A BENEFIT concert in aid of The Helen Foundation, featuring talented Devon musicians, is being held at Victoria Hall, Friday, September 29. It will also be the official launch of the charity that was set up in memory of young Shaldon actress Helen Kirk, who died in a Boxing Day car crash. The concert features performances by professional musicians and will include Mozart's Clarinet Quintet played by the Serenoa Quartet with Chris Gradwell playing a period clarinet. It will be the centerpiece of the programme to mark the fact that Mozart completed his famous quintet on September 29. It is also the 250th anniversary year of his birth. Nationally renowned soprano, Heloise West will perform compositions ranging from Cole Porter to Lisa Lehmann. She will be accompanied by Aubrey Mabin. Other items include pieces performed by musicians from Dawlish and Teignmouth Community Colleges and from Trinity School, under the direction of Nigel Crabtree. The event marks the Teignbridge launch of the Foundation. It will be attended by The Countess of Devon, a foundation patron, and by Cllr Beryl Austen, chairman of Teignbridge District Council, who has nominated the foundation as her Chairman's Charity for the year. Members of the audience will receive a numbered programme on entry, and at the interval three winning numbers will receive musical prizes, including two best-seat tickets to any of this year's performances by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Tickets cost £8 for adults and £4 for those under 17 and are now available from Bradleys Estate Agent in Shaldon, and from Shaldon Newsagents or phone 01626 872308.
