THE DOME WARTIME HOSPITAL
Photo: Royal Pavilion Museums, Brighton and Hove
PRESENTS
Life, hopes and fears, a longing for home, camaraderie, courage and valour. 17 October 2018
Music Julian Joseph and Richard Taylor Libretto Tertia Sefton-Green
Introduction Following HMDT Music’s history of remembering voices rarely heard – whether children of the Holocaust (Hear Our Voice), black baseball players in the Negro Leagues (Shadowball) or African American boxer Joe Louis fighting German Max Schmeling as a representative of democracy amidst a background of segregation, my colleague Adam’s idea of delving into the contributions of the Indian Army and BWIR resonated strongly. Some stories were known and were to become more so over the past 4 years like Khudadad Khan the first Muslim awarded the VC, but our researchers Parmjit Singh and Stephen Bourne also unearthed stories of men like Jamaican Eugent Clarke who nearly died of frostbite in Halifax en route to the front, Flight Lieutenant Hardit Singh Malik the first Sikh fighter pilot to join the Royal Flying Corps (later the RAF now celebrating its centenary this year), who had a special helmet made to go over his turban giving him the nickname of The Flying Hobgoblin, Norman Manley who went on to be the first Premier of Jamaica, Major Hukum Singh Bahadur who looked after some of the many animals used in warfare and the young Herbert Morris who couldn’t cope with the horrors of war and was shot for desertion. There is very little that is redeeming or uplifting about the First World War unlike our past projects – even children’s Holocaust writings offered hope and so my biggest challenge was how to make something positive out of what took place because we were dealing with primary school children, without patronising or belittling the horrors and reality of warfare. Bringing together two ethnic minority groups: the Indian Army who were so important in the trenches in battles such as Neuve Chappelle, with the British West Indies Regiment who signed up to serve their King several thousand miles away from the Caribbean only to find out they weren’t trusted to hold a gun because they were black, offered a metaphor for understanding the value of everyone’s contribution whether on the front line or behind the scenes, a concept all young people can grasp. My other glimmer of hope was in the stories of soldiers like Lance Kulbir Thapa who rescued three soldiers and whose bravery was applauded by the Germans, or Manta Singh who saved his Lieutenant but later died of his own wounds. The spirit of comradeship, sacrifice and togetherness amidst the harshness of death in the trenches resonated as a meaningful way to present the war to primary schools: We’re striving together, to conquer the Hun We each have our tasks, leaving nothing undone. Trench Brothers together, one weapon, one gun. The piece you see tonight is the culmination of 4 years work by 50 schools, over 3,000 children, 20 professional composers (9 of whose work is
represented tonight) and myself. Where I was able, I drew on words from soldiers who experienced the war through snatched phrases of letters and diaries expanding the concept of collaboration even further. The use of puppetry as well as being an affordable way of giving every child performer a character and identity without the expense of a costume, was a means of enabling performers who until tonight’s performance, have only put together the piece in their school in a day, a way of offering both emotional involvement and detachment at the same time. Having puppets representing both armies also allowed us to go beyond any casting complexities, giving students a way to empathise with and portray the soldiers, so that the project would remain relevant regardless of student ethnicity. Since the project’s conception as a school tour, I have always wanted it to have a big ending. Cleveland (playing Norman Manley) encouraged me from the beginning that it deserved a public outing. Having sung every single one of 45 performances, he certainly deserves a public audience. Brighton spoke to me from the beginning because it had so much of its own history wrapped up in the stories we were telling – the Indian Military hospitals and the BWIR training camps in nearby Seaford. When I discovered the Dome was one of these hospitals I was determined to bring the project ‘home’ and it is a great delight to be able to premiere our newly expanded version of Trench Brothers in its magnificent space. The spirit of collaboration has been a pervading joy of the project and I want to thank everyone who has been part of that journey with deep gratitude. So many people who have contributed to tonight’s performance have been on that journey with me since the beginning or joined along the way and stayed. Thank you to all the artists, production team, schools, children and our own HMDT Music staff for everything you have contributed.
TERTIA SEFTON-GREEN Librettist and Creative Director
General Director Adam Eisenberg Creative Director Tertia Sefton-Green
PRESENTS
A new music theatre work commemorating ethnic minority soldiers in the First World War Music Julian Joseph and Richard Taylor Libretto Tertia Sefton-Green With Letter Songs by: Michael Betteridge, Jenny Gould, Matthew King, James Redwood, Omar Shahryar PREMIERE 17 October 2018 Directors Clare Whistler and Freya Wynn Jones Conductor Lee Reynolds Designer Neil Irish
Running time approximately 75 minutes with no interval. The performance will end at approximately 8:15pm Please ensure all mobile phones pagers and digital watches are turned off. Photography and the use of all audio and video recordings are strictly forbidden.
