An East Finchley choir is dedicating its spring concert to a world-renowned soprano who died from a brain tumour.

The North London Chorus will commemorate Sally Silver at its spring concert on Saturday 9 March and raise money towards research into the disease that claimed her life. Sally, a Patron of the chorus, passed away in November 2018 leaving her husband Jeremy and their daughter Charlotte.

Taking place at St James Church in Muswell Hill N10 3DB at 7.30pm, the concert will pay tribute to Sally as the choir performs Bach’s masterpiece St John Passion. Following the concert, a retiring collection will take place in aid of the Brain Tumour Research charity.

Murray Hipkin, musical director at North London Chorus, said: “We were devastated to hear that Sally passed away. She appeared with us many times as a soprano soloist between 2003 and 2017, and shortly after her brain tumour diagnosis in spring 2017, she became Patron of the newly-formed Friends of North London Chorus. Despite her illness, she even gave a performance of Mozart at the launch. Sally was also a generous supporter of the choir, appearing at fundraising events and even sponsoring a young soloist on one occasion. She will be greatly missed.”

Originally from South Africa, Sally was a 2016 recipient of L’Académie du Disque Lyrique’s Orphée d’Or, following the success of her solo release, ‘Les amoureuses sont des folles’. She performed regularly on the concert platform and among those she appeared with were the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone at any age. What’s more, they kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet, historically, just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.

Janice Wright, community fundraising manager for Brain Tumour Research in London, said: “Our condolences go out to Sally’s family during this difficult time. Every death is devastating but brain tumours can be particularly cruel. We thank North London Chorus for their support and hope that Sally’s memory will inspire more people to fund the fight against this awful disease. Together we will find a cure.”

Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated Centres of Excellence in the UK; it also campaigns for the Government and the larger cancer charities to invest more in research into brain tumours in order to speed up new treatments for patients and, ultimately, to find a cure. The charity is calling for an annual spend of £35m in order to improve survival rates and patient outcomes in line with other cancers such as breast cancer and leukaemia.

To purchase a ticket to the North London Chorus spring concert, go to https://northlondonchorus.org/Main/Concerts

To make a donation in Sally’s memory, go to https://www.braintumourresearch.org/donation/donate-now

For further information, please contact:

Farel James at Brain Tumour Research on 01908 867221 or 07592 502708 or Farel.James@braintumourresearch.org

Notes to Editors

Brain Tumour Research is the only national charity in the UK dedicated to raising funds for continuous and sustainable scientific research into brain tumours, and we are a leading voice calling for greater support and action for research into what scientists are calling the last battleground against cancer.

We are building a network of experts in sustainable research at dedicated Centres of Excellence whilst influencing the Government and larger cancer charities to invest more nationally.

We welcome recent funding announcements for research into brain tumours from the UK Government and Cancer Research UK – £65 million pledged over the next five years. However, this potential funding of £13 million a year comes with a catch – money will only be granted to quality research proposals and, due to the historic lack of investment, there may not be enough of these applications that qualify for grants from this pot.

We want research funding parity with breast cancer and leukaemia. We are calling for a £30-35 million investment every year for research into brain tumours in order to fund the ground-breaking research needed to accelerate the translation from laboratory discoveries into clinical trials and fast-track new therapies for this devastating disease.

The Brain Tumour Research charity is a powerful campaigning organisation and represents the voice of the brain tumour community across the UK. We helped establish and provide the ongoing Secretariat for the All Party Parliamentary Group for Brain Tumours (APPGBT) which published its report Brain Tumours A cost too much to bear? in 2018. Led by the charity, the report examines the economic and social impacts of a brain tumour diagnosis. We are also represented on the Steering Group for the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission. 

Key statistics on brain tumours:

• Brain tumours are indiscriminate; they can affect anyone at any age
• Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer
• Historically, just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to brain tumours
• In the UK, 16,000 people each year are diagnosed with a brain tumour
• Brain tumours kill more children than leukaemia
• Brain tumours kill more men under 45 than prostate cancer
• Brain tumours kill more women under 35 than breast cancer
• Less than 20% of those diagnosed with a brain tumour survive beyond five years compared with an average of 50% across all cancers

Please quote Brain Tumour Research as the source when using this information. Additional facts and statistics are available from our website. We can also provide case studies and research expertise for the media.