Wakefield Cathedral to host special concert to mark 200th anniversary of Royal National Lifeboat Institution

Two hundred years of lifesaving and bravery by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) will be marked during an evening of music and story-telling at a choir concert at Wakefield Cathedral next month.
By Kara McKune
Published 21st Apr 2024, 09:00 BST
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Tickets are now on sale for a celebratory anniversary concert which will be at the Cathedral at 7pm on Friday, May 17.

The concert will bring together singers from Wakefield Cathedral Choir and Ensemble Pro Victoria as well as young musicians from Queen Elizabeth Grammar School and Wakefield Girls High School to celebrate the lifesaving work of the RNLI.

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The RNLI, which is funded by voluntary donations and and has lifeboats crewed by specially trained volunteers, has been saving lives at sea since it was founded in 1924.

The special concert, held at Wakefield Cathedral, will celebrate 200 years of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.The special concert, held at Wakefield Cathedral, will celebrate 200 years of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
The special concert, held at Wakefield Cathedral, will celebrate 200 years of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

In that time its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 144,000 lives.

The event will be curated by concert producer and lecturer in music management at University of Leeds, Silviu Cobeanu, who aims to create a seascape made up of old and new maritime and choral music – complemented with stories depicting selflessness and heroism on the treacherous seas.

Concert producer, Silviu Cobeanu, said: “Through song, music and performance, this concert aims to remember the RNLI’s remarkable history, celebrate the modern lifesaving service that keeps our coast and rivers safe today, and inspire a new generation of lifesavers and supporters.”

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The event, which has been organised by the RNLI’s West Yorkshire Business Branch, will include interludes from RNLI lifeboat crew members including Jamie White, a descendant of the family of Northumberland’s sea rescue heroine Grace Darling.

The audience will also be treated to a unique and rousing medley of arrangements from an RNLI repository of songs, collected from old editions of 19th century editions of the Lifeboat Magazine by Ensemble Pro Victoria.

West Yorkshire volunteer branch member and RNLI Vice President, Clive Rand, said: “The concert is called ‘200 years and Counting,’ and as the RNLI enters its 200th year, we as a branch are counting on your support.

"We are calling on you to join us, to carry our lifesaving service into the future and help us achieve our mission to save every one.”

To find out more information on the Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s lifesaving work, or to donate, visit: https://rnli.org/

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