Barry and Gay Fearn, patrons and long standing supporters of Brighton Dome and Festival, recently made a gift to refurbish the beautiful bells and trumpets that surround the angels on the organ screen in the Brighton Dome Concert Hall. Gay made this gift as a surprise to Barry to mark his 80th birthday. She wanted to do something that would symbolise all the memorable times they have spent at concerts over the years.

A life-long lover of the arts, Barry discovered the Brighton Festival and Brighton Philharmonic after he and Gay moved to Sussex from Oxford in 1972, when he worked as a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Royal Sussex County Hospital. Opera is his principle passion, and he particularly enjoys the Brighton Festival Chorus.

He sponsors the Cor Anglais player in the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra. This is because, whilst studying science at school, he had to choose one arts subject to study. Having chosen music, he studied Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 From the New World, from which point the Cor Anglais became his favourite instrument.

We are very grateful to Barry and Gay for approaching us and for their kind contribution to the upkeep of the venue. It is a lovely gift to all of us who enjoy the beautiful Brighton Dome Concert Hall.