Titanic violin plays in Preston
A violin made in Lancashire as a tribute to the Titanic band leader Wallace Hartley, will be played at a concert in Preston on Friday.
Colne-born Hartley was the heroic leader of the Titanic orchestra and famously played on as the ship sank.
The violin was made by Hartley's old friend Arthur Catton Lancaster, who played at Hartley's funeral with the Colne Orchestra.
In June 1912 he made the violin as a memorial to Hartley.
"5 Smith St, Colne June 29 - 1912 In memory of my friend Mr Wallace Hartley. The heroic Band master of the ill fated Titanic, life is dear to those we love, Hoping that this violin will be as pure in tone as my friend was pure in heart A.C.L"
Arthur Catton Lancaster's dedication inside the violin
Lancaster was a violin maker, at 5 Smith Street, Colne, and had played first violin with Hartley in the Colne Orchestra.
He finished the instrument on the back with an oil painting of the Titanic, a cameo of Wallace Hartley and a carving of "Nearer my God to Thee" on the tailpiece.
Fiona Sinclair from the Lancashire Sinfonietta says: "The instrument was competed for each year by the leader of the Colne Orchestra who kept Hartley's memory alive by performing on it."
'Rich heritage'
For a long period during the wars, there are no records of where the instrument went or who owned it, but by the seventies it belonged to the Burnley Youth Orchestra.
Fiona continues: "We asked around to see if anyone had any Titanic links, because they're everywhere in the north west, it's such a rich heritage we have and there's so much that's connected with the ship.
"The music service said they had a violin with the Titanic on the back and I thought 'I've really got to see this'.
"Lancashire Sinfonietta took it into a restorer and did some work on it, and now it plays absolutely beautifully."
Now the violin will be played as part of a concert at the Guild Hall in Preston on 2 July.
The Wreck of the Titanic by David Bedford is a collaboration between Lancashire Sinfonietta, Liverpool and Cumbria Music Services, the Lancashire Youth Symphony Orchestra and more than 350 young musicians, singers and actors from across the county.
And after the concert Fiona hopes more people will be able to see it: "It's in beautiful shape, we're very lucky to have it so well preserved. I'd very much hope that we'd be able to show it at exhibitions connected with the Titanic."
by news.bbc.co.uk