This work, commissioned by HMDT Music is made possible by generous grants from Arts Council England and PRS Foundation. Trench Brothers is a First World War project for primary school students conceived by Adam Eisenberg and Tertia Sefton-Green. Trench Brothers is made possible with the generous support of
In partnership with
Project and performance photos: Clive Barda
SYNOPSIS The British West Indies Regiment (BWIR) soldiers describe how they signed up to serve and fulfill their duty. Their main tasks are digging trenches, stocking ammunitions and transporting provisions, but they are not allowed to fight because they are black. Eugent Clarke recounts being hit by an iceberg in Halifax, Canada, where because they were dressed for the tropics, many troops died or were wounded by frost bite. The Indian Army prepare for battle and sepoy Daulat Khan serving with the 59th Scinde Rifles, meets Norman Manley a black British soldier serving with the Royal Artillery. They exchange stories of Daulat’s friend Manta Singh who saved the life of his wounded Lieutenant Captain Henderson, but was himself wounded and died in hospital in Brighton. Norman tells his own story of how he was promoted to being a Sergeant (non-commissioned Officer), but met with such racism that he asked to give up his stripes and change regiments. He is now a gunner with the Royal Field Artillery. An Officer asks for any letters home as the post is leaving. Letters from Khudadad Khan (later to be the first Muslim awarded the VC), William Robertson Clarke, the first black pilot to join the Royal Flying Corps, Indra Lal Roy, one of few Indians enlisted in the RFC, George Bemand fighting with the Royal Field Artillery, Sher Afzal Khan who fought in Egypt and Mesopotamia, David Louis Clemetson with the Pembroke Yeomanry and Kulbir Thapa the first Gurkha awarded the VC, give insight into their experiences. Norman receives a letter from his fiancée Edna and Manta Singh’s letter to his son, details the last moments of his life from his bed at the Kitchener hospital in Brighton. Herbert Morris, a young Jamaican with the BWIR is suffering from shell shock. Daulat is unsympathetic as to why he should be frightened since he is not on the front line fighting, but Norman argues it’s not his fault the BWIR aren’t allowed to use weapons and that without their work behind the scenes, the Indian and British Armies wouldn’t be able to get on with their jobs and fight. Together they all stand as one, each with their own tasks, striving together for the same goal of winning.
Shelling is heard and everyone is ordered to put their heads down and wait. The Battle Song describes the Sikh soldiers preparing to fight for Victory. Herbert cannot take any more and tries to run off. A soldier tries to stop him, but is shot. Herbert is brought back handcuffed and writes his final letter home before he is to be shot for desertion. All the soldiers mourn their passing and the waste of so many lives lost. The whistle blows heralding the signal to go over the top. The soldiers prepare for action.
All of the characters depicted were real life soldiers except for Daulat Khan and Winston who have been fictionalised.
MUSICAL NUMBERS 1. Overture 2. When War Was Declared 3. It’s a Long Way to Rawalpindi 4. Daulat’s Aria 5. Norman’s Aria 6. Letter Song: Khudadad Khan 7. Letter Song:William Robinson Clarke 8. 4- Part Letter Chorus
Julian Joseph Julian Joseph* Trad.* Richard Taylor* Julian Joseph* Omar Shahryar with Starks Field Primary School, Enfield, London Jenny Gould with Stamford Hill Primary School, Haringey, London arr. Richard Taylor Jenny Gould with Monteagle School Barking and Dagenham, London
Paul Griffiths, Kingsmead and Mandeville Schools, Hackney, London
Russell Hepplewhite, Colvestone School, Hackney, London
Matthew King, Monteagle School Barking and Dagenham, London
9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18.
Letter Song: Kulbir Thapa Duet: Norman and Edna Letter Song: Manta Singh Letter Song: Herbert Morris Duet: Norman and Daulat Battle Song Letter Song: Herbert Morris 2 Lament (So Many Dead) It’s a Long Way to Rawalpindi Trench Brothers Reprise
Richard Taylor with Torriano School, Camden, London Julian Joseph* James Redwood with all East Sussex Schools Matthew King with Gayhurst School, Hackney London Julian Joseph* Richard Taylor* Michael Betteridge with Willow Lane School, Lancaster, Lancashire Julian Joseph* Trad.*
Julian Joseph* * Lyrics Tertia Sefton-Green
#ThankYou100 Join The Royal British Legion in saying Thank You to the First World War generation who served, sacrificed and changed our world
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CAST, ARTISTIC AND PRODUCTION TEAMS Norman Manley Daulat Khan Narrator Puppeteer Puppeteer Edna Herbert Morris Winston, Herbert’s friend Officer Indian Soldier
Cleveland Watkiss Damian Thantrey Richard Sumitro Anna Pool Jane O’Donoghue Ava Joseph Jemima Opoku Eloise Eisenberg Oliver Griffiths Esme Kilburn
Soldiers from the Indian Army and British West Indies Regiment Carlton Hill Primary School Clementine Anstead, Isola Beacham, Jannatul Bhuyan, Esther Bowman, Orla Chapman, Ihsan Choudhury, Archie Clarke, Ernest Coleman, Lily Devlin, Florence Edwards, Marley Egan, Mia Georgieva, Aggi Gillham Moon, Christopher Jones, Michael Knight, Mika Labuschagne, Uma Letton, Kit London, Kevin Mizer, Hector Read, Grace Robinson, Violet Sims, Scout Smith, Indiana Strong, Logan Sunderland, Cesca Tettersell, Tanay Varghese
