VOICES brought together in harmony are the trademark of Dalston composer and singer Helen Chadwick, who is holding a charity concert, Hackney Empire Sings, at the east London theatre this Sunday.
The concert, as part of Hackney Proms, is a musical and poetic celebration of the life of GP Dr Gaby Tobias, who tirelessly worked to develop primary care in the borough even after being diagnosed with cancer in 2006. Gaby, a mother of three, sadly lost her battle with the disease late last year.
Helen says: “The theme of the concert is to inspire. The songs are about love, peace, boldness, dreams and hope.
“It’s a tribute to Gaby who was very inspirational in her work. We want to launch a charity in her memory to improve healthcare for people in Hackney, to help raise awareness of issues such as nutrition and address problems such as the low level of uptake on cancer screening programmes.”
As well as featuring several of Helen’s composed pieces featuring an uplifting feast of “grooves, rifts, echoes, rhythms and choruses with influences from people and poets across the world”, the concert offers for some community singing. Helen is nervous about mentioning this aspect as she doesn’t want people to be put off by the prospect of group singing, but she assures audiences they needn’t join in unless they want to.
Judging by the rich harmonies involved and the relaxed atmosphere, many will want to lift their voices in unison with Helen and her long-time collaborators Joanna Foster, Barbara Gellhorn and Hazel Holder with Liz Kettle, Michael Mears, Gilz Terera and Jamie Newall. Together they will be trying out a number of different timbres alongside local choirs.
Helen, who also works as a voice coach, lived in Hackney for ten years before moving to Dalston 12 years ago. Her neighbourhood has been the inspiration for Dalston Songs, a staged a capella song cycle with eight singers, based on interviews with people in east London on the theme of home.
Commissioned by the Royal Opera House in 2008, Dalston Songs tells the tale of urban life in the capital interspersed with memories of other homelands. Created and composed by Helen, the piece is choreographed by Steven Hoggett from physical theatre company by Frantic Assembly.
“I wrote Dalston Songs about three years ago,” recalls Helen. “I was talking to Leyla Nazli, the co-founder of the Arcola Theatre, about how there had been these waves of people migrating to live in the area. Then I did some interviews with my neighbours, who are from varied and transitory backgrounds, made up of Kurds, Spanish, Irish and people from Colombia, Gaza and Italy. Some of the stories were so powerful about people whose family homes had been destroyed or who had never had a home. Other tales were very funny and upbeat.”
Helen will be performing Dalston Songs with Barbara Gellhron, Hazel Holder, Lucy Jules at Latitude Festival on Friday, July 17, 3pm at Henham Park, Southwold. Tickets: 0871 231 0821 www.latitudefestival.co.uk l Hackney Empire Sings takes place at The Hackney Empire, Mare Street this Sunday at 6pm. Tickets: 020 8985 2424 (£7-12.50) Details: www.helenchadwick.com
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