"Songs for Ann" represents four decades of past and present pupils and colleagues from Corpus Christi Catholic College. On 11 December 2014 we came together to celebrate Ann's life in a fundraising concert held in Corpus Christi Church. The concert was a sell-out and we could have easily filled all corners of the church twice over. The programme included a variety of musical genres performed by current and past members of Ann's school choir accompanied by the Corpus Christi School Brass Band. The concert was the first time we had all performed together live and there was a real buzz backstage as we waited to take our places on the Altar steps.

The band started the evening with a spectacular performance of 'Let's face the music and dance'. What followed was a moving rendition of 'Wind beneath my Wings', one of Ann's favourites. Contributions from the school 'Glee club' choir and special 'guest' performances followed. Audience participation in 'Siyahamba' was pure entertainment and there were some memorable solo and duet performances from individual members of the choir.

I don't think there was a dry eye in the church when Jessica Charles sang her version of 'In the arms of an Angel', and there were plenty of smiles when Conor Bradley read his poem ‘A lass they called MGwee’.

The home-grown talent on the stage that evening was testament to the musical history associated with Corpus Christi College and the inspiration and legacy of teachers like Ann. The whole evening was expertly compèred by Gerard Moran and the finale ' I will follow him' raised the roof and had everyone standing and clapping along.

The evening was rounded off with a glass of wine and Christmas refreshments. It was a great opportunity to meet members of Ann's family and friends to share our special memories of Ann. The whole event was a fantastic team effort and I would like to publicly thank everyone involved, especially Lisa Kilcoyne who, along with organising the logistics in the church, did an amazing job in managing the ticket sales.

So far 'Songs for Ann' has successfully raised £4,000 from proceeds from the concert, charity wristbands and the release of our songs on iTunes and You Tube.

You can still download our tracks by typing in ‘Songs for Ann’ in the iTunes store, or use these links.

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/wind-beneath-my-wings-single/id945387725 also I Will follow Him

Follow our journey and the making of "Songs for Ann" by viewing our videos on You tube.



When we set out on this project our main aim was to bring people together in Ann's memory and to show how much she meant to us, but the fund has given us an additional focus and the chance to do something positive for others.

At the time of writing the Ann Maguire Arts Education Fund has reached £75,000. I would like to take this opportunity to say Thank you to everyone who has contributed. For further information please visit the new website at www.annmaguire.org.

Christine Street