The challenge
After such an outstanding 60th
Anniversary Season we have a hard act to follow. However I hope that you will
agree that our planned 61st Season is exciting and builds on the successes and
new ideas we tried out last year. We look forward to seeing you and your guests
at our concerts and lecture.
Review of the 60th Season
Following on from the
SVAM Birthday concert with Elizabeth Watts in June 2010 we opened the Season
with a wonderful concert in St Mary's Church by The Florestan Trio. We were
very fortunate that they agreed to perform for SVAM: it was a privilege to hear
them and a memory to be treasured as shortly afterwards they announced that,
sadly, they would cease to perform as a Trio after 16 years as a highly
successful ensemble. Anthony Marwood will continue to develop his solo and
directing activities; Richard Lester will be performing with the London Haydn
Quartet, as a soloist and as principal cello with the Chamber Orchestra of
Europe; and Susan Tomes will pursue solo engagements and chamber music
projects, as well as writing and broadcasting. We wish them every success. The
concert was most generously supported by an exceptional contribution from an
anonymous donor. We are also very grateful to Mary and Rodney Loudon and Joan
and Michael Brown for supporting the concert by contributing to the cost of
hiring the Steinway piano for Susan Tomes.
The Barbirolli Quartet, formed in 2003, gave us an exciting concert in November, also in the Church. Since then they have performed throughout the UK and recently took part in the 6th Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition. In December we welcomed, under the Countess of Munster Trust Recital Scheme, Stephanie Oade (cello) and Jennie-Helen Moston (piano) who gave us an enjoyable evening concert in the Constable Hall. They also broke new ground for us by leading a school workshop in the morning (see below). The Countess of Munster scheme is gratefully thanked for its support for both the young artists whom they select for concert tours and the societies like ours who benefit from being able to take part in the scheme.
Appropriately for a birthday Season we welcomed back old friends, the Henschel Quartet. Since they last performed for us they had changed: Peter Clemente replaced Markus Henschel as second violin. Markus is now pursuing an orchestral career based in Munich. We are grateful to the anonymous donor who supported their concert.
The Supper Concert - a piano recital by Erdem Misirlioglu - was a great success and very well attended. Erdem was talent-spotted for us by Pauline Young at a local concert and also by the BBC Young Musician competition in which he was the winner of the keyboard final. Pauline was so impressed that she sponsored the cost of the piano for his performance. David Grier, again, generously sponsored the evening so that we were able to make a contribution to the overall cost of artists' fees over the Season. We are most grateful to them both for their support.
The Season ended in early April to the uplifting and larger than usual (for us) sound of a septet from the London Concertante, a most enjoyable concert.
The Annual Lecture
Lucy Archer gave an excellent talk
to a packed Constable Hall about the work of her father, the architect Raymond
Erith. Lucy's slides showed many houses and buildings, some around the
Essex/Suffolk border, some further afield, illustrating his development of
classical forms, and revealing the humorous details or ideas embedded in some
of them. It was most enjoyable to learn more about the man who contributed so
much to our built environment.
Educational Workshops
Heavy snow during the first week
of December did not dampen the enthusiasm of Stephanie Oade, Cello, or
Jennie-Helen Moston, Piano, who provided two excellent workshops for Years 5
and 6 pupils at East Bergholt Primary School. The first involved pupils with a
mix of musical experience. The second was for children with more expertise.
Participative exercises were used throughout to engage and motivate - for
example getting children to guess which animal was represented by a piece of
music, Elephant or Swan? Children were encouraged to be adventurous. After
experiments with time and pitch, they finished the session taking turns as
'conductors'.
We hope to build on this initiative in 2011-12. Tim Pells and
the English Guitar Quartet have agreed to work with pupils and teachers at
Highfields Primary School in December and we are hoping that the Rose Trio will
run a workshop in East Bergholt in January 2012.
Music in May 2011
SVAM was invited to raise funds for
the Constable Hall development and refurbishment project, and we decided to do
this by holding a concert which showcased, mainly, young performers. Under the
leadership of Birte Kelly, Martin Favell and Amrit Nasta did a brilliant job in
putting together a programme of singers: soloists, including Phoebe Pimlott and
Christopher Huggon, and a barbershop group (in which Martin and Amrit also
performed); a saxophone quartet and a "metaphysical" magician Dr Todd Landman
who compèred the show. It was a great success and raised just under
£900 for the Hall. We are especially grateful to all the performers who
gave their services and to Birte and all the SVAM committee who provided
organisation and supper. It was much enjoyed by all.
