We were saddened to learn of the death, on 27 April 2011, of James Carey, our Honorary President, former Musical Director and well-known composer for recorders. At the request of his family, a group from the Edinburgh Branch played two movements, Camel Train and Choo-Choo Train, from his composition Trains at his funeral on 4 May.
The Branch had 39 members, 10 more than the previous season (12 new members and 2 non-renewals). We met on 35 Monday evenings from September to June for combined playing. One-to-a-part groups met in each other’s houses. At an Extraordinary General Meeting held at Augustine United Church Studio on Monday 25 October, Arthur Nicholson was appointed Musical Director of the Edinburgh Branch.
Our Christmas Evening was on Monday 13 December, when we played to an audience of family and friends. The conductors from the Branch were Arthur Nicholson, Peter Wraith and Andrew Short, and we were joined by members of the Edinburgh Community Education Evening Class conducted by Margaret Hall. The collection raised £180.06 for Headway, the Brain Injury Association.
On 17 January we welcomed Allan Jones to share conducting with Arthur, Peter and Andrew. On 24 January we hosted a joint meeting of the Edinburgh Branch and the Edinburgh Community Education Evening Class conducted by Margaret Hall.
On Saturday 2 April we hosted a playing afternoon conducted by John Hawkes, composer for the recorder and conductor of the North-East Recorder Orchestra. We were joined by visitors from other Scottish branches and by members of the Edinburgh Community Education Evening Class. John Hawkes tutored one-to-a-part groups during the morning of his visit.
The National Recorder Festival took place 17 April at Kings of Wessex School, Cheddar.
The full minutes, reports and accounts of the Conference can be found at /documents/agm/conference_minutes_2011.pdf A summary of the minutes follows.
Elections
Tessa Rolph (Nottingham) and Naomi Wellings (Birmingham) and were elected to the Committee.
Colin Touchin succeeded Alyson Lewin as Musical Adviser to the Committee.
Due to the resignation for health reasons of the Web editor, Ashley Allerton, a new webmaster was required.
Denis Bloodworth was elected a Vice-President of the SRP.
Ashley Allerton was elected as an Honorary Life Member of the Society of Recorder Players.
Subscriptions
The central portion of the subscription for 2011-12 was increased by £1.00 to £20.00 (full member), £30.00 (household member) and (by 50p) to £15.00 (student).
Future Festivals:
The following arrangements were noted:
- Guildford Branch 21-22 April 2012 at St Teresa’s School, Effingham, near Dorking in Surrey.
- Ireland Branch 11-12 May 2013 in All Hallows College, Dublin.
- 2014 Cornwall Branch, dates and venue to be announced.
On Saturday 14 May, several members of the Edinburgh Branch attended the Scottish Recorder Festival, hosted by the Glasgow Branch in celebration of their 50th anniversary, at Ibrox Parish Church in Glasgow. Members also attended Special Playing Days in Durham on 5 March, Glasgow on 26 March and Newcastle on 18 June.
Our Summer Evening was on Monday 13 June when we played to an audience of family and friends in Augustine United Church. The concert was dedicated to the memory of Jim Carey and was attended by members of his family. The programme included two of Jim’s compositions, Trains and Mock Baroque. The collection in his memory raised £209.5O for RNIB, the Royal National Institute for the Blind. The conductors from the Branch were Arthur Nicholson, Peter Wraith, Andrew Short and Allan Jones and we were joined by members of the Edinburgh Community Education Evening Class conducted by Margaret Hall. Sadly this was Arthur’s last concert as Musical Director of the Edinburgh branch, as the time had come for him to leave Edinburgh. He was presented with a gift voucher for the Early Music Shop followed by a farewell party at Caroline Higgitt’s house.
We are grateful to Arthur, Peter, Andrew and Allan for all their hard work in conducting the branch during the 2010-2011 season.
Eileen Finlayson
September 2011