Monday, November 4, 2024

Shaldon Festival Outreach 2024

Alis Huws, harp & Carys Gittins, flute

Alis Huws, harpist and Carys Gittins, flautist

This year’s Shaldon Festival community outreach programme was held on Thursday 20 June at The Alice Cross Centre in Teignmouth.

Following their concert at St Peter’s Church the previous evening, award winning flute and harp duo, Alis Huws and Carys Gittins entertained visitors to the Centre’s Memory Café, a weekly meeting place for people with Dementia or Alzheimer’s. 

Alis, the official Royal Harpist, and Carys, National Eisteddfod Blue Ribband winner, both originally from Mid Wales, are passionate about outreach and bringing music into communities, giving regular interactive concerts for people living with Dementia. This was very evident in how they engaged with their audience so warmly, encouraging them to participate by dancing and singing. 

The varied programme of music included Alis’s recently recorded Welsh song “Tra Bo Dau”, and also an arrangement of Greensleeves – a piece she performed at the Coronation of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey.  Carys gave a gentle, lilting solo of ‘Deep Blue’ a composition by Ian Clarke inspired by the ocean and whale song.  Along with Saint-Saëns’ The Swan from ‘Carnival of the Animals’, pieces by Debussy and Puccini, and various requests including the ‘Londonderry Air’ (Danny Boy), there really was something to delight everyone!

This was a very moving and powerful event for everyone involved.  Thank you Alis and Carys for a wonderful, relaxed and fun morning of music which was very special for all of us.

Our grateful thanks to The Arts Society Teignbridge for sponsoring this outreach.

Marion Korzinek