Press Relaese April 4th 2008

THE count down is now on to the big Charity concert of the year at the Bath Forum on Saturday May 3rd. Bath SHOWCASE with the Bath Chronicle as one of its sponsors brings together talented local singers and dancers on the big stage raising money for local deserving causes.

The first SHOWCASE took place last May raising £20,000. Organiser is Bath’s music man Grenville Jones who is well known through his leadership of three of the areas top singing groups as well as being the man behind the new Golden-Oldies Charity.

SHOWCASE gives young people the chance to display their talents and one of the groups taking part this year celebrates its 10th Anniversary. The Merriman Theatre Group was formed by Graeme Savage to encourage young people in the Midsomer Norton area to take part in professionally led workshops on all aspects of theatre and performance, as well as being involved in large-scale musical productions.

Graeme said: “We currently have forty members aged from 9-17, from ten different schools and colleges across B&NES. Merriman produce two shows every year, and are currently in the middle of rehearsals for High School Musical, following highly popular productions of Disney’s Aladdin, Barnum, The Wiz and Honk!”

More than 250 young people have been involved with the group in its first 10 years’.

Graeme added: "Merriman are delighted to have been invited to take part in the 2008 Showcase, and that our young people can combine the fun and experience of taking part in a massive event with doing our bit to help Grenville's support of the very deserving local charities. Merriman has always strived to be in the heart of the local community, and this is a great way for us to 'give something back'."

This year Grenville is working with Cllr Ian Dewey, the Chairman of Bath & North East Somerset who has chosen six local community groups to benefit from the evening.

They are Bath & District Samaritans, The Children’s Hospice South West, St John’s Ambulance Bath, Wansdyke Scouts, Midsomer Norton & Radstock Community Service Vehicle Trust and Crossroads Caring for Carers.

Also on stage this year will be the Jane Lilley Singers, The Curtain-Up Theatre Group run by Tristan and Sarah Carte, Bath Light Operatic Group, the Stockingtops girls harmony group, the Bath Community Gospel Choir and finally The City of Bath Male Choir will be contributing, the Choir was founded only two years ago by Grenville and has already made a huge impact on the local music scene, in only two years the Choir has built to a chorus of almost 80 singers, making a fantastic sound.

SHOWCASE could not take place without the generous sponsorship of some of Bath’s leading businesses. The main sponsor is Bath Building Society with support also from HSBC in Bath, Mowbray Woodwards Solicitors, Wessex Water, GWR Bath alongside the Bath Chronicle.

The tickets for Bath SHOWCASE this year are priced either £25 or £15 and can be purchased from the Bath Festival’s Box Office on 01225 463362 or if you would like to bring a group of people then please call Nikki on 01761 472468 as there are discounted rates for groups.

Press Relaese February 7th 2008

THIS years Bath Charity SHOWCASE concert will take place on Saturday May 3rd in the Bath Forum and organiser Grenville Jones is hoping for another full house.

SHOWCASE last year packed the Forum and raised £20,000, which was distributed to local community groups.

This year Grenville is working with Cllr Ian Dewey, the Chairman of Bath & North East Somerset who has chosen six local community groups to benefit from the evening.

They are Bath & District Samaritans, The Children’s Hospice South West, St John’s Ambulance Bath, Wansdyke Scouts, Midsomer Norton & Radstock Community Service Vehicle Trust and Crossroads Caring for Carers.

On stage this year will be the Jane Lilley Singers who have been delighting audiences in Bath for many years. The Curtain-Up Theatre Group run by Tristan and Sarah Carter who are bringing theatre and dance to hundreds of young people across the area each week.

The Bath Light Operatic Group are without question one of Bath’s leading music groups, they will be appearing plus The Stockingtops harmony group which was started by Grenville Jones and were such a huge hit last year when they appeared at the 2007 SHOWCASE for the first time.

Also on the bill this year will be the Bath Community Gospel Choir, directed by the multi-talented Jo Sercombe and The Merriman Theatre Group which this year enjoys it’s 10th Anniversary and finally The City of Bath Male Choir will be contributing, the Choir was founded only two years ago by Grenville and has already made a huge impact on the local music scene, in only two The Choir has built to a chorus of almost 80 singers, making a fantastic sound.

Cllr Ian Dewey, Chairman of the Council said: “Grenville is such a busy man and many of us wonder at how he fits so much into his life. We all tend to forget that he has his own publishing business to run and of course added to that is his leadership of the Silver Ring Choir, The City of Bath Male Choir and the Stockingtops singing group.

“Then he is the inspired man behind the new Golden-Oldies charity which will enhance the lives of so many people in the years ahead.”

SHOWCASE could not take place without the generous sponsorship of some of Bath’s leading businesses. The main sponsor is Bath Building Society with support also from HSBC in Bath, Mowbray Woodwards Solicitors, Wessex Water, GWR Bath and the Bath Chronicle.

Bath SHOWCASE on Saturday May 3rd is a community event and everyone involved is hoping that it will be another full house for what is bound to be a fantastic evening of music, song and dance.

The tickets for Bath SHOWCASE this year are priced either £25 or £15 and can be purchased from the Bath Festival’s Box Office on 01225 463362 or if you would like to bring a group of people then please call Nikki on 01761 472468 as there are discounted rates for groups.

Press Release December 13th 2007

FOLLOWING the huge success of the 2007 Bath & North East Somerset Charity Showcase concert, which took place in The Bath Forum in May 2007, there will be another bumper SHOWCASE featuring talented local groups on May 3rd 2008 again in The Bath Forum.

The sell-out 2007 show raised almost £20,000, which was distributed amongst 12 of the area’s smaller community groups, selected by Loraine Morgan-Brinkhurst who was the Chairman of Bath & North East Somerset in 2007.

Cllr. Ian Dewey is the 2008 Chairman of B&NeS and he approached Grenville Jones who organized the 2007 event to see if he would produce SHOWCASE 2008, and the answer was yes!

Main sponsor of the 2008 SHOWCASE is Bath Building Society supported by HSBC, Wessex Water, Mowbray Woodward Solicitors, the Bath Chronicle and GWR are the media sponsors.

Dick Jenkins is Chief Executive of Bath Building Society, he said:

“The SHOWCASE is a win, win, win event. The musicians and singers have a wonderful night and the audience enjoys a spectacular evening, which showcases so much local talent.

“Add to that the fact that the proceeds go to support the work of local groups in the community and we have someone like Grenville Jones in charge of it all, a man whose enthusiasm and drive ensures that all these events are a roaring success.

“Bath Building Society are proud to be the main sponsor of this brilliant initiative.”

The Charities chosen by Cllr Dewey to benefit from the 2008 SHOWCASE are: Bath & District Samaritans, Children’s Hospice South West, St John Ambulance Bath, Wansdyke Scouts, Midsomer Norton & Radstock Community Service Vehicle Trust, Crossroads Caring for Carers (B&NES but based in Radstock)

The groups taking part will be announced by Grenville in January.

Tickets priced £15 and £25 from Bath Festival Box Office on 01225 463362.