Coldean Primary School Jason Ancell, Lewis Andrews, Corbin Bailey, Sienna Baker, Riley Bartlett, Landen Bonner, Harvey Bowles, Toby Bristow, Philippa Brown, Lexi Campbell, Ava Corlett, Millie Crook, Elzbieta Cywka, Arthur Deedman, Daisy Donegan, Alisha Evans, Jessie Faires, Joseph Fearn Ousley, David Guy, Fawaz Haque, Harvey James Hawdon, Erin Hawes, Emil Helalat, Lily-Rose Hemsley, Dexy Hide, Bobbi Hooper, Samuel Horne, Sydney Jennings, Ayomide John, Selina Kilavuz, Mayson Lucas, Blake Matten, Honey Moore, Lawson O’Brien, Lexi Jade Osborne, Alliyah Ouassa, Kle Page, Olivia Palto, Sammy Pattenden, Eshal Raza, Lilli Richards, India Rose-Dell, Logan Russ Tugwell, Alfie Sheer, Ella Simmons, Jessica Strudwick, Grace Taylor, Charlie Terry Brand, Tamika Watson, China West, Luke Whitton
Cradle Hill Community Primary School Delilah Ashdown-Moore, Nina Blackwell-Rayan, Jenni Brayden, Hayley Bouwer, Evie Chapman, Samuel Clark, Ava Culbert, Dash Callen-Dickens, Dillon Drayton, Nicco Eastwood, Georgia Frostick, Keira Fuller, Mollie Garman, Ellie Greve, Leo Gerrish, Evie Heal, Atthiya Hussain, Romilly James, Freddie Jarvis, Lacie Mae Loxley, Beau Mills-Bennison, Madeline Morris, Olive Northcote-Green, Sam Philipson, Lily Prosser, Luke Pybus, Amelia Roberts, Kalisha Russell, Nithus Sathiyaseelan, Frankie Spiers, Farrall Stiles, Sadie Sophia Ullah, Elliot Varndell, Joshua Woodward, Ava Wright, Jay Wright
Harbour Primary and Nursery School Jessica Boxall, Thomas Boxall, Tai Chalmers, Leah Davis, Emily-Sky Deakin, Elizabeth Dedman, Tamzin Divers, Ella Harris, Amelia Hopson, Theo Macdonald, Modou Njai, Isabel Parsons, Elliott Peters, Amber-May Sneddon, TJ Tait, Shine Badibanga, Jay-Dee Brady, Libby Corthorn, Caitlin Cotton, Ulayla Crosthwaite-Phillips, Agatha Gajewczyk, Blake Georgiades, Krystal Lowe, Jacob Marsh, Kyle Mayo, Ollie Osbourne, Crystal Pontin, Riley Pulling, Benjamin Richards, Harvey Rose, Laura Turner, Amelie Wright, Freya Cocks, Jodie Covill, Amelia Cox, Angel Dohmatob, Heather Emery, Ruby Hill, Sophie Luffman, Katie Meredith, Julia Ostrowska, Bobbi Power
South Malling CE Primary and Nursery School Leo Allan, Joshua Barham, Louisa Beard, Amy Bomansaan, Jake Brown, Phoebe Cody, Max Crowley, Ronnie Davies, Harry Durrant, Alexander Edelman, Michael Goble, Peter Goble, Jack Green, Tyler Hood, Gabriel Horan, Layla Johnson, Abednego Keal, Dexter Kent, Lily Martin-Wythe, Mya Meggison-Hill, Poppy Moulding, George Norris, Scarlet Paterson, Benjamin Pickering, Stanley Porter, Miley Pullen, James Stovold, Beth Thompsett, Aimee Walden, Iris West
St John the Baptist Catholic Primary School Matt Amuaro, Micah Baluyot, Oscar Bird, Ned Casserly-White, Thomas Clarke, Lauren Concepcion, Liam Connolly, Paulinka Czaplinska, Ignacia England, Laramae Franco, Kyros Galapin, Eliza Harris, Zara Hayward-Parry, Lyllimae Head, Belle-Ange Katumba, Manna Kidane, Antoine Larong, Emilia Leonoviciute, Poppy Lyons, Pearse Macintyre, Vincent Pegley, Lola Perrin, Peter Samuels, Marta Slyfield, Kim Tamondong, Jake Thompson, Evan Yomba
St Nicolas CE Primary School Tiana Aliyari, Elliot Attwood, Isabella Baker, Emily Bradley, Matthew Brace, Mei-Lim Carter, Anika Conkleton, Naomi Crittenden, Ashton Dunk, Isaac Edbrooke, Beth Evans, Cicely Evans, Olivia Francis, Freya Gale, Fleur Gallagher, Celeste Howard, Daisy Howlin, Amelie Isom-Scott, Oliver Jones, Alice Jordan, Emma King, Evie Lancaster, Charlie Lopez, Marco Rizkallah, Ramy Sabry, Zelda Simbani, Amelia Smith, Bella Smith, Jacob Smith, Lennon Steele, Alfie Street, Emmie Tooke, Jude Varney, Maddie Winton
HMDT Music’s I Can Sing! Alice Rohini Abeysinghe, Noah Crasnow-Dodd, Eloise Eisenberg, Oliver Griffiths, Victor Hallam, Esme Kilburn, Jemima Opoku, Megan Wooldrige
Manager
THE BAND
ARTISTIC TEAM
WORKSHOPS
SCHOOLS’ STAFF
Julian Joseph Jazz Academy
Directors Clare Whistler Freya Wynn-Jones
Artefacts Handling John Meredith
Carlton Hill Primary School Joe Capps, Chris Paterson, Tamsen Beer
Costumed Interpreter Ranj Nagra
Coldean Primary School Cath Armstead, Pete Smart, Emma Gale, Sophie Clifford, Michelle Turner, Julie Tibbs, Kerry Kipling, Lucy Boase, Chris Brown, Mr McConnachie, Mr Watson
Piano Ayo Vincent Trumpet Matteo Fernandes Trombone James Wade Sired Tenor Saxophone Ruben Ross Drums/Percussion Wilf Cameron Bass Ezekiel Ajie CYMH Trio Violin Joanna Ly Clarinet/flute/alto sax Jonny Ford Cello Kate Leigh Singh Degun Duo Sitar Jasdeep Singh Degun Tabla Gurchetan Singh Gill Piano Jenny Gould
Conductor Lee Reynolds Designer Neil Irish Large Puppets Catherine Thomas Schools MD, pianist Jenny Gould Assistant Conductor, repetiteur David Keefe Small Puppet Design Little Angel Theatre Puppet Installation Laura Halliwell
PRODUCTION TEAM Stage Manager Penny Foxley Deputy Stage Manager Maria Gurevich Assistant Stage Manager Ellie Haffenden Wardrobe Joelle Doyle Production Manager Dennis Charles
Puppet making Laura Halliwell
HMDT Music General Director Adam Eisenberg Creative Director Tertia Sefton-Green Saturday Programme Co-ordinator Sabina Noble Projects Assistant Maja Wolniak Music Manager Angharad Thomas Senior Music Manager Rebecca Redfern Graphic Design DesignRaphael Ltd Photography Clive Barda Video Alan Bowyer Sets Hugo Sterk Printing Schwartz
Cradle Hill Community Primary School Ashley Simmonds, Amy Dower, Alina Hickmott, Andrea Keith Harbour Primary and Nursery School Olivia Mellor, Deniz Elton, Ben Silk, Christine Terrey, Lyn White South Malling CE Primary and Nursery School Katy O’Neill, Kate Matthews, Sophie Bomansaan, Vicky Newth, Jo O’Donoghue, Callum Wooller St John the Baptist Catholic Primary School Jane Noble, Bernadette Pelling, Carmel Hughes St Nicolas Primary CE Primary School Emma Steele, Sarah Pawley, Julie Dennis, Andy Richbell
HMDT Music’s I Can Sing! Tertia Sefton-Green Siu Hei Lee Katie Lewis Bless Klepcharek
