Bede Wind

Bede Wind and Bede Chorus are performing a joint concert next weekend in memory of former choir member Ray Mackintosh.

Throughout his life Ray worked for the common good, having been a keen supporter of the Rotary Club of Gosforth and international Rotary.

He served in the RAF, spending much of his time playing for the RAF cricket team at Mediterranean bases.

Ray was a member of the Methodist Church and served in various capacities, including organist, and sang in choirs including Bede Chorus.

His wife Kathleen and son Geoff are sadly no longer with us, but daughter Judith is a member of Bede Chorus and will sing with the choir at the concert, at 7pm on Saturday June 6 at Trinity Church, Gosforth.

The programme features a number of military marches including Aces High (Luftwaffe March), 633 Squadron, RAF March Past and the Dambusters March as well as a range of other standards such as The Sound of Music, Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and Rossini’s Thieving Magpie.

Meanwhile Bede Chorus will perform songs including Let the Earth Resound and Homeward Bound.

Tickets costing £10 can be purchased online at https://www.ticketsource.com/bede-wind/t-kdypaeq or pay on the door.

Our next concert will showcase a vibrant mix of music from musicals and film scores to Latin American rhythms, jazz, and traditional marches – promising a captivating and memorable evening for all.

It’s a first appearance at Gosforth Civic Theatre for Bede Wind on Saturday March 14 at 7pm.

For more information and to book tickets, visit: https://gosforthcivictheatre.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/1173673133

Ypres, in West Flanders, Belgium

Bede Wind is conducting a tour of Belgium at the end of this month, performing concerts at Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk in De Panne and Wapenplein Square in Ostend.

Quite aptly, following last week’s 80th anniversary of VE Day, we will also play at the Last Post at Menin Gate, Ypres – the city the band will be based at for the week. Excursions will include visits to the Tyne Cot Cemetery and Passchendale Museum.

Our 34-strong party leaves on Monday May 26 and returns on Friday May 30.

For some members of the band, including Conductor Ernest Young, it will be a return to the West Flanders province after 35 years – in 1990 they accompanied Springfield School Band from Jarrow on a tour which also took in Ostend and Bruges.

We’re very much looking forward to our trip, which has been organised by Rayburn Tours. Watch out for photos on our Facebook page!

Bede Wind is joining the national celebration of 80 years of peace since the end of World War Two in Europe.

We will be performing at Whitburn Parish Church – a venue very familiar to us – on the evening of Thursday May 8.

Two weeks later the band will be heading off on a tour of Belgium, which will include trips to Passchendaele and the Tyne Cot Cemetery. Our base is Ypres, so we will visit a number of locations synonymous with World War One.

We return from Belgium to play at South Shields Amphitheatre on Sunday June 15.

From a sunrise in Osaka to the American Civil War, we have a unique global playlist in this concert – with tunes from Japan, Korea, Russia, North and South America and our home nations.

Join us for a musical journey from the Midwest to the Far East at Trinity Church, Gosforth, on Saturday March 8 at 7pm. Tickets costing £10 can be purchased online here:

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/bede-wind/t-xmkrzop

Tickets have just gone on sale online for our annual Christmas concert.

‘Spirit of Christmas’, billed as the concert with the most Christmas tunes, is being held at Trinity Church, Gosforth, on Saturday December 14 at 7pm and will feature Bede Wind and Bede Chorus.

The Conductor is as always Ernest Young and the Accompanist is Peter Waugh. Admission cost is £10 (adults) and £5 (children).

You can purchase your ticket online here or from Bede Wind or Bede Chorus members, or pay at the door on the night.

Our autumn programme starts with our 26th Prom at Whitburn Parish Church on Friday October 4 at 7.30pm.

We have been invited to take part in a weekend festival of music at Doxford Hall on Friday November 1, where we will be entertaining guests at the luxury Northumberland hotel and spa during dinner.

The festival also features Northumberland Pipes and Fiddle with Andy and Margaret Watchorn and Janet Bennet & the Harpsichord!

Our Christmas concert is at 7pm on Saturday December 14 at Trinity Methodist Church in Gosforth, one of our favourite venues.

Our 2023 Christmas concert at Trinity

We hope to see you at one of our autumn concerts – for ticket enquiries please email hello@bedewind.com.