Sam Sweeney, Radio 2’s Folk Musician of the Year (2015), is making a special appearance at Bankfield Museum as part of the programme of events remembering the Great War, commemorated in the award-winning For King and Country exhibition.
Sam, a member of Bellowhead and Leveret, will be in the beautiful Oak Gallery at Bankfield Museum, for a special performance of talks accompanied by music. Several years ago, Sam purchased what he thought was a new violin from a shop in Oxford. Only when he got the instrument home did he find the internal markings, detailing that the violin was made by Richard S Howard in Leeds, in 1915. After further research by Sam’s father, they found that Howard was killed in 1917 while serving with The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment, leaving the instrument unfinished for nearly 100 years.
Sam played Howard’s fiddle in his successful touring show Made in the Great War, even travelling to Howard’s grave in Belgium. Now, he and his father re-tell their story and that of the violin, surrounded by the Duke of Wellington’s Regimental Museum, housed in Bankfield Museum.
All proceeds from this performance are being donated to the Regimental Museum Fund. The Duke of Wellington’s Regimental Museum represents over 300 years of the Regiment, since its raising in 1702. The Museum tells the stories of the soldiers who served using their own words.
Tickets £5.00
Buy your tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sam-sweenys-fiddle-tickets-40732571217
For more information or enquiries:
Email: museums@calderdale.gov.uk
Website: https://museums.calderdale.gov.uk/whatson/events/sam-sweeneys-fiddle
Social Media Hashtags: #bankfieldmuseum #samsweeney’sfiddle
Videos:
Link to YouTube video of Sam playing the violin at Richard Howard’s grave: https://youtu.be/-q9Kirx1-KU
Link to YouTube video of press coverage: https://youtu.be/_W9OnNDYk0c