Support for young artists has been the backbone of BREMF almost from the start, and our pioneering young artists scheme BREMF Live! has supported more than 300 emerging early music artists since its inception in 2007.
A wonderful community has grown up around the scheme, and many of the ensembles whose lively and inspired programming makes our Festival events so special began as BREMF Live! artists.
So we were hugely touched when a large number of BREMF Live! Alumni approached us with the idea of getting together for a fundraising ‘Playathon’ to support the Festival in this difficult year. They recorded, edited and combined their films into 1.5 hours of wonderful music and messages of support, which were broadcast on Facebook in three parts last Saturday. The resulting videos are probably the best and most varied online concert available right now (though watch out for the cheeky digital sprites in the first item!).
We’ve added all three parts of the Playathon to the BREMF YouTube channel, to give everyone the opportunity to see these fantastic films, and if you wish, to support the young artists in their fundraising appeal. More than £800 has already been raised through this fantastic initiative – thank you so much to everyone who’s already donated!