David Wright
AD Music 2020 Mencap fundraiser
Fundraising for Mencap
Story
Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
Sadly the festival is cancelled due to Covid-19. However, we are actively looking at ways in which we can continue our fundraising efforts. In the first instance we will be producing an E-Scape 2020 CD featuring exclusive music by the artists who would have performed at the festival and all monies will go to Mencap.
So this page is sort of 'in limbo' while we decide the best way forward. But please do feel free to donate.
Here is information about our original, now cancelled, event:
In 1993 I was asked to write music based on the experiences, poetry and writings of my friend Keith Bromley, who, along with a group of volunteers, helped renovate a run down home for orphaned and disabled children in Korce, Albania. ‘The Korce Project’ album came out of this and was intended to have been a charity CD release that included Keith’s poetry.
Okay, so what has this to do with Mencap and E-Scape 2020? Long story, please read on...
For reasons beyond our control, the Korce Project release never happened. All that remained was our ‘good intention’ and the original ‘Korce Project’ promotional cassettes and poetry books, some of which found their way into the public domain.
It was because of the Albania children's charity that I became aware of and began supporting Mencap way back in the 1990's.
Life moved on and in 1995 the album ‘Dissimilar Views’ was released and contained some of the music from the aborted ‘Korce Project’. The CD went out of print in 2015 but was remastered and reissued again by AD Music in 2019.
Fast forward nearly 25 years and in 2019 Keith and I reconnected, and simultaneously, I connected with another aid worker in Malta who sent me an update on the progress of the children’s home in Korce, and more importantly, on the progress of the children and staff. This included a short video of one of the children, Beni, who stole the hearts of the aid workers back in the 90’s and for whom the track “Benny’s Theme” was written. These events prompted the reissue and remaster of ‘Dissimilar Views’ 1 and 2 and reminded me of what we had hoped to achieve with the original charity project.
So, after discussion with Keith we agreed to 'rekindle' the project by arranging the E-Scape 2020 Charity concert in aid of Mencap, where we could also revisit the ‘Korce Project’ music and poetry in a live setting.
The ‘Korce Project’ experience was an important, life changing experience for Keith, one that I experienced vicariously through him, and prompted my on-going support of Mencap. But The Korce Project belongs to another era, another age, when the situation in Albania was very different to what it is now. The 'home on the hill' (as the children's home was affectionately known) is now a well run children's home, the children we know are all grown up.
So both Keith and agreed to support the wonderful work of Mencap, and at the same time pay homage to the work done for the Albanian Charity all those years ago. One might almost say its a way for Keith (especially!) and me, to finally close that chapter in our lives. Hope all that makes sense!?