Well-known Coventry businessman and Armonico Consort president, Roger Medwell MBE DL, has made an extraordinarily generous gesture in support of our £300K Encore Appeal by pledging to match fund 30p in the £ for every £1 donated up to the first £100K raised.
The Encore Appeal will create school choirs in deprived areas, provide composition and performance sessions for children with special educational needs and establish choirs for people living with dementia and their carers. Over two years, the singing projects will benefit more than 17,000 people across Warwickshire, Coventry, Solihull and Worcestershire.
The former Chief Executive of NP Aerospace, Roger Medwell received an MBE for services to the community in Coventry in 2019. In the same year he received the Coventry Award of Merit, a civic honour recognising his outstanding contribution to the manufacturing industry, arts and culture, as well as a true community ambassador and a great supporter to local charities. Roger Medwell, who has been Chairman of Armonico Consort since 2017, frequently supports the charity’s fundraising efforts including cycling on its annual Oz & Armonico bike challenges.
Roger Medwell said,
Young or old, the need for the health and well-being, social and educational benefits of singing has never been greater. Because of Covid, an entire generation of primary age children face missing out on music participation in schools, and children with special education needs are losing the chance to express themselves through creating original compositions. Likewise, the demand for Armonico’s Warwick Memory Singers choir for those with dementia is frequently over-subscribed and the demand to create more is urgent and pressing. By offering to match fund donations I would sincerely encourage people to dig deep and help those who will most benefit from Armonico’s life-enhancing work.”
Christopher Monks, Artistic Director of Armonico Consort, said,
We are immensely grateful to Roger Medwell for spearheading this Appeal, and underscoring his belief in the value of Armonico Consort’s work to bring the benefits of music to communities in need, with such an incredibly generous pledge. Through the Encore Appeal we will be addressing these situations head on, reversing the decline, tackling the neglect and providing for those in need.”
WATCH: The Encore Appeal and Warwick Memory Singers were featured on BBC Midlands Today
Find out more and support the Encore Appeal here
