Royal Northern Sinfonia Bake Off For Sage Gateshead’s 10th Birthday Appeal

Better-known for cooking up a storm in a concert hall, members of Royal Northern Sinfonia will be applying their technical skills to producing tasty goods as part of the Great Royal Northern Sinfonia Bake Off.  The contestants will have their goods judged and sold in order to raise funds for Sage Gateshead’s 10^th Birthday Appeal. The bake-off challenge falls under two categories:  bread and baked goods, and most importantly, cake (ranging from showstoppers to cheesecake). On Tuesday 11 November at 1.15am, judges Julian Rachlin (violinist and conductor), Thorben Dittes (Director of Royal Northern Sinfonia) and Dominic Parker (Director of Communications and Development) will have the tough job of tasting the baked concoctions and judging who will be given the coveted title of RNS Bake Off Winner. The judging will take place in the musician’s Green Room, which will be transformed into a bake-off tent, bunting et al. Section Leader Cellist, Louisa Tuck came up with the idea. She explains: “There are a number of us in the orchestra who are avid Bake-Off fans, and are a dab hand when it comes to baking. Having had previous cheesecake baking competitions before, we thought why not take on the ultimate challenge and do a full Bake Off, whilst raising funds to support the invaluable work carried out by Sage Gateshead” Members of the orchestra are already involved with the Sage Gateshead Grade1athon, also part of the 10^th Birthday Appeal fundraising efforts. Each musician will learn and be examined in an instrument they have never played before, whilst being sponsored for their efforts. Sage Gateshead celebrates its 10^th birthday this December and whilst reflecting on an incredible decade of music-making, the organisation is looking to the future. The 10^th Birthday Appeal aims to build a new endowment to provide long-term sustainable income to help secure its important work for decades to come. The goal is to raise £4million by July 2015, which will be supplemented by Arts Council England who has offered to match every £1 we raise with an extra 50p. Who will be crowned the 2014 RNS Bake off Champion?!