A community of musicians is completing the unfinished album of a much-loved Totnes father who died aged just 31, only a couple of weeks after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of blood cancer.
Joseph Rose died from Burkitt lymphoma on 4 September 2025, leaving his wife Kate and two children, who were aged just two and three at the time.
One year on, his family and friends are preparing to release the music he left behind – while singer-songwriter Nessi Gomes will perform a special memorial concert at St Mary’s Church, Totnes, on Tuesday 1 September to raise money for Joseph’s young family.
Joseph was well known and much loved across Totnes and South Devon. A former Green district councillor for Totnes, he worked at Ola Clinic as a massage therapist and pain reprocessing therapist and was passionate about music, health, young people and his community.
His death came as an enormous shock to his family and community. Around 600 people attended his Celebration of Life at The Hillyfield, the Devon venue where he and Kate had married just three years earlier.
But Joseph also left something remarkable behind.
Before his death, he had begun recording a collection of original songs with musician and producer Duncan Bridgeman, the two-time Grammy-nominated co-creator of the acclaimed 1 Giant Leap music and film project.
Those recordings are now being carefully developed into an album, The Gift of Breath, with Bridgeman and a group of musicians and singers who knew Joseph contributing to the project while preserving his own performances and musical ideas.
The family hopes to release the first completed track on 4 September, exactly a year after Joseph’s death, with the full album to follow.
Joseph’s mother, Julie Rose, said: “For us, this isn’t simply about making an album or holding a memorial concert.
“Joseph lived with an extraordinary sense of purpose and enthusiasm for life. He was passionate about health, music, young people, community, family and living well.
“A year after his death, we want to find ways of continuing his legacy – supporting his young family, preserving and sharing his music, and bringing people together to remember Joseph and the inspiration he gave to so many people.
“His music feels like something wonderful, so precious, that he left behind.”
The album brings together Joseph’s own vocals, songs and unfinished recordings with contributions from musicians including Misha Mullov-Abbado, Matthew Barley, Mike Stanton, Elad Neman, Arjun Magee, Kaiya Lowena, Susie Ro and Seraphina NiCarta.
A crowdfunding campaign has so far raised almost £6,000 towards a £15,000 target, covering the costs of completing and releasing the record.
The intention is that, once those production costs have been covered, future income generated by the album can go to Kate and the couple’s two children.
Before the first release, Joseph’s friend Nessi Gomes, a British-Portuguese singer-songwriter who has toured internationally, will return to Totnes for a special concert in his memory.
The concert takes place at St Mary’s Church, Totnes, from 6pm on Tuesday 1 September, with proceeds supporting Joseph’s young family.
Julie added: “The response to Joseph’s death showed just how many lives he had touched.
“The concert gives everybody an opportunity to come together again, but we would also love the anniversary to help Joseph’s music travel beyond the community that already knew and loved him.
“Completing the album is a way for his voice to carry on.”
Book tickets for the Nessi Gomes memorial concert
Support The Gift of Breath
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