Post 9/11 Iraq & AfghanistanAndy Salmon

Maurillia’s StoryMaurillia Simpson

Ave Mariaby Bach/Gounodarr Wittgenstein

Nicholas McCarthy

InjuryJon White

Segment fromConcerto for Left Hand

by Maurice RavelNicholas McCarthy

Forgiveness & HopeJon White

At Dawn from Three Improvisationsby Frank Bridge

Nicholas McCarthy

Reflection & RemembranceAndy Salmon

Sunsetby A C Green

Nicholas McCarthy & Royal Marines Bugler

Free Your SoulAndy Salmon & Maurillia Simpson


FIRST HALF


SECOND HALF

Please be aware that this performance contains strong language.


MUSICAL INSPIRATIONNicholas McCarthy talks about the piano repertoire

Left Hand Alone Repertoire

In the early 1800s smart society salonsshowcased concert pianists performingwith their naturally weaker left hand.This vogue gathered greater prominenceand significance following WW1benefitting from the patronage ofpianist Paul Wittgenstein. Not manypeople know that over 700 composershave written for left hand alone or thatthese pieces exist in their thousands.

Paul Wittgenstein

Within months of Wittgenstein’s concertdebut in Vienna in 1913, war wasdeclared and Wittgenstein went off tofight. He was shot by a Russian bulletand had his right arm amputated.Determined this would not finish hisconcert career, he worked tirelesslyin a Siberian POW camp cell tryingto arrange the music he loved forleft hand alone. By the early 1920s hedebuted as a left hand alone pianistand, using his family’s great wealth,began commissioning some of theleading composers of the day likeRavel, Prokoviev and Korngold.

My Selection for Tonight

My first piece this evening is anarrangement of Haydn Wood’s Rosesof Picardy, an anthem of the Great Warand a hit in its day; reportedly writtenby Haydn Wood on a cigarette packetwhile on the top deck of a tram in1916. The song was also instrumentalin early music therapy for shell shocksufferers who were encouraged to tryto sing the words. It became a songof comfort to both the troops andthose on the home front. I have alsoselected, and arranged, Ivor Novello’sWW2 classic We’ll Gather Lilacs – anoptimistic tune that offered hope topeople emerging from the conflict.

I couldn’t omit Wittgenstein’s ownarrangement of Ave Maria dating fromhis early emergence as a left handpianist this evening! In the second halfI will reference the magisterial RavelConcerto for Left Hand thatWittgenstein commissioned.

It was important for me to searchfor themes in the left hand classicalrepertoire to fit within the context of

our veterans’ testimony. The earliestof these would be the Chopin arr.Godowsky Ocean Etude conjuringimagery of the tempestuous AtlanticOcean. Pieces by Strauss and Scriabincomplement the spoken word you willbe hearing tonight, and are offeredalongside a rare piece of Frank Bridge.His Three Improvisations wascomposed to encourage a friendand former pupil, Douglas Fox,to persevere with his piano and organperformances, despite the loss ofhis right arm in 1917. Bridge wasconcerned that Fox would not likehis creation saying,

‘I doubt whether you will be attractedwhen you try the pieces through atfirst, but just work a little at them andthen I fondly hope they will stand upon their own legs and smile at you’.

It is my wish that the music youhear tonight, from this uniqueheritage repertoire, will, alongsidethe life stories of our veterans,stand up for you too.

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© Paul M

arc Mitchell


NICHOLAS MCCARTHYONE-HANDED PIANIST

Nicholas McCarthy was born without his right hand in1989. His graduation from the Royal College of Musicin 2012 marked him as the first one-handed pianistto graduate from the college in its 135 year history.Performing in notable venues globally, his concert

performances, recordings and media features haveall gained critical acclaim. One of Nicholas’s proudestmoments was performing at the Closing Ceremonyof the 2012 Paralympic Games.

It is an honour for me to perform alongside these inspiring veterans tonight who have experienced and enduredso much for us all. I was asked to provide fitting pieces of music for reflection in between these monumental

personal accounts – the creative journey we have been on together has been unforgettable.

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‘A WOOD IN FRANCE’BY RICHARD ROCHESTER

The expansive artwork you seebehind our performers tonightis a special commission and hasa story of its own.

The image depicts Mametz Woodon the River Somme in France, alittle over 100 years after it was thesite of one of the bloodiest battlesof the First World War. In July 1916,men fought hand to hand to captureor defend this wood and the WelshDivision alone suffered over 4000casualties in the effort.

The once verdant wood was obliterated in the battle but after thewar nature re-claimed the space and, enriched by the blood soakedearth, it re-generated. Today the area looks much as it did shortlybefore the battle in 1916 – outwardly unimportant and inconspicuous.

I found it a profound experience earlier this Summer to visit the placewhere so many men died. The ensuing artwork is drawn and paintedentirely with charcoal and pigment taken from the wood. I would liketo invite you, the viewer, to share my experience and to imagineyourself in the wood as it is today – with its ghosts and echoes ofthe past.

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