Requiem for the Fallen – Concert and Recording

My name is Tim Hamilton. I am a composer, singer and conductor. Two years ago, I was commissioned to write a Requiem to commemorate the centenary of the First World War. The work is dedicated to the memory of all who have given their lives to preserve our freedom. The piece is also dedicated to the lives of four brave, young soldiers - relatives of the commissioner - who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Two died in the First World War and two in the second.

The work, written for four soloists, choir, orchestra and organ, was premiered last Remembrance Sunday at St. John's Wood Church, London. As it was performed during the morning service, certain movements were omitted and only minimum musical forces were used - choir of ten, organ and nine instruments.

We (myself and the performers) are now planning a very exciting two-part project in conjunction with the Royal British Legion. This first is a gala concert of the Requiem, in its entirety, featuring internationally renowned soloists Ilona Domnich, Jennifer Johnston, Nicky Spence and David Stout, and the amazing vocal ensemble Cantoribus. This concert will take place on Thursday 12th November at St. Sepulchre-without-Newgate, London. As part of this campaign, we are offering you the opportunity to purchase tickets for this concert before they go on sale to the public.

The second part of this project will be a recording of the work. For this we will use the same performers as the concert and will enlist the services and expertise of the highly revered producer Adrian Peacock. The recording is scheduled to take place in London during the week of 23rd November, with a release date (to be confirmed) in 2016. Again, we are offering you another exclusive - the opportunity to purchase and receive copies of the recording before it goes on general release. There are many more unique rewards available, ranging from CDs and sitting in on a rehearsal or recording session to having a piece written especially for you.

We are very pleased to be able to announce our partnership with the Royal British Legion for this project. It is an honour to support such an incredibly important charity and we have committed to donate 50% of the profits from concert ticket sales and 10% of the profits from the recording sales to the Legion.

As you can imagine, putting a large project like this together requires quite a sizeable budget. In order to employ the services of 60 of the finest musicians in the World (who are all taking part for a reduced fee) to perform in the concert and on the recording, plus the hire of the producer, engineer and venues, we need to raise £57,000. I am delighted to say that we have, so far, managed to raise £37,000. Although this is a great deal of money, we are still short of the final total by £20,000.

If you would like to be part of this incredible journey that we are undertaking, please purchase concert tickets, a CD or one of the unique and special rewards. You can, of course, make a donation no matter how small. Every penny counts.

I would like to assure you that no one will be making a profit from this venture. Once we have paid for the concert and recording, half the profits will go to the Royal British Legion and the remainder will be put towards setting up the choir Cantoribus as a charity. Once established, my aim for the group - aside from performing and recording contemporary and traditional music - is to set up a choral education foundation where the incredibly skilled and experienced singers in the group can impart their knowledge and enthusiasm to schools and communities through workshops and concerts.

Thank you for your support!

Best wishes,

Tim