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On Saturday, 7th October, Emma will sing a short recital of Gregorian Chant in the Hooglandse Kerk, Leiden, the Netherlands. The recital is a part of a day of lectures and meditations about non-duality, given by Jan van den Oever. More information is available here.
On 17th September, Emma was invited to sing from the presentation of a film about the life of Corporal John Sleep. John Sleep was a paratrooper during the second world war. He arrived at all his missions by sea. First he fought in Africa and then in Italy. On D-Day he landed on Sword Beach and travelled north towards the Netherlands. He was eventually injured when a tank fired at him. Last year, during the commemorations of the second world war, John was asked to speak about his time in the army. This was made into a short film which was presented on 17th September. Emma sang a concert following the presentation.
At the Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in Venray, the Netherlands, 663 soldiers of the second world war are buried. Each year, in September, the people of Venray organise a remembrance ceremony to which veterans are invited. This year, Emma was invited to sing Amazing Grace with piper Kenny Brouwers. The local children laid red roses on every grave in the cemetery. Following the service, the veterans gave the children chocolate, just as they had shared their rations with the people of the Netherlands when the country was liberated in 1945.
With Fred Harris and Karin Churchill.
On 12th September, Emma sang at a wreath-laying ceremony at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten. 8,301 American soldiers rest in the cemetery; they perished fighting to liberate the Netherlands in the final year of the Second World War. Stichting Nederland-Amerika invited twenty veterans from America, Canada, and the United Kingdom for remembrance ceremonies and celebrations. There were some familiar faces present from Normandy including Fred Harris, Len Fox, Len Mann, Reginald Charles, and Frank and Karin Churchill. Also present was a US veteran returning to the Netherlands for the first time since the fighting in 1944. Emma sang “Abide with Me” and “How Great Thou Art.” The ceremony was broadcast on Omroep Brabant.