On Sunday 9th February, the choir gave a joint concert with Pendeen Silver Band and St Mary’s Church of England School choir to honour the memory of Rev Julyan Drew. The concert was held in Chapel Street Methodist church in Penzance. For all the participants it was a privilege to participate in the concert as one of the aims was to raise funding for a memorial bench which will have pride of place in Newlyn next to the beautiful bronze and granite Newlyn Fishermen’s memorial. The bench, is designed by the renowned local artist Tom Leaper, in conjunction with Julyan’s family. It will be a lasting tribute to him which will be enjoyed by the community he served. Tom, who was born in Newlyn is one of Cornwall’s most experienced and creative sculptors.

There was an extremely large audience, filling downstairs completely and spilling over into the upstairs seating. Mousehole MVC started the evening with a group of four songs which included Tobin Stokes’ ‘Hunker Down’. Given that Storm Ciara was in progress, and described as a ‘weakening’ extratropical cyclone with forecasted wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph and the possibility of gusts up to 80 mph along coastal regions, the music was more than apt!

Under the direction of music conductor Laura Nicholas-Hall the children captivated and delighted the audience with their singing. The children sang with passion and emotion which moved every single person who was there listening

Pendeen Silver Band, directed by Darren Jenkin, led a Cornish themed tribute to Julyan, which commenced with a rousing Cornish March followed by the beautiful piece 'Morning in Cornwall’. This was followed by the popular Pirates of Penzance overture by Arthur Sullivan and the final piece the hymn tune ‘The Day Thou Gavest Lord Has Ended’

The final group of songs from Mousehole included Dan Forrest’s ‘And Can It Be?’ which, for the audience, provoke a very emotional response. The last piece the choir sang was at the request of Julyan’s family and one of Julyan’s favourite choir pieces, Stephen Smith’s arrangement of Leon Dublinsky’s ‘We Rise Again’.

The audience was extremely appreciative giving, each act a standing ovation. Finally the evening ended with Pendeen Silver Band leading everyone in a rousing performance of ‘Trelawney’. Musical Director Darren Jenkin said  “My personal highlight was leading both choirs, the band, members of Julyan's family and the large audience in a rousing performance of Trelawney to end the evening in a way befitting of the great man Julyan was. I am sure he would have been proud of everyone's efforts.”

The concert was also recorded by CoastFM and highlights were broadcast over the following week.

One of the Mousehole’s choir members, Rodney Ward summed up the evening, “It was an honour and a pleasure to sing in this concert tonight. The emotion we all felt came through in the songs we sang. An amazing night for an amazing man. It's a concert I will remember and treasure.” Those sentiments are echoed by all the choir and by everyone who was present.

The retiring collection raised £1,476 towards the bench.