Melodians Year 2021

The 2021 year was severely affected by Covid from the beginning of the year until the Summer.  The Melodians normally has a Christmas Concert in December and all the family and supporters are invited to come and hear them play.  However, in November and December 2020 there were severe restrictions due to Covid and as a result the Melodians were unable to rehearse for several weeks.  This meant they could not hold their 2020 Christmas Concert and had to postpone it until 2021.

The Melodians tried to hold their postponed Concert at Easter 2021 and again in May.  However, none of those events were able to take place due to continuing Covid concerns and restrictions.  Eventually they organised an outdoor event in the playground at Henry Cavendish on the 19^th June.  This was able to go ahead.  The players were able to set up under a wooden arcade in the playground and guests had tables and chairs in the playground.

The event was very successful and many family supporters were able to attend.  Also, the Mayor attended as well and gave a very positive speech at the end of the event.

The only other engagements that took place in 2021 were The Commonwealth High Commissioner’s Banquet at the Guildhall in London and the usual 2021 Christmas Concert that took place at Henry Cavendish School.  Unlike the summer concert this was able to take place in the main hall as usual.

Due to the lack of engagements in 2020 the Melodians had applied for funding at the end of the year from a number of organisations that were offering support to musicians and other entertainers:

• Arts Council England
• The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust
• Foyle Foundation
• Elimu Bursary Programme

We were very pleased that they all accepted our applications and either provided a donation at the end of 2020 or in 2021.  This meant we were able to continue with rehearsals, learn new pieces of music and maintain the instruments.

2021 Engagements and Highlights

DATE	EVENT/VENUE	SIZE
Saturday 19th June	Summer Concert	Orchestra
Monday 13th September	Commonwealth High Commissioner’s Banquet at the Guildhall in London	8 Players
Saturday 11th December	Christmas Concert	Orchestra

Some Photos from Melodians Year 2021