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I am delighted to be joining the Benslow team and thus to have the opportunity to lead the excellent staff in attracting and supporting all who attend courses. A key element of my mission is to secure the fnancial base for the whole operation. I suspect that what is done is not as widely known and appreciated as it deserves to be.
I am delighted to be joining the Benslow team and thus to have the opportunity to lead the excellent staff in attracting and supporting all who attend courses. A key element of my mission is to secure the fnancial base for the whole operation. I suspect that what is done is not as widely known and appreciated as it deserves to be.
I am delighted to be joining the Benslow team and thus to have the opportunity to lead the excellent staff in attracting and supporting all who attend courses. A key element of my mission is to secure the fnancial base for the whole operation. I suspect that what is done is not as widely known and appreciated as it deserves to be.
We are always looking to extend a welcome to other amateur musicians who are not aware of the great courses and concerts we have on offer. Are you able to support Benslow Music by distributing posters or course brochures in your local area? Please contact Vicky on 01462 459446 or email vicky@benslowmusic.org as she would be delighted to speak to you. www.benslowmusic.org My frst task today is to offer enormous thanks to John Witchell for acting as Chief Executive here since the Spring. His great experience, skill and wisdom have had a signifcant effect over the last six months and will continue to do so. He and I have had good talks already and I shall be very glad of his counsel in the months ahead. I am delighted to be joining the Benslow team and thus to have the opportunity to lead the excellent staff in attracting and supporting all who attend courses, and in continuing to develop the facilities - so well improved over the last several years. The legacy established by Mary Ibberson, her colleagues and successors is huge and I trust I shall be able both to honour and to build on that. I am greatly looking forward to getting to know those involved in the operation and am already benefting from the insights of tutors, Members, Friends, staff and trustees. Working together, talking, communicating openly is how we can best proceed. So, if weve not yet spoken do please make yourselves known, either directly in person (best) or via email/phone: peter@ benslowmusic.org and 01462 459446. Though my post is part time I will be around frequently so please share with me your views on both what is good about Benslow and how you feel it might develop. I shall be based in the offce at the bottom of the stairs in the main house - do drop by for a chat, coffee or both. To me, Benslow is a jewel, well loved and appreciated by those who know its work. A key element of my mission is to secure the fnancial base for the whole operation. A way to help that is by expanding awareness of the splendid concerts and the terrifc courses offered. I suspect that what is done is not as widely known and appreciated as it deserves to be. This is an area that you, each reader, can help with very easily, through talking to friends and other contacts about the excellent and enjoyable courses youve attended and propose to attend, the inspiring people youve met here, the music youve heard, the warm ambience, the helpful friendliness of staff, the range of accommodation, the plentiful good food, the exceptional opportunities to share ones love of music and music-making together. We want Benslow to be even more frmly positioned on the music and musical education maps as the destination of choice for short courses throughout the year. We need to reach keen musicians everywhere, young and old, both nationally (and internationally) and not least locally, holding true to the founding principles to promote music education for social beneft through the study and practice of music, especially in its social and co-operative forms, amongst students of all ages. Courses will remain the core business, but we must also take the opportunity to respond to the changing nature of music provision in UK at national, regional and local levels, perhaps diversifying a little but always providing courses greatly relevant both to adults and younger people. In short, what I should like for Benslow over the next fve years is that it looks increasingly bright, fresh and full, sounds vibrant, innovative and buzzing, feels happy, successful, secure, open, active, positive, fourishing and confdent. With your help it will be! Peter Hewitt CEO UZZ THE COURSE PLACES AVAILABLE We still have places available on the following September courses. Elementary Strings (Code 14/264, 8 - 10 September) Orchestral Bassoons (Code 14/265, 8 - 10 September) Autumn Saxes (2 or 3 night option) (Code 14/341, 12 - 15 September) Flute Day (Code 14/017, 13 September) Clarinet Day (Code 14/018, 14 September) Everyone Matters (Code 14/EM1, 14 - 17 