Feargal Mostyn-Williams – ​“If you’re thinking about doing a challenge event for Help Musicians, go for it”

On 31 August 2024, Feargal Mostyn-Williams will undertake a challenge event that will mentally and physically push him to the limit. He will be swimming and cycling across Europe, fundraising for Help Musicians.

He has been training throughout 2024 to prepare for the event and now that it is round the corner, there are a mix of feelings – excitement and anticipation, with a few nerves thrown in there as well. 

Feargal’s primary motivation for this fundraising event was wanting to give something back to the charity after we supported him through Covid. As he explains, ​“I really wanted to get up and do something. It wasn’t the case of ​‘I want to do the event, who am I going to do it for?’ It was a case of ​‘I want to fundraise for Help Musicians. What am I going to create to do that?”

But what has equally pushed him to make the event happen is the drop off he has seen in people thinking that studying at a conservatoire or studying music is realistic. Feargal is a professional opera singer and has many colleagues who have been so close to not completing their training because of a lack of funding, sometimes for as small an amount as £500.

The number of Feargal’s colleagues who have been forced to leave the music industry post-Covid has shocked him as well. ​“All music genres have been hit but especially the opera industry has been decimated recently. 

“So that is the secondary energy for me — trying to do an event large enough that can raise some awareness and have people say, ​‘Help Musicians looks like an amazing charity’. Hopefully they will read a bit about the work you do and donate.”

As was the case for so many, Feargal’s career as a professional opera singer had been going from strength to strength until the pandemic hit. It is no exaggeration to say that Covid completely put the brakes on the promising start he had made in the opera world. 

“When Covid struck I was working on an opera job in Scotland. I flew to Germany for an audition and then received a phone call saying ​‘don’t come back, everything’s cancelled’. Instead of going back to where all my belongings were in Scotland, I had to go home to London. I didn’t manage to get any of my stuff or clothes back for ages!”

It was around this time that Feargal first reached out to Help Musicians, despite having initially heard of the charity while he was studying at the Royal College of Music. Feargal had been able to study at the Royal College of Music through various scholarships and so became aware that as a charity we support many musicians through postgraduate study. 

The pandemic was a different case altogether though – he contacted Help Musicians in order to keep his professional career alive. Faced with cancelled work and future jobs postponed indefinitely, Feargal had no other option than to fill out an application for Covid hardship support. Fortunately Help Musicians stepped in to support him, a moment he reflects was pivotal in his career. 

A number of Feargal’s friends have since reached out to Help Musicians and found us to be a source of strength in the challenging post-Covid years in music. 

“They might have had an injury or had a problem with their mental health and your support has had a massive impact on them. That’s not my story, but it’s been in my consciousness. Ever since I was supported, I always thought in my head that I would want to do something afterwards to say thank you.”

Feargal has a sporting background and has completed challenging physical events in the past, so started thinking of different ways he could raise some money and awareness for Help Musicians. The seed of his idea arrived in 2021.

“I saw an online ad about an open water swimming race that happens in Turkey every year around the end of August. It is a big race across a 4.5km stretch of water called the Hellespont which separates Asia and Europe. It was even famously swum by Lord Byron back in the day. You have two hours to finish and if you don’t complete the course in that time, you are pulled out of the water. I felt this would be quite a fun challenge.”

Not content with swimming across one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes (which is thankfully closed for the event), Feargal set himself the additional challenge of cycling home afterwards. ​“I thought rather than jumping on a flight, why don’t I cycle back to London? This part I am doing by myself — I’ll be completely self-supported.”

As well as the physical challenge, Feargal wanted to incorporate a musical element into the fundraising event. Inspired by a folk song project he pursued during lockdown, he has decided to record a folk song in each European country he travels through on his bike. 

“I have always had an interest in folk songs. You don’t need anything special in terms of instruments and it is amazing that the songs are passed from generation to generation. Opera can be alienating but one thing I have always liked about folk is how everyone can sing them.”

If you would like to sponsor Feargal, please visit his JustGiving page here.