Brighton Dome Hannah Gardner, Assistant Production
The project Since 2014 Trench Brothers has commemorated the achievements and contributions made by ethnic minority soldiers during the First World War with an education programme for primary schools. Trench Brothers brings the First World War to life for primary school children through the experiences and personal stories of the Indian army, British West Indies Regiment and black British soldiers, commemorating their contributions using puppetry, music, artefacts and cross-curricular learning, and culminating in performances of a new music theatre work. Alongside the commission of a new music theatre work, the programme has delivered a wide range of events enabling students and their communities to develop a creative response to their stories and immortalise the deeds of
A wonderful experience – would do it again in a heartbeat. A very fulfilling and interesting project to be a part of. T EACH ER , M ORN IN G S I D E S C H O O L
The best things was when we got to hold the guns because if we go to a museum we see guns but don’t hold them. STUD E NT
these forgotten soldiers for their fellow students and wider audiences. The project aims to show young people learning about the First World War how the war related to them and their own family heritage by enabling everyone to empathise with the service of ethnic minority soldiers, whose lives they discover themselves through our research tool kits, thereby taking an ownership of their individual stories. Trench Brothers has visited over 50 schools in London, Lancashire, Staffordshire and the South East since it was launched in 2014. Each participating school received an artefacts handling session (delivered by partners National Army Museum or Lancashire’s Heritage Learning Team), in which students tried on uniforms and handled a range
of objects from weapons to letters, helmets shattered by shells, and magazines. Next was a visit from a costumed interpreter – an actor portraying a First World War soldier from the Indian Army bringing his physical and emotional experiences on the front line to life for the students. Supporting these visits was the use of the Trench Brothers on-line Education Zone for teachers offering contextual background information to the First World War with an emphasis on ethnic minority Commonwealth forces, together with over 90 newly commissioned lesson plans, activities and downloads in every curricular subject.
I loved all the new facts I learnt and I am hungry for more – I love learning from the past now! S T U DEN T
It was very emotional and gave us a good experience of what happened in the war and what they went through - I now respect the soldiers who risked their lives to save our country. S T U DEN T
We have been able to plan our whole curriculum around the project with the brilliant Education Zone being a valuable resource to support cross-curricular learning. TEAC HER, C OLVESTO NE SCHO O L
Trench Brothers is an imaginative and inspiring project taking the incredible story of our Great War ethnic minority soldiers to London’s primary schools. It is a wonderful synthesis of music, theatre and puppetry engaging young people and challenging them to think about the events of a century ago. D R A N D RE W M U R R I S O N M P
Each school was given a specific soldier to research (aided by our online tool kit), after which every child characterised the soldier’s story by writing a letter home from their soldier. After my editing these letters into lyrics, students then set their letter to music in composition sessions with a range of professional composers working in different musical genres, many of which have been incorporated into tonight’s performance. Students also worked with puppet workshop leaders from partners Little Angel Theatre (or in Lancashire, Horse and Bamboo), to build their own force of Trench Brothers: puppets in historical uniform who embody their soldiers’ spirit. The project culminated in performances
The writing we got out of the children was phenomenal. Each child, at their own level was able to excel and produce work of a very high standard.They were keen to know more and many did their own research at home.They brought every experience from this whole project into their writing and were able to produce some amazing poems, diary entries and letters. TE AC HE R, B ER G E R S CH O O L
of the half hour specially commissioned music theatre work which, following research into unknown and known stories of West Indian and Indian troops, draws from their historical, cultural and musical influences. It was performed in each school by an artistic team together with all the participating students who sang the Letter Song they had helped compose, (making every performance unique), as well as other songs from the work, and formed the chorus of troops with their Trench Brother puppets. Following five successful terms of running the project across London, Trench Brothers was developed for a tour with ten schools in Lancashire alongside the creation of a new interactive exhibition which toured to the Lancaster Maritime Museum, The
I learnt that you can create anything with a little imagination and some materials. S T U D ENT We loved seeing our letters transform into a song and work with a real composer. We learned how to make our song come to life using emotions and feelings. S T UDENT
Flyde Gallery (Lytham) and Clitheroe Castle. The exhibition follows the stories of eight individual soldiers drawing visitors into their experiences with recordings of school’s Letter Songs and artwork offering a creative response to the complex subject matter through the eyes of children aged 9-11.
