£10,947 + (£1,996) = £12,943

WAGOners – £4,067+(£768)  WAGOnettes – £3,907+(£694) WAGOntrain – £2,973+(£534)

(Gift Aid in brackets)

Thank you to all the guitarists who participated (some travelling significant distances), and all the people too numerous to mention who helped behind the scenes with the time keeping, catering and general logistics to make this event such a success.

See below for links to the the three ensemble group JustGiving pages

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(Peter Smith, Vince Smith, Sue Chick, Sarah Mackie, Thorben Louw, Justin Shepherd)

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(Jay Huff, Coner Miles, Nigel Harris, Ann MacCarthy, Hazel Inskip)

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(Luke Bartlett, Cari Aplin, Tim Rigley, Tony Mulholland, Paul Bradshaw, Beth Cooper, Morella Rose-Wallis)

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The Wyvern Afinado Guitar Orchestra (WAGO) hosted and sponsored a 24Hr guitar playing marathon, a ‘WAGOthon’, over the week end of the 27th & 28th January 2024. We were joined by other classical guitarists from elsewhere in the country who added their support to the ensemble groups.

The aim of the ‘WAGOthon’ was to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society by sight-reading guitar ensemble music for 24hrs.

Three guitar ensembles : the WAGOners (ensemble leader – Peter Smith), the WAGOnettes (ensemble leader – Jay Huff), and WAGOntrain (ensemble leader – Luke Bartlett), each of 5 to 8 guitarists, sight-read music for 24hrs. Each ensemble played for 20 minutes, every hour for 24 hours and vied to raise the most money for the Alzheimer’s Society.

We were honoured to be joined by Craig Ogden and Francisco Correa for the last 2 hours on the Sunday morning. They both injected energy and enthusiasm into the players and took us to the finishing line at midday in fine style. The event then concluded with the presentation of certificates, mugs and strings (donated by Maestro Music) to the participants with a speech of appreciation from Alzheimer’s Society Ambassador Alan Richardson.

The event was live-streamed on our web site by “tech wizard” Michael Addlesee. Over the week end there were over 500 visitors to our website with nearly 900 views of the home and WAGOthon pages. The site was viewed by people from 12 countries across the globe from Australia and New Zealand to the USA and Finland.

Photogallery

Article in Dementia together April/May 2024

Dementia can devastate lives, but we won’t stop until we improve everyone’s experience.

By 2025, 1 million people will be living with the condition in the UK, and many millions more carers, partners, families and friends are affected.

We provide help – we support people affected by all types of dementia through some of the hardest and most frightening times. Whoever you are, whatever you’re going through, you can turn to us for practical advice, emotional support, and guidance to the best next step.

We provide hope – we are, and we empower people affected by dementia to be, a leading force for change – using cutting edge research and influencing to push for breakthroughs that’ll change the lives of people affected by dementia, now and in the future. 

Together, we will make sure people living with dementia and their carers live more fulfilled and less fearful lives, free from stigma and inequality.

Alzheimer’s Society (alzheimers.org.uk)

Dementia Support Line

Call: 0333 150 3456

If you are affected by dementia, worried about a diagnosis or a carer, trained staff are ready to give you the support you need.

Opening hours: Mon to Weds: 9am–8pm, Thurs and Fri: 9am–5pm, Sat and Sun: 10am–4pm

Interview before the event with Vince Smith

Click here for further details of WAGO.

WAGO worked in conjunction with the Bristol Classical Guitar Society