Never Give Up 2026
Durham Student Music President Zac Smith reflects on the build up towards Never Give Up 2026
I first met Beano, from RT Minds, in October of 2025. Having come off an extremely successful collaboration concert I was Glad, in which the chapel choirs sung to raise money for RT Minds, I wanted to continue to work with RT Minds and therefore attention turned to seeing how we could strengthen our relationship. I admit that being a university society does create some challenges when attempting to connect and reach out into the community - in the past, some communities can not be as receptive to students as other communities, and this can act as a barrier of disconnect between university life and the local community.
Durham Student Music has historically had strong links with a very receptive, musical local community, however I felt that it was important for us to deepen our connections with the community, especially in a period of instability in the world, politically, economically and socially. I felt that a deeper connection with RT Minds would be a good step towards our work in doing this.
Zac and Olivia visit the RT workshop for the first time!
When I first sat down with Beano to discuss how we could strengthen this partnership, it became abundantly clear that understanding and appreciation was imperative towards doing this. Having been elected straight to the role of President in my second year, I had a lot of learning to do in order to fully maximise my impact on the role and therefore on the overall Durham Student Music community that I and the executive committee serve. Learning about RT Minds’ life-saving work was incredibly inspiring, and myself and Olivia, Durham Student Music Outreach Officer, went to visit their workshop in Gilesgate. It was incredibly moving seeing first hand how they use the arts, music and human connection to help those struggling through mental health issues and particularly those with suicidal thoughts. This gave us extra inspiration to make this partnership deeper and more special than it has ever been. It was clear our first impressions had worked, because that is when Beano, for the first time, invited Durham Student Music to be directly involved with the Never Give Up Concert.
When we started to talk about Never Give Up and future projects, we initially involved discussion around the piece Breathing. While written by RT a couple of years ago, Beano had many cool ideas about how we could develop the piece further into something truly special and memorable. As all artists, we set high ambitions and sometimes logistics and process take plan, and so therefore we agreed that another live performance of the piece could help strengthen the message with audiences. However, there was one problem. While the piece had connected with audiences in the past, Beano had felt that the ending could’ve been rewritten to close a special message through the song.
Never Give Up 2026 Poster Reveal
Therefore, when attention started to turn towards Never Give Up, after having listened to the piece and gathered a better idea of what Beano’s inspiration was, I started to rewrite the ending, creating a process of merging several simultaneous musical lines into one. I then added harmonies before adding instrumental parts. After many hours of writing it in various places, from the RT Minds workshop to my 8am train to Newcastle on a Sunday, the ending was rewritten and it was ready to go. A subsequent workshop visit followed, where Beano quipped out that he would love me to conduct it, and with honour, I said yes. The concert will be the first time we ever sing the piece with all of this year’s artists involved and alongside the instrumental parts. I am excited to see how it comes together.
Once that was on its way, it was about three main elements - the music on the night, how we could promote the concert and how to logistically manage so many people and equipment. Having worked on Guys and Dolls in Concert, we knew that Redhills would bring its own technical challenges and there was a lot of equipment and technology to sort out in a very short space of time. However, Beth Cooley’s involvement in logistical and technological organisation no doubt saved the day. From managing all the technology hired to scheduling every single artist for soundchecks depending on their availability, Beth’s involvement and contribution to the project helped me significantly, especially as I am happy to admit my lack of knowledge with quite a lot of technological aspects. Soon, with contributions from various Durham University Staff, including Lewis Wilkinson and Lucille Richards, and Collingwood Hires, all logistical and technological procedures were finalised.
Appearance on BBC Radio Newcastle - behind the scenes perspective - with host Anna Foster
Attention turned to the performers in the concert. While there was a variety of acts from RT Minds and some local professional artists, from guitarists to motivational speakers, and even steel pan players, we knew that we wanted some variety within DSM’s contribution to the concert, while also reflecting the whole Durham Student Music community.
We were absolutely delighted that Full Score Barbershop Choir (read more here) accepted the invitation to join the concert, and this was not actually their first performance at Never Give Up, having performed at a previous iteration of the concert. On Sunday, they will be bringing some Stevie Wonder and Jeff Lynne to the stage, conducted by their Musical Director Amelia Awan, and we are incredibly excited for their involvement.
The Durham University Gospel Choir (read more here) continue to go from strength to strength, and particularly their messaging and impact of their music upon audiences Durham had been something recognised by many as a strength of the overall Durham Student Music scene. We are delighted that they were able to accept the invitation to perform at the concert, and we are excited to see them perform three gospel hits, including a Mark De-Lisser arrangement of Stand By Me.
Some would say it would be a pretty unusual move for Durham Student Music to approach a college choir to perform at an event of this nature. However, Trevelyan College Chamber Choir gratefully accepted the opportunity to perform at the event. This marks an important step, representing a start towards the strengthening of the relationship between Durham Student Music and college music across Durham. They will perform two Will Todd works on the Redhills stage, and we are excited for their participation in this concert.
Appearance on Purple Radio
Publicity had been a key focus for this concert, and making sure we could connect to both the local and student community was an important aspect. This started with a double radio appearance and followed by an intense publicity poster and flyering campaign.
Beano and I were incredibly delighted to appear on Anna Foster’s lunchtime show on BBC Radio Newcastle on Tuesday 10th February. Throughout a wide ranging interview, we talked about some of the life-saving work of RT Minds, the value of music in society and Never Give Up 2026 (you can listen to our appearance by clicking at the bottom of the page)
We were also delighted to appear on Purple Radio’s Wednesday lunchtime slot Music Feed with host Lulu. Our one hour conversation about Never Give Up triggered a range of fascinating discussions about mental health, charity and outreach and music within society.
We continue to push a strong publicity campaign towards Sunday 15th of February and am incredibly proud of all the artists and the team for their work up to this point. There are still tickets available and please if you can come on Sunday night - it will be an incredible night of music making.
Zachary Smith, Durham Student Music President
We do not ever want financial burden to be a barrier to opportunity and participation. If you are a student and would like to come to the concert, however you particularly feel this barrier, please get in touch with us (student.music@durham.ac.uk)
14/02/2026