War locally through the Indian Military Hospitals in Brighton and the British West Indies Training Camp at Seaford.
This year it was seen by over 20,000 visitors at the National Memorial Arboretum which also hosted an outdoor performance of the smallscale work. The exhibition is currently being shown at Newhaven Fort supported by artwork from all today’s participating schools. It includes findings from a new research project managed by local community interest company Strike a Light Heritage and Arts which explores the impact of the First World
Local impact has been an important focus of bringing the project to the South East. Alongside guided visits to Chattri Memorial and Seaford Cemetery, students from our seven participating schools in Brighton, Lewes, Newhaven and Seaford composed a Letter Song with local composer James Redwood, from Manta Singh who spent his last days in the Kitchener Hospital in Brighton having saved the life of his officer Captain Henderson. Singh and Henderson’s sons went on to serve together in the Second World War and the families are still friends today – an uplifting legacy amidst the pain and horrors of so much of the reality of the First World War.
It gave an understanding and grasp of the impact of war – a huge feeling of pride at being able to tell a story respectfully, giving the soldiers the recognition they deserve. TEAC HER, WALKER
What an opportunity for our children! We have never done anything like this before at our school and I was astonished with the results. We loved learning our songs and taking part in a show with another year group. All the children were so proud of the part they’ve played and the feedback from parents has been amazing. One parent said ‘Best thing I’ve ever seen.’
SC HOOL
TEAC HER, WILLOW LA NE SCHO O L
VIRTUAL EXHIBITION The following pages are sample panels from our Trench Brothers Exhibition, designed by Lancashire Conservation Studios, which is currently on view at Newhaven Fort until 4 November 2018. It encourages visitors to select an Identity card to follow a particular soldier’s experiences, trace their geographical journey and see how children have responded to their story through songs and artwork.
Only 16 when he volunteered for service, Herbert Morris was sta tioned in Flanders close to the front line . Despite clear symptoms of she ll shock, no medical report was sought when he was arrested after being ca ught absent without leave. Recruited for the 6th Battalion of the British West Indies Regimen t (6BWIR), Herbert Morris was sent from Jamaica to ‘Essex Farm’ near Poperinge near Ypres. His batt alion built trench parapets amid st the sound of British guns firing over four million shells, and many were wounded from German retaliatio n.
ment troops British West Indies Regi cap badge.
cil of the National Cour tesy of the Coun on. Army Museum, Lond
A priest living close by recalled some members of the 6BWIR became disorientated and afrai d. Eventually Herbert’s nerves gave way and he fled. He was abse nt without leave for two days befo re being captured, arrested and given 14 days field punishment. On 20 August 1917, having seen seven of his comrades become casu alties, he jumped from the lorry retur ning him to his battery. Arrested again he pleaded: “I am troubled with my head and cannot stand the sound of the guns. I reported to the Dr [sic] and he gave me no medicine or anything.” Despite character witnesses testif ying to him being a willing work er of above average intelligence who had given no cause for troub le, no medical officer was asked to confirm Herbert’s statement.
In action: British We st Indies Re troops sta giment cking 8 inc h shells at on the Go a rdon Road , Ypres, Oc dump tober 1917. © IWM E(A US) 2078
Subedar Manta Singh and Lieutenant Robert Henderson
The first Indian recipient of the Victoria Cross, Khudadad Khan was awarded the highest honour for bravery, self-sacrifice and devotion to duty for single-handedly holding the German forces at bay. Born in 1888 in present day Pakistan, Khudadad Khan’s father was a Pathan, a Muslim tribesman from the Afghan/Indian border region. Khudada d enlisted in the Indian Army as a sepoy (private) in the 129th Duke of Connaug ht’s Own Baluchis. One of the first units of the Indian Army Corps to see action, the 129th Baluchis were amongst 20,000 Indian soldiers sent to the front in October in 1914 to help the exhausted and depleted troops of the British Expeditionary Force. On 30 October Khudadad Khan was serving as a machine gunner in Hollebeke, near Ypres. In shallow water-logged trenches offering little protectio n, the Baluchis faced a dire shortage of men and weapons and were even forced to make improvised explosives out of jam tins. Khan’s machine-gun team fought on, preventing the Germans from breaking through, but the detachm ent’s Captain was severely wounded and soon after the other gun was disabled by a shell. Khudadad Khan and his team, led by Havildar Ghulam Muhamm ad continued to operate the remaining gun until only Khan remained alive. Despite being badly wounded, he managed to pretend he was dead until the attacker s had left, making his way back to what remained of his regiment at night. The actions of the Baluchis held the enemy at bay for long enough for other Indian and British troops to halt their attack and ensure the ports remaine d in Allied hands. Today this action is known as the Battle of Ypres.
