September four hundred years ago, the Mayflower Ship set out to sail the Atlantic, a journey that was to take over nine weeks. By mid October, the voyagers, both religious separatists and fairer-fortune seekers, had still not reached land. The vessel’s master and crew were Rotherhithe men. We invite you to take a pew as they would have done in St Mary’s Church, for a socially distanced live concert of new music that sets the scene as we slip into the shoes of those migrating adventurers, whose arrival on American shores had such an impact on the indigenous people already there and on those who were to follow. One Voice, One Cello & A Mad Belgian is a unique collaboration between two singer songwriters, cellist Rupert Gillett and soprano saxophonist and melodeon player Jennifer El Gammal. 

On sale will be a beautiful book that with context, quotes, original illustrations and lyrics, perfectly accompanies the CD they are launching. You can prepay for that when booking your ticket.

If you would like the CD and book but cannot attend the concert in person, it is preferable if you could order from the musicians' online shop.

Some important practicalities:

We intend this concert to be livestreamed for audiences at home, both near and far, to enjoy, so we will have cameras in place. (This will be our first time livestreaming from this church so wish us luck and bear with us if watching at home!) We ask you to use your own telephones and devices minimally. If you or anyone you live with feels unwell or has any of the symptoms of COVID 19, we ask you to stay at home. Please wear a mask. In order to keep interaction to a minimum and safety at a maximum, there will be no bar, and it is possible that your seats will be allocated before your arrival. Only people from the same household will be able to sit next to each other. The church has two metre distancing clearly in place already. At the end, we will ask you to leave only once the pew behind you has got up to leave (don’t forget to purchase a CD and book before you leave if you can!). The church will have been aired during the day, and is spacious.  As we will be filming the event we kindly request you to arrive in plenty of time. There is some on-street parking and also in the churchyard.  The Overground tends not to be crowded and the Church is 3 minutes from Rotherhithe Station. We advise you to dress warmly.

Donations welcome: 

The filming and technicalities of this event are being made possible thanks to a team of professional film makers who have each generously agreed to give us their time and expertise. These are difficult times for us all but if you have the possibility, any extra donation made would be hugely appreciated as we are bringing you this event without the benefit of funding. The Tuned In London series is now the creation of Tuned In Events CIC (Community Interest Company). Some of our proceeds will go to St Mary’s Church which also is facing a huge financial challenge at the moment. We are grateful to the Chancellor for granting us permission to hold the event and film it.

The musicians:  

Rupert and Jennifer delve into jazz, rock, folk and pop, in playful fashion using only a cello, soprano sax and voice, while at the same time singing songs, when not about the Mayflower, about robots, space invaders, bogey men and other serious issues of the day. 

Rupert Gillett is a highly active performer and session musician on the London scene and abroad. In 2018, he was a featured artist at the prestigious New Directions Cello Festival in Cologne, Germany. His unique 2 cello and violin jazz-fusion/crossover ensemble “Arcopia” with renowned jazz cellist Gunther Tiedemann (String Thing) and London-based violinist Chris Haigh (Bob Geldof, Michael Ball) performed at St Mary’s at Easter last year. We have also seen him as part of Dai & the Ramblers, and he plays with She’Koyokh, The London Klezmer Quartet and many more. Rupert has performed with Alison Moyet, as well as being featured live on BBC 2 television, BBC Radio London, BBC3 and BBC 6 Music with various ensembles. 

Musician, writer, comedian, sociologist, Blue Badge tour guide and magician, Jennifer El Gammal, aka “A Mad Belgian”, was born and bred on the Brussels music scene. There, she has worked extensively in theatre and music. Her musical projects include the modern jazz trio Uživati and the unique folk band Virevoltes, featuring melodeon, celtic harp and percussion. She also runs the blog & podcast A Mad Belgian. Jennifer is now based in London, but still travels around Europe with her fold-up bicycle and two instruments. 
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