September) String Quartets with the Maggini (Code 14/270 or 14/342, 19 - 22 September) Group Quartets with Jonathan Trout (Code 14/343, 22 - 25 September) Goethes Faust and Music (Code 14/271, 26 - 28 September) Intermediate String Orchestra - *New* (Code 14/ST1, 29 September - 2 October) On most courses we can usually squeeze in a few more so even if the course youre attracted to isnt on this list why not ask in any case? INFO@BENSLOWMUSIC.ORG OR T: 01462 459446 TO BOOK YOUR PLACE MOVING INTO AUTUMN With the summer months now at an end we are all very pleased with the way this years batch of summer schools have gone. A particular highlight from the past month was the Baroque on Modern Instruments course which was led by Lucy Russell and her colleagues for the frst time. This is a course which has been led by various tutors in the past, but this year we seem to have found the winning formula. We are delighted with the positive feedback we have received and we very much hope Lucy, Gail, Peter and Nick will be back with us for next years course. As we move into autumn we still have spaces available on a number of courses, in particular violin spaces in September, and in October were looking for singers. So if you are thinking of booking any forthcoming courses, please call our team on 01462 459446. And of course, if you know of anyone who you think may be interested please ask them to get in touch. As you will already be aware, our programme of courses for the Jan-Jul 2015 period was released earlier this summer and take-up so far has been very positive. However, we do still have spaces for some of the high-demand courses which were balloted to members. Please dont hesitate to enquire if you are interested in one of the quartet courses, or one of the fute or clarinet spaces on our wind chamber music courses. Even if spaces are currently full, please dont let this discourage you from adding your name to the waiting list, regardless of the length, as often cancellations are made at the last minute and occasionally a place on the course can go to the 4th, 5th or even 6th person on the waiting list subject to participants availability at the 11th hour. As planning begins for the Jul-Dec 2015 period I once again urge anyone who has ideas or suggestions about what they would like to see in our programme to get in touch. During the planning of the frst half of 2015, thanks to suggestions from you, we were able to add a guitar ensembles course with Steve Marsh, a course for pianists and singers with Richard Edgar-Wilson and a course for violinists with Gina McCormack. All of which are recruiting well. It is our course members who enable Benslow Music to continue to offer our unique programme of courses and we love hearing your feedback and suggestions. If you do want to get in touch please dont hesitate to contact me fane@benslowmusic.org and I will look forward to hearing from you. Fane Henderson Head of Music FAREWELL DRINKS - PLEASE JOIN US All members and course attendees of Benslow Music are cordially invited to join us in the bar for a drink and canaps on Thursday 25 September at 5.30pm to wish farewell to Stephen Pettitt, former Director of Music, who left us earlier this year. Anyone wishing to attend please rsvp to The Friends of Benslow Music at: val.campion@ntlworld.com before Friday 19 September. A NEW PATIO We are pleased to say that following the recent addition of a handrail, the work on our new patio is now complete. We offer our heartfelt thanks to Nona and Bernard Blay whose kind donation has made all this possible. To mark the occasion we are holding a tea party with Nona and Bernard at 4pm on Tuesday 9 September at our campus. If you wish to attend please rsvp to info@benslowmusic.org A TRIBUTE TO SELENE MILLS Many of you will remember Selene who was Registrar at Benslow Music Trust from 1986 until 1992 who died recently in Cambridge of cancer at 54. Selene was born in 1960 and educated at Camden School for Girls, she came to Selwyn College with a double exhibition (classics and choral). From there she worked successively in the libraries of the University of Essex, Duchy of Lancaster Offce and St. Pauls Cathedral before coming to Benslow where she was one of only two permanent members of staff (and during a period of Michael Procters illness sole member). She gained a huge amount of experience, contacts and knowledge which Benslow has fourished and we are grateful to her for that. In 1992 Selene moved to Cambridge to become Chapel Secretary at Trinity College and founded the Cambridge Early Music Summer Schools in 1993. Selene thought it would be a one-off , people have come from all over the world to attend these courses, and a good number have gone on to be professional performers. As a musician she was a very fne singer, player of the harpsichord, violin and viola, and recently had taken up the viol. She was also a linguist, providing translations for many concert programmes, CD booklets and musical publications, lately in particular with Judy Tarling on her burgeoning collection