A singer from Wilmslow has just returned from performing at a world famous New York concert hall with the Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service Choir.
Lorraine Page was amongst 22 members of the choir who made the trip to New York to fulfil their dream of singing for their colleagues who lost their lives in the terrible events of 9/11.
They performed Bruce Springsteen's The Rising at Ground Zero Memorial Plaza in tribute to the 343 firefighters who died in the attacks on the Twin Towers. The song tells the story of a firefighter who was inside one of the towers on that fateful day and realises he isn't going to survive.
Lorraine Page, Locality Safety Manager for Cheshire East, Halton and Warrington, said: "We were all so very proud to be able to sing at Carnegie Hall and also at Ground Zero. Despite the rain, which never stopped the whole time we were singing at the 9/11 Memorial, we feel that we paid our respects with a fitting tribute to our fallen colleagues. It was certainly very emotional and an experience that I will never forget as long as I live."
Choir chair Steve Flanagan said: "Before we went to Ground Zero we spoke about our emotions and ways to keep them at bay. We wanted to do the fallen firefighters proud and we wanted it to be about them, not us. We'd waited so long to do this so it had to be right.
"The weather had been really cold but dry, but on the day of our Ground Zero performance it rained non-stop. It was agreed beforehand that whatever the weather when we got there we were going to sing at the memorial. It was the least we could do for our colleagues."
They sang, surrounded by the New York skyline, with tears of sadness mixed with rain pouring down their faces, but they stood proud. Afterwards people who had gathered in the crowd came and thanked them, congratulating them on their tribute.
The choir also sang along with choirs from all over the world at Carnegie Hall where they performed Welsh composer Paul Mealor's piece 'Stabat Mater', which was sung in Latin.
Steve added: "It was a full house and, as we went on stage, the realisation of what we were about to do dawned on us. We could see Paul Mealor sitting at the back of the auditorium and we knew we couldn't let him down, but, more importantly, we couldn't let ourselves or Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service down.
"We followed our conductor James Jordan's every move and sang from the deepest and loudest range to the quietest transpose imaginable, and we sang from our hearts. This was truly an amazing piece and so sentimental that we had tears of both joy and sadness at the end.
"We were given a standing ovation for our performance of Stabat Mater and the world premiere of Jubilate, which we also sang. These two pieces brought the audience to its feet. We just kept thinking, we've done it."
The choir now wants to raise money for The Firefighters Charity by releasing a CD of their music to help fellow firefighters and their families.
Photos: Cheshire Fire Choir at Carnegie Hall, New York with Lorraine fourth from the right and meeting colleagues from Station 10, New York.
