THE annual Lilly Gala Concert with Hampshire County Youth Orchestra raised a record amount for charity.
More than £2,800 was raised for Eli Lilly's charity-of-the-year and the pharmaceutical manufacturer will now match the total pound-for-pound.
Derek Anthony, Lilly communications manager and organiser of the concert, said: "I am delighted that this year's Lilly concert collection raised a record £2,800. "On behalf of CancerBACUP and Lilly, I would like to thank the audience for their generosity."
The audience included the Mayor and Mayoress of Basingstoke and Deane, Cllr Gerry and Mrs Janet Traynor, MP Sir George Young, MEP Roy Perry and the Rt Rev Trevor Willmott, Bishop of Basingstoke.
The event, at The Anvil, was the 28th Lilly Concert and included a composition by a member of the orchestra, cellist Rosemary Toll.
Her piece About Fish was the winning entry for the 2003 "Compose Yourself" competition - a collaboration between the Association of British Orchestras, The London Philharmonic Orchestra, The British Antarctic Survey, National Orchestra Week and National Science Week.
About Fish has been recorded by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and broadcast on Classic FM and BBC Radio Four.
Rosemary is now starting an undergraduate course at the Royal Northern College of Music.
Next year, the Lilly concert will move from September to July. The change of month is because of the difficulties in bringing the full orchestra back together as many of the universities start in September rather than October.
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