of books on rhetoric and music, and also as Editorial Assistant and then Acting Editor for the Theological Review journal. She also worked as a reviewer for Early Music Review. She was also commissioned to manage, and assist with the management of four other early music festivals, and was for a while, manager and agent for a number of early music groups including the Parley of Instruments. Her organisational abilities even went as far as to prepare the order of service for her funeral. She chose the readings and hymns, set the psalm and chose the music. Running enterprises such as Cambridge Early Music takes a great deal of tenacity and sheer hard work. Selene undertook this work (which, whatever she may have said to the contrary, took many hours as a full time job) alongside her other, part time, job at Trinity College, and still found time to sing, and play, and tend the garden, and membership secretary for Eastern Early Music Forum, and stroke the cat. and, and , and All of this she did with an almost constant good spirit, and also with strong determination. If anyone was to produce a word cloud from those communications the headline words would include inspirational, kind, thoughtful, warm, friendly, caring. Selenes life has been about people, music and the summer schools. I would like to end with Selenes own words. It is so hard to say goodbye to people with whom I have made music. There is no more precious gift than making music together, and I have based my lifes work on this principle. It doesnt have to be great performances, or performances at all: some of the best moments have been tucked away in someones living room with no one else listening. But those moments are no less valid or important than the times in sold out concert halls. I have had a wonderful fulflling life and am surrounded by love and prayers from many people; I have no bitterness about going early (I am 54) but am grateful for the amazing times and experiences I have enjoyed. I hope God is kind to you too. Michael Taylor Vice-Chairman of Council Benslow Music, Benslow Lane, Hitchin, Herts SG4 9RB T: +44 (0)1462 459446 I E: info@benslowmusic.org I W: www.benslowmusic.org INTERNATIONAL RECITAL SERIES An enticing series of concerts of music given by world class artists. Programme details are available on our website. SATURDAY 6 SEPTEMBER, 8PM ORIGINAL WORKS AND ARRANGEMENTS FOR ONE, TWO AND THREE CLARINETS AND PIANO FRIDAY 19 SEPTEMBER, 8PM HAYDN: OP55 NO2, MATHIAS: OP84 NO2, MENDELSSOHN: OP44 NO3 - PRE CONCERT DINING AVAILABLE FRIDAY 10 OCTOBER, 8PM DIGBY FAIRWEATHER AND CRAIG MILVERTON ARE JOINED BY COLLEAGUES FROM THE BRITISH JAZZ AWARD WINNING DIGBY FAIRWEATHERS HALF DOZEN, AL SWAINGER (BASS) AND NICK MILLWARD (DRUMS), FOR A NIGHT OF JAZZ PERFORMED IN AN INFORMAL JAZZ CLUB ATMOSPHERE - PRE CONCERT DINING AVAILABLE TICKETS 12 I BOX OFFICE: 01462 459446 FREE ENTRY TO MOST CONCERTS FOR UNDER 25S AND CARERS ACCOMPANYING A DISABLED VISITOR. CONCERTS TAKE PLACE IN PETER MORRISON HALL, BENSLOW MUSIC, BENSLOW LANE, HITCHIN HERTS SG4 9RB MAGGINI QUARTET A NIGHT OF JAZZ WITH DIGBY FAIRWEATHER - CRAIG MILVERTON QUARTET RECENT COURSE COMMENTS OBOE EXTRAVAGANZA The course was excellent. Our tutor, Katharine was well prepared and the course ran very smoothly. I will be back for Katharines Grade 6 Theory course in October. Particularly good tutor, extremely well prepared. WEST GALLERY MUSI C Thanks for another excellent course, your friendliness and knowledge always makes this an excellent learning event. DEVELOPI NG YOUR AURAL SKI LLS I just wanted to give you some feedback on the aural skills course which I attended in May. I thought the course was brilliant! Katherine was very good at listening to what we wanted to get out of the course, understanding what level we were at, and explaining things (time and again!) very patiently. She managed to get most of us to sing aloud individually, which we needed to do to get more confdence, even though we were mostly very shy about our singing. She had loads of practical examples to work through, and put together a really helpful booklet for us to take away and practice at home. I sat my Grade 8 fute exam in June, and passed with distinction, with full marks for aural. So thank you very much to Katherine and to Benslow! I would very warmly recommend this course to anyone else preparing for an exam and needing to get their aural skills up to standard. BAROQUE ON MODERN INSTRUMENTS The tutors worked very hard indeed to make this a most enjoyable and successful course. A well organised course with informative, approachable tutors who were most generous with their expertise and advice. Perfect! Beautifully organised, friendly atmosphere, exceptional tutors and I learnt a lot. The tutors were a fabulous team! They worked conscientiously to organise a tailor- made course for us. I have learned a great deal and had a wonderful time. Inspirational! SARAH LEONARD VOCAL SUMMER SCHOOL Thank you for another fantastic course. Lovely staff, excellent tutors, great atmosphere. DAVID CAMPBELL AND FRIENDS