My dearest son Assa, I wish I could be back home with you, but the storm isn’t over yet. All the things I used to do with you – I miss those moments, those times. Be a child while you still can Assa – remember to be a child. I was lucky to have made a good friend: George Henderson a captain of the British Army. We did everything together: cleaned our bondooks, played card games and ate together. I taught him some words in Hindi and he taught me how to play Rummy. [George is a very strict but he is fair and inspiring as well.] We both have sons of a similar age. I hope you will meet one day. The trenches started as holes but were quickly complex blood-covered mazes Bombs like fireworks exploding into a fiery orange cloud of danger. Murderous fire leapt about tearing up trees Setting them alight like the tongues of a three headed dragon. Bullets flew overhead slicing the blood-filled air. Foul rain spiraling all day and night soaking us head to toe. Henderson was close to death in No man’s land. I knew I had to save him. The captain that looked after me all those years in the war, just lying there in need, It was almost dawn and the sun was just a slither of ribbons upon the horizon. To be able to keep going, I had to have hope I couldn’t leave him there to die. I lifted him into a rusty wheelbarrow And that’s when I got hit. I have a gargantuan wound on my left leg and it is as deep as a trench! I’m a delicate little robin that has broken its wing I had hoped to be home soon. They sent me to a small town in Blighty called Brighton The patterned ceilings tower over me as I lie in my lonely hospital bed A chandelier that looks like a million stars stolen from the night sky. At night, the strong, crashing waves wake me up endlessly and make my spine shiver They sound just like the gunshots which burnt through my legs. The thin sea air like a thick blanket over the wounds Out in the beautiful Pavilion Gardens, the men gather each day to reminisce I only wish we were in good spirits to better absorb the cheer from tourists and locals. Shall I go home? Will I see my hometown of Punjab again? Will I see my beloved wife again? I cannot sleep. I gaze longingly at the moonlight on the calm sea. The sea stares back at me asking questions which I cannot provide answers to. As I lie in bed I can feel my life fading. As I die I feel a sense of pride. Captain Henderson I hope you are well. Please keep my family safe my good friend. My loving Assa, you are the moon in the sky guiding me through the darkest night. My soul is breaking like a thousand bullets to my heart, not seeing you Please protect your mother when I am gone. My loved ones, be strong.You will survive this war. I will love you all until the end Your love is my world.
Thanks to LOCAL PARTNERS Nicola Benge, Strike A Light Kath Dudley, Newhaven Fort Sam Carroll, Gateways to the First World War Emma Collins and Peter Chivers, Brighton and Hove Music & Arts HISTORIC IMAGES © National Army Museum © Imperial War Museum © National Memorial Arboretum © Royal Air Force Museum © Royal Pavilion Museums, Brighton and Hove © Archives municipales de Cannes © USI-CAFHR Derec Ltd Jasdeep Singh, National Army Museum Sarah Schofield, Little Angel Theatre Davinder Dillon, Chattri Memorial Charlotte Warner Steven Dean
Brighton Dome by Douglas Fox-Pitt © IWM Art 323
Letter from Manta Singh written by all the South East Schools
The Music Box Early Years offers under 4s and their parents singing, movement and visits from guest artists on a range of instruments.
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HMDT Music twice winner of the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Education is a leader in creating inspiring arts projects to enrich learning and transform lives. Working with world class artists and leading experts, HMDT Music increases access to high quality musical experiences by commissioning new performance works created through an artistic fellowship between artists and participants, developing cross-curricular resources, creating enduring partnerships, and sustaining an extensive outreach programme to schools and the community in areas of significant disadvantage and deprivation
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Dedicated to breaking down barriers to participation, HMDT Music aims to offer all young people and their communities, particularly those with the least engagement, sustained artistic programmes together with life-changing performance opportunities to increase skills, raise aspirations and discover the joys of creativity.
Without the One Spirit Project I would be back in jail. Now I would love to be mentoring and do the same for other people that the project did for me. H OWARD, EX - OF F ENDER
SA M S ON , S T U DENT
The Hackney Chronicles 2001 Touring Primary School cross-curricular project with an opera by Jonathan Dove celebrating Hackney’s history.
The World Was All Before Them 2004 A Primary Schools opera telling the stories of how students’ parents came to Hackney.
On London Fields 2004 Community Opera created as part of Operaction Hackney Skills for Life Courses. Royal Philharmonic Society Award Winner
I’ll Be Seeing You 2005 Community Opera commemorating the Home Front during WWII as part of HMDT’s 10th Anniversary Concert celebration.
Hear Our Voice 2006 Cantata set to children’s Holocaust writings performed in, and with, children from Nuremberg, Prague and London.
The Julian Joseph Jazz Academy enables students to work with leading jazz artists to explore jazz through its American roots.
Core Projects include The Saturday Programme, which offers: The Music Box (Early Years), Fledglings (Reception), I Can Sing! (Performing Arts), CYMH (Instrumental School), Music Treehouse (SEN/D) and the Julian Joseph Jazz Academy. One Spirit, is HMDT Music’s rehabilitation and mentoring programme for young offenders running since 2009 at HMYOI Feltham and more recently also at HMYOI Cookham Woodand HMP Highdown. HMDT Music’s commissions for schools include Trench Brothers; Shadowball, a jazz opera celebrating black Baseball players of the 1930s-40s and their jazz compatriots; Hear Our Voice an international project
HMDT is one of the very few idealistic, altruistic organisations . . . which advocates the use of music in human development . . . genuine heroes. T HE T I M E S
It has been a great four years for me too, watching her grow in confidence and seeing the social benefits she has derived from taking part, not just the technical ones.Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. ICS! has been one of the most rewarding elements of her primary school years – and I include Trench Brothers in that. D IA N E , PA R ENT
I Can Sing! Performing Arts offers music theatre training through voice, dance and stagecraft and performance opportunities.
working with students in London, Nuremberg and Prague creating a response to writings of children living through the Holocaust; Confucius Says celebrating the Beijing Olympics with a new opera created with 9 schools and On London Fields a community opera for Hackney developed through adult Skills for Life courses. HMDT Music’s newest project TIME (testing impact, measuring effect) launched in September will work with six Lancashire schools over 3 years to help them develop ways of embedding the arts across the curriculum. Since 1995: l Over 70,000 people have participated in workshops, projects and performances; l More than 45 new works have been commissioned and performed; l HMDT Music has grown from being a small local charity to working across the UK and internationally.