61st Season 2011-2012
We start our Season with the
Piatti Quartet, winners of the St Martin-in-the-Fields Chamber Music
Competition 2010 and the Tunnell Trust Award 2010/2011. We look forward to
welcoming them to East Bergholt on 16 October at St Mary's Church at 4pm, and
we are grateful to the St Martin Chamber Music Competition and Making Music for
their support in offering us a place on this tour for an exclusive fee.
Following on the positive response to recent concerts with larger ensembles we have chosen the Chaconne Brass Ensemble, to cheer the 'dark November' with a concert (20 November 4 pm at St Mary's Church) with music adapted for brass or especially composed for it. This should be a wonderful concert for adults and children (from 8 to 80+!).
We are very pleased to have an opportunity of presenting a classical guitar concert as part of our season, on 2 December 8 pm at the Constable Hall. The English Guitar Quartet will play a programme of Spanish and English music. Earlier in the day they will also lead a school workshop (see above). We had planned a masterclass-type workshop with them in September 2010. Sadly this had to be cancelled due to a shortage of participants.
2012 starts off, for SVAM, on Friday 20 January at 8 pm in the Constable Hall with the Rose Trio whose members are three sisters: Suzanne, Rebecca and Tamsin Thorn. This wind trio (oboe, clarinet and bassoon) made their Wigmore Hall debut in June 2011 and have won several awards and prizes, notably the Royal Overseas League Competition. We are delighted to welcome them as our Countess of Munster Trust Recital Scheme concert this year.
Our final concert in the Season brings a welcome return visit from the Navarra Quartet with a programme of Brahms, Britten and Haydn. Since they first played for SVAM in October 2007 they have acquired a new 1st violinist, Magnus Johnston, and toured all over the world. Their concert is at 4 pm on Sunday 18 March 2012 at St Mary's Church.
Supper Concert on Saturday, 11 February 2012
We are
really delighted that the outstanding Marenzio Singers are returning for a
second Supper Concert. Their programme will include some sacred music and some
in a much lighter vein appropriate to the evening. As the Supper Concert is
always a popular event we advise early booking. Tickets are again priced at
£20 to include wine and food. We hope that you will join us in this much
enjoyed event at 7.30 pm at the Constable Hall. We are once again very grateful
to David Grier for sponsoring this event which is our major fund-rising event
of the year.
The Annual Lecture this year is to be given by
Professor Leonée Ormond on Friday 2 March 2012 at the Constable Hall at
8pm. To mark the bicentenary of Charles Dickens' birth Leonée Ormond
will be talking about 'Dickens and the Artists'. Charles Dickens did not
encounter the fine arts early in life. His year in Italy, 1844-45, opened his
eyes to the work of the old masters, and encouraged him to form strong opinions
on contemporary art. Among his artist friends were Daniel Maclise and Clarkson
Stanfield. His notorious attack on an early Pre-Raphaelite painting, John
Millais' Christ in the Carpenter's Shop, expressed a belief that art should
edify and uplift the human spirit. Leonee Ormond is Professor Emerita of
Victorian Studies at King's College, University of London and has recently been
made a Fellow of the College. She taught at the college for forty-one years.
She has published articles and monographs on many nineteenth and early
twentieth century artists and writers including Charles Dickens, George Eliot,
Rudyard Kipling, Linley Sambourne and Charles Morgan.
Committee, AGM and Tea
Sadly, we have said goodbye to
three long-serving and hard-working, wonderful members of the SVAM Committee.
Beate Harden, Clare Partridge and Sue Wilkinson have all been huge contributors
on the committee and we shall miss them. We have however been fortunate to
co-opt two new members over the year to allow for some overlap and Sara
Colquhoun and Sally Hepher will be proposed for election at the AGM. They will,
if elected, bring our Committee up to full strength. The AGM will take place at
6pm after the concert on 16 October and will be followed by wine and cheese.
Full details are included for members with this Newsletter. Over the years SVAM
has increased the amount of refreshments offered at concerts. We believe this
has added to the friendliness of SVAM. However, we would welcome some help with
teas at the afternoon concerts. If anyone would like to volunteer to be part of
the 'Tea-Team' for the afternoon concerts (or some of them) we would be most
grateful to hear from you.
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Finally a reminder that full details of all the events,
concerts and lecture are found on our website and there are links to fuller
information about the performers. www.svam.org.uk