Wirral charity's concerts present music for all ages

SUPPORTERS, patrons and staff at Barnstondale Activity Centre enjoyed a day of musical performance, that took place, on Wednesday, 20 February 2019. The Wirral based charity organised an all day event, at 2 separate venues, as a thank you to its patrons, carers and other supporters, for their continued help.

The day began at the Williamson Art Gallery in Birkenhead, where special guests, including the Mayor and Mayoress of Wirral and the Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside, were treated to a recital by the internationally famous pianist Noriko Ogawa. She performed a varied programme over the course of an hour, including Debussy's 'Clair Du Lune' and pieces by Chopin and Mozart. This was a 'Jamie's Concert,' a musical event initiated by Noriko following her experiences of living with a family who had a child with autism. The concerts are designed to allow carers respite and relaxation from the often stressful day to day routine of caring for a child with autism, or other physical or mental challenges. After the concert, guests had the opportunity to chat to Noriko about her music and her work with Jamie's Concerts.

The party then returned to Barnstondale Activity Centre, where the visitors had a conducted tour of the site, to see for themselves the activities and facilities available to children and youngsters staying at the centre. While the adults had been attending Noriko's recital at the gallery, the children had been participating in musical workshops under the guidance of charity Live Music Now. Following lunch, which was served in the dining hall, the party, including:- the Mayor and Noriko, listened to a short concert given by the children, at Barnstondale. The children sang a song they'd created about Barnstondale and then performed:- 'This is Me' from 'The Greatest Showman,' with 1 girl giving an amazing solo as part of the performance.

Heidi Hughes, Business Director at Barnstondale, was delighted with the way the day went:- "It was wonderful to be able to see a world class pianist, like Noriko, playing in such an intimate venue. The performance by the children was incredibly emotional. You could see they had grown so much in confidence, even just within 1 session. It was very touching and there were actually guests with tears in their eyes. I think everyone, regardless of age, took something positive away from the day."

Barnstondale is a rural activity centre situated across 15 acres of natural woodland in the heart of the Wirral countryside. The centre welcomes day visitors and residential guests to enjoy its many facilities; it is an inclusive centre, which provides adventures and outdoor activities for all ages and abilities. For further information on Barnstondale contact the centre on:- 0151 648 1412 or visit the website.

Epstein Theatre welcomes The Shades of the 60's

THE Shades of the 60's is a musical stage show that celebrates some of the best known names in pop music from the 60's and is coming back to The Epstein Theatre, this March. In a fabulous 2 hour pop song extravaganza, which stars the young tenor Dan Chettoe with 60's vocal group The Shades, this show will take audiences on a trip down musical memory lane.

Shades of the 60's comes to the Hanover Street venue, on Tuesday, 26 March 2019, when Dan and the Shades will perform a catalogue of hit songs that started the pop music explosion in the 1960's and made stars out of thousands of names from the Beatles to the Supremes, from Tom Jones to Lulu, and from Gerry and the Pacemakers to Chubby Checker.

The Liverpool show is part of a tour which starts in Eastbourne, on 12 March 2019 and travels all over the UK, finishing on 30 June 2019, in Lancaster.

A mouth watering snapshot of some of the songs the cast will be performing to get the party started include:- 'It's Not Unusual,' 'What's New Pussycat,' 'Delilah and Thunderball' by Tom Jones; 'I Only Wanna Be With You' (Dusty Springfield); 'Respect' (Aretha Franklin); 'Da Do Ron Ron' (The Crystals); The Beatles' 'Twist and Shout' and 'Shout' which became Lulu's 1st smash hit when she performed it on TV's:- 'Ready Steady Go' in 1965… aged 15!

Dan Chettoe thrilled TV audiences with his astonishing vocal performance on:- 'Britain's Got Talent' when he performed a spine tingling rendition of 'Cry Me A River.'

Dan Chettoe said:- "Britain's Got Talent was a really good experience; it gave me the confidence to perform and to really see what my voice could do. I can't wait to get on the road in 2019; it's going to be a complete honour to sing all these amazing, classic pop songs. I've been watching some of the artists' performances on YouTube and I'm discovering a whole new world!"

Matt Brinkler, Executive Producer of Red Entertainment and the creator of the SHADES brand, added:- "In Dan Chettoe we've got a youthful all-round star whose voice lives up to that of an international 60's pop legend, and one that has already blown away national TV audiences. People are rarely born with the talent Dan Chettoe has, even less celebrated. In sharing with us his effortless singing ability and natural stage presence, I think audiences will be on their feet as soon as he opens his mouth. At Red Entertainment we're extremely proud of the SHADES brand; Cilla and the Shades of the 60's has been touring successfully since 2017; our story of Dusty Springfield, Dusty and the Shades of the 60's, followed in 2018 and we're planning more SHADES tours for 2020. Our goal is to tell the story of these iconic generation defining artists through a clear narrative with the music which is, of course, recognised around the world."

For more information and also to book tickets please call:- 0844 888 4411 or go to:- EpsteinLiverpool.Co.UK.