No other musical company matches HMDT Music for quality, outstanding outcomes, profound musical and cross-curricular learning and long-term legacy. HMDT helped me turn around staff and parental expectations of the standard that could be achieved at the highest level across the whole school, leading to our first Outstanding Ofsted report. J AC QUELINE BRUTON- SIMMONDS, EX EC UTIVE H EA D TEAC HER JUBILEE SC HOOL
Confucius Says 2008 Opera with nine schools celebrating the Beijing Olympics. Royal Philharmonic Society Award Winner
Shadowball 2010 Jazz opera and baseball project for Primary School students. National Tour 2012.
The Brown Bomber 2012 Jazz dance and boxing project for Secondary School students. PRS for Music Foundation’s 20 x 12 Programme RPS New Works Award Winner
Trench Brothers 2014 -2018 First World War project about ethnic minority soldiers using puppetry, artefacts, composition and performance. David Bedford Education Award
One Spirit An ongoing arts and mentoring rehabilitation project with young offenders.
BIOGRAPHIES
Michael Betteridge Letter Song Composer Described as ‘inventive’ (Financial Times) Michael’s interest is in creating work that challenges and inspires audiences and performers alike. His work has been performed by London Symphony Orchestra, BCMG, soprano Sarah Leonard, violinist Nicola Benedetti, and on BBC Radio 3 and 4. Recent large works include: the Anglo-Icelandic Twitter opera #echochamber; a work for male voices and piano with Andrew McMillan entitled the body is a choir room which was recently shortlisted for ISCM World Music Days; and a song cycle for massed young voices Do you see? Do your hear? commissioned by BCMG alongside Royal Society of the Arts.
Jenny Gould Pianist/Letter Song Composer Jenny Gould’s work for HMDT Music includes Associate MD Shadowball and Letter Song Composer/MD for Trench Brothers, alongside numerous song-writing workshops. Jenny is Composer/MD for Opera Brava, Full Circle Children’s Theatre Company and Young Shakespeare Company. English Philharmonia publishes her children’s songbook, Songs of Imaginings. She performs with cabaret group Shoo Shoo Baby, and Hurly Burly Co. as cocreator of ‘Over the Moon, a first opera for little people,’ for 0-2s. She is a gigging songwriter, artist name Jenni, with a selfreleased EP.
Neil Irish Designer
Julian Joseph Composer
Neil trained in Birmingham and later at The Slade UCL. Recent opera productions have been for Opera Holland Park. English Touring Opera, Den Jeske Opera Denmark. W11 Children’s Opera, Royal Academy of Music and Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Recent theatrical projects include for Derby Theatres, Watford Palace Theatre, English Theatre Frankfurt, Guildford Shakespeare Company and Watermill Theatre. Neil has also worked in both Set and Costume Departments for BBC TV. Neil’s other productions for HMDT Music include Brown Bomber, Shadowball and Confucius Says.
A towering figure in contemporary jazz as a pianist and composer, Julian’s stage works include Bridgetower (City of London Festival/English Touring Opera), Shadowball and The Brown Bomber (HMDT Music). Alongside four albums and works for small band, his large-scale compositions have been performed by the Halle, BBC Concert Orchestra and Liverpool Philharmonic, at the Royal Opera House, Wigmore Hall and London Jazz Festival. His most recent work, Tristan and Isolde was premiered at the QEH last week by BBC Concert orchestra and Singers to great acclaim. Julian is Artistic Director of HMDT Music’s Julian Joseph Jazz Academy as well as the Company’s Patron and is a regular presenter on Radio 3.
Matthew King Letter Song Composer
James Redwood Letter Song Composer
Lee Reynolds Conductor
Tertia Sefton-Green Librettist/Creative Director
“One of Britain’s most adventurous composers, utterly skilled, imaginative and resourceful” (Judith Weir Master of the Queen’s Music), award winning Matthew King’s works include The Pied Piper, (Salzburg and Nuremberg 2018); Il Pastorale, l’Urbano e il Suburbano, (Aldeburgh 2015); Schoenberg in Hollywood; King’s Wood Symphony for massed horns and electronics (2007); Velocity, (Aurora Orchestra 2012); Totentango (London Symphony Orchestra 2010) and a piano concerto (San Diego 2018). Commissions for HMDT include The World Was All Before Them, On London Fields (RPS Award), Odyssean Variations for cellist Natalie Clein. Matthew is Professor of Composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
James is an award-winning composer and music leader whose practice thrives on collaboration and partnership. He has an international career, working with orchestras, opera companies and arts organisations to create new music with and for non-professional groups of all technical abilities.Thrice shortlisted for the British Composer Awards for commissions from Sinfonia Viva, in 2013 he won a BASCA award for his Olympic Symphony Pass the Torch an RPO commission devised and performed by 350 young instrumentalists and 3500 young singers. In 2009 he orchestrated material for Gorillaz’ Plastic Beach whose title track was Grammy nominated. He performs and devises music with alt-pop band, Firefly Burning.
