THE ACADEMY of ST OLAVE’S – Charity Fundraising
The Academy of St Olave’s often uses concerts for charity fundraising
Charity Fundraising and Audience Donations
The Academy often chooses a charity to support. Audiences have also donated generously to collections held at many of our concerts.
Musical Connections
22 January 2022
£600 for Musical Connections, to run participatory music sessions and projects for older, isolated and vulnerable people in care and community settings across York
Jessie's Fund
25 Sept. 2021
£502 for Jessie’s Fund
26 January 2019
This concert raised £1,600 for Jessie’s Fund, which an anonymous donor generously matched, resulting in an amazing £3,200 for the charity.
25 June 2016
27 June 2015
18 January 2014
15 January 2011
£3,326 for Jessie’s Fund
Accomplish Children's Trust
25 January 2020
£378 for Accomplish, to support children with disabilities and their families in Africa
Home Start
6 July 2019
£1204 for Home Start
St Olave's Church & York Flood Disaster Fund
23 June 2018
£1269 for St Olave’s Church
23 January 2016
£420 for the St Olave’s Church Roof Repairs Fund & the York Flood Disaster Fund, with additional donations of £1,200 for the church roof repairs via the link on our blog
21 January 2012
£600 for the St Olave’s Church Roof fund
Yorkshire Air Ambulance
20 January 2018
£762 for Yorkshire Air Ambulance
St Leonard's Hospice
23 Sept. 2017
22 June 2013
£1,331 for St Leonard’s Hospice
Neuroblastoma UK
24 June 2017
£915 for the children’s cancer charity Neuroblastoma UK
York Against Cancer
21 January 2017
£757 for York based charity York Against Cancer
SASH
24 Sept. 2016
19 January 2013
£984 for SASH
Save the Children
19 Sept. 2015
£325 for the Save the Children Child Refugee Crisis Appeal
Disasters Emergency Committee
24 January 2015
£520 for the DEC Ebola Crisis Appeal
18 Sept. 2010
£1,132 for the DEC Pakistan Floods Appeal
23 January 2010
£654 for the DEC Haiti Earthquake Appeal
Martin House
14 June 2014
£457 for
Martin House Good Night’s Sleep Appeal
The Albanian Musicians' Trust
When the communist régime fell in 1990 there followed a period of anarchy, and classically trained musicians were in a desperate situation. The composer Thoma Simaku and the conductor Eno Koço and their families fled to England. Academy of St Olave’s bassoonist June Emerson raised funds to support them. This led to the formation of The Albanian Musicians’ Trust in 1991.
For fifteen years the Trust supported musicians in Albania and several students who came to study in the UK at Chetham’s School and the Royal Northern College of Music, including Academy of St Olave’s soloist Anila Milaj. The Trust helped Albanian composers to promote their music in the outside world. The Trust also sent quantities of printed music to the starved libraries and supplied strings and other accessories to the Albanian music schools.
Musical life has now regenerated in Albania, albeit on a smaller scale. The Trust was therefore wound up at the end of 2006, very happy with what it helped to achieve. The Albanian Academy of Arts presented June Emerson an award in 2012 for her years of hard work and tireless efforts to help Albanian musicians.
The Academy of St Olave’s raised funds for the Albanian Musicians’ Trust in several of its concerts, thus helping to support Anila Milaj’s studies in England, which were entirely funded by the Trust.
The Ian Theakston Memorial Trust
Ian Theakston was a familiar figure to all involved in York’s many musical events before his untimely accidental death in 1994. He was well known to his audiences and well loved by the musicians with whom he played. In particular he was a great friend of The Academy, playing his bass whenever we needed strengthening and giving generously of his time and knowledge in writing wonderfully researched programme notes for us over several years – they were the only notes that ever gave due prominence to the part played by the basses!
A charitable trust was set up to enable Ian’s contribution to music to continue, with the aim of making annual awards to young musicians in the area, particularly double bass players, to help them with their instrumental studies. The aim was that the fine tradition of orchestral playing in this area would be able to prosper and Ian’s memory would live on.
The concert on Saturday 16 September 1995 was in aid of the Ian Theakston Memorial Trust.