JUST as it had done to so many, COVID-19 had ravaged acclaimed Newcastle composer and conductor David Banney's way of life, as concerts were cancelled.
But then one evening during the lockdown in May, Dr Banney learnt the pandemic was capable of exacting a far more tragic toll.
While composing a new piece of orchestral music, David Banney received a call from his friend, Mario Minichiello, a world renowned artist and Professor of Design at the University of Newcastle. Professor Minichiello's father, Pasquale, had contracted the virus. Pasquale Minichiello died in Britain, his son half a world away and unable to return.
In response to the times, and to comfort his friend, David Banney reshaped his composition, creating In Memorian P.M.
"This piece became a memorial to Mario's father," Dr Banney explained, adding that the composition was also dedicated to the loved ones, "just torn apart, not being able to visit, not being able to do anything".
Mario Minichiello said he was "overcome" when Dr Banney told him about the composition. The music, Professor Minichiello said, was not just a balm on the wound of loss, but it triggered memories of his father.
"I think what the music does, it really remediates his character, and it makes him present," said Professor Minichiello.
In Memoriam P.M. will be heard in public for the first time on Sunday afternoon, when it is performed by the Christ Church Camerata, with David Banney conducting the orchestra. The concert, held in Newcastle's Christ Church Cathedral, is a statement of overcoming the pandemic, for last year's program was cancelled due to COVID restrictions. Up to 300 people can attend Sunday's performance.
"It's nearly like picking up where we left off," said Peter Guy, the cathedral's director of music and co-founder of the Camerata.
"To hear the sound bouncing around the cathedral again is just fantastic."
Peter Guy said after the past 12 months, Dr Banney's composition was ideal for this concert.
"It's showing where we're coming from, but it's also looking to where we're going," Mr Guy said.
"We're not at the end of this pandemic by any stretch of the imagination, but we've got to have hope for the future as well, and I think there's an important role for music to play in that."
David Banney said he didn't want the music to be heard as just a COVID piece.
"I think every piece of music should stand on its own two feet, and if it relies on it being a COVID piece, it's failed," Dr Banney said.
"But I think it's nice for people who have had a tough time to know that musicians are responding to that, and this if for you."
Mario Minichiello is attending Sunday's performance in the cathedral to experience the premiere of his friend's composition, and to remember his father, who was "such as big soul and character in my life".
"The thing David has done is so beautiful, because it allows my Dad's spirit to be spread over a bigger entity than myself," Professor Minichiello said.
David Banney had simple hopes for the audience's response to In Memoriam P.M.: "I hope they just like it as a piece of music, and I hope it's a moving experience."
Read more: COVID restrictions muzzle cathedral choir
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