Lee’s 2018 highlights include performances and recordings with the LSO, the first orchestral performance in the new Linbury Theatre, Royal Opera House and concerts with Orchestra of Opera North, Krakow Opera, and NYO. Lee has recorded with LSO and the Philharmonia at all the major London studios, and a live performance with the BBC Philharmonic was recently broadcast on Radio 3. He has conducted soundtracks for film and video game releases, and recently assisted on the Teatro Real’s new production of Kurt Weill Street Scene. Music Director of Glyndebourne Youth Opera, Lee will conduct the premiere of Howard Moody’s new community opera, Agreed, in 2019.
Tertia read English at Selwyn College Cambridge, before training as a singer at RNCM and GSMD and performing with companies such as Glyndebourne and Opera North. Executive Producer for Covent Garden’s Creation 2000, she then set up the Handel House Education department. Librettist and Artistic Director for Hear Our Voice (Composers Jonathan Dove and Matthew King), HMDT Music’s international project based on children’s Holocaust writings performed in London, Nuremberg and Prague, Tertia’s work as Creative Director for HMDT Music includes creating, developing, fundraising and managing their awardwinning projects as well Conductor for their I Can Sing! Music Theatre programme.
Omar Shahryar Letter Song Composer
Richard Sumitro Narrator
Richard Taylor Composer
Damian Thantrey Daulat Khan
Omar is a composer, facilitator and peace-maker working for arts organisations around the world to engage and empower new audiences. His internationally acclaimed opera, A Shoe Full of Stars, about young people’s reactions to terrorism, was reported on by Channel 4 and ITV News. Omar is Artistic Director of Opera Schmopera, making opera for young people, and a board member for Tête-à-tête and the European Network of Opera, Music and Dance Education (RESEO). Omar is finishing his PhD thesis in the Composition of Opera for Young People at the University of York funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
Recent work includes: the film We Can Be Heroes and the upcoming BBC TV series Informer. Past credits: I Call My Brothers at the Gate Theatre, Game at the Almeida, Hobson’s Choice at the Young Vic. Film and TV: The Bunker on Amazon Prime, Citizen Khan for the BBC and Prime Suspect 1973 for ITV. Richard has also worked extensively in children’s theatre: at the Unicorn Theatre in The Red Fortress and Duck and also for Theatre Royal Stratford East in Robin Hood and Pinocchio. Richard created the role of Daulat Khan in 2014.
Richard’s stage works include Calderland (RPS Award 2018), Flowers for Mrs Harris (recently Chichester Festival Theatre, also Best Musical UK Theatre Awards 2016), The Go-Between (Apollo Theatre, West End, also Best Musical UK Theatre Awards 2012), Ludd and Isis (ROH), Confucius Says for HMDT Music (RPS Award 2008), Whistle Down the Wind (worldwide). Alongside commissions for orchestras such as The Man Who Planted Trees, Services No Longer Required for BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Richard has scored for over 60 plays regionally and in the West End including The York Realist (Donmar Warehouse), Macbeth and Afterplay (Sheffield Theatres), King Lear and Yerma (West Yorkshire Playhouse).
Anglo-Indian opera singer Damian, read law at Clare College, Cambridge before training at Royal College of Music. His eclectic opera roles include performances with Royal Opera, Scottish Opera, Opera North, Opéra de Lyon, Opéra National de Lorraine and Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris. Damian’s premieres of over 40 new works, include HMDT Music’s Confucius Says and, to great critical acclaim Thomas Hyde’s That Man Stephen Ward, recorded for Resonus Classics. Damian is Artistic Director of the 2018 Lichfield Festival and Hargrave Music Festival.
Cleveland Watkiss Norman Manley
Clare Whistler Director/ Original Production
Freya Wynn-Jones Director
Cleveland Watkiss MBE, winner of: Best Vocalist Guardian Jazz Awards, London Jazz Awards, Parliamentary Jazz Awards and best jazz act nominee MOBO 2017 has appeared with many of today’s leading international artists, including Art Blakey, Stevie Wonder, The Who, Goldie, Bob Dylan, Björk, Robbie Williams, Bobbie McFerrin, Talvin Singh, Wynton Marsalis, London Community Gospel Choir and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Alongside starring roles in Julian Joseph’s two groundbreaking Jazz operas, Bridgetower and Shadowball and his recent oratorio Tristan and Isolde to considerable acclaim, Cleveland is a keen music educator leading workshops across the UK and was recently appointed Professor of Voice at Trinity Laban.
Clare is a site-specific collaborative artist who creates events across many art forms. Trained at Elmhurst Ballet School and Rambert, her dance and choreography career started in Canada followed by 15 years in San Francisco with her own dance company. For Glyndebourne Opera, numerous education projects as director and choreographer, mainstage as Assistant Director to Richard Jones and worldwide productions of Theodora and Tristan for Peter Sellars. Choreography for Olivia Fuchs includes Opera Holland Park, Garsington Opera, Buenos Aires and in Denmark. For HMDT Music Clare has directed Hear Our Voice, Confucius Says (RPS Award) and the original production of Trench Brothers.
Freya Wynn-Jones is a director and opera maker working with numerous collaborations to create new work and find contemporary resonance in longstanding repertoire. Currently Associate Artist to the Royal Opera House Youth Opera Company, other recent projects include working with the English National Opera, Garsington Opera, Glyndebourne Opera, Mahogany Opera Group, Aurora Orchestra, GSMD and HMDT Music. Co-founder of Voicings Collective Freya recently created a new cross-discipline vocal ensemble Same Sun for Spitalfields Music. At the heart of her work is truthful storytelling and a desire to test how the voice, in all its forms, can enhance the theatrical experience and connection.
Photo: Clive Barda
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