Laughter is music for the soul: Help Musicians to hold April Fools’ charity gala

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The charity Help Musicians  will hold an industry event on April Fool’s Day to support musicians who are currently in crisis post-pandemic, Brexit, and during cost of living. 

Conductor, pianist, comedian and broadcaster Rainer Hersch will present an evening of music and comedy alongside the Rainer Hersch Orchestra. They will be joined by a host of  performances including Help Musicians’ president and percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie, radio presenter Zeb Soanes as narrator, bass-baritone James Oldfield, plus jazz singer, songwriter and comedian Earl Okin.

The programme will feature ‘April Fools’ jokes and hoaxes,’ including an orchestration of BBC Radio 4’s Shipping Forecast, Beethoven’s symphonies 1-9 (in five minutes), Rossini’s The Italian Girl After Some Beers, and Glennie ’murdering’ The Swan.

The event aims to raise funds for struggling musicians, following research from Help Musicians in Autumn 2022 which revealed that nearly half of UK musicians (49 per cent) say they are ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ concerned they will be forced to leave the industry. 

Help Musicians has responded with a raft of support measures to help musicians sustain their careers - including more investment in health & wellbeing, funding options to support new music creation and touring opportunities, and guidance and practical help to avoid financial crisis. Funds raised from this concert will go towards its continued work.

The concert will be held on 1 April 2023 at Cadogan Hall, London. More information can be found here.