Mayor promises "wow factor" at music spectaculars

6.59.18pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 15th Jun 2007

An exciting series of community concerts hosted by the Mayor of Richmond upon Thames, Cllr Marc Cranfield-Adams, is aimed to hit the right notes for his chosen charities.

The concerts will be held on the sunken lawn at York House Gardens, Richmond Road, Twickenham, on Friday evenings, June 22, July 13 and July 27. They will be sponsored by Richmond Specsavers, among others. Each will have a different theme, and all start at 7.30pm. The first, "Youth Night," on June 22, will feature young musicians from local schools including Orleans Park School's soul band, Hampton Community College steel band, Richmond College, and Buckingham School choir. The July 13 event, "World Music Night", will headline music from around the globe. Performances will include Strings, an Indian pop band fusing Bollywood music with Bangra and disco; Abdul Raheem, a celebrated African trombonist; and Palenke, a hot-blooded Cuban and Brazilian salsa band. Acts set to appear at the final concert, "Rainbow Night" on July 27, will include the dynamic house band of BBC's Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, "4 Poofs and a Piano." Other performers will include the Pink Singers and "Fivesome," a quintet from the London Gay Symphony Orchestra. The concerts aim to be a major money-spinner for the charities, Stepping on Out, a Teddington-based charity run by people with learning disabilities, and Diabetes UK (Richmond and Twickenham Voluntary Group).

The Mayor said:

"These events aim to raise as much money as possible for my two excellent charities - so I hope they sell-out! They also fit marvellously with my themes for the year - diversity and inclusiveness - as the shows promise exciting and diverse performances. Audiences are guaranteed sparkling line-ups with a true wow factor. The concerts promise to be among the highlights of my Mayoral year. Tickets are likely to be snapped up fast, so apply soon to avoid disappointment."

Sponsors of the event include: Richmond & Twickenham Times, Specsavers, Pepsi, Sainsbury's, the Cabbage Patch, Foster's EMEA Ltd and QSoft. Confirmation is also expected shortly of support from brewer Anheuser-Busch and Marks & Spencer. The popular radio station Radio Jackie is also to hold an on-air promotion for 20 tickets to each of the concerts.