LATE SPECIAL OFFER

THE

Free Up Your Playing Code 13/316, 25 - 28 March Resident 250 Non-resident 200 Please ring us to discuss part time rates and attendance.

UZZ
MARCH 2013
Welcome to the March edition of The Buzz. Were even later with this instalment than we were last month, for which we (again) apologise, but it has been an unusually busy time for us in the office, as I hope youll understand from the contents. Three major projects have been occupying the minds of management and Trustees. At last we are able to announce that the refurbishment of the Coach House and Pamela Maud ground floors, providing much-needed up-to-date disabled facilities and a self-contained unit for the Benslow Instrument Loan Scheme, goes ahead on 8 April. And, just as sorely needed, we are about to acquire some state-of-theart software which will help both our hard-worked administrative team and our clients with course registration and assignment of resources. And of course there is the Baroque Opera project, this year devoted to staging Purcells great and enchanting masterpiece The Fairy Queen at the Main Theatre of North Hertfordshire Colleges Centre for the Arts. All of this signals a desire on the part of the managers and the Trustees to keep Benslow Music moving ever onwards. Sometimes when an institution appears to be doing well as we certainly did in 2012 it is tempting for it to rest awhile upon its laurels, to indulge even in a little self-congratulation. But these are challenging times, and we are more conscious than ever that, unique though Benslow Music is, it does have to compete and to strive to get better and better. Other adult residential colleges offer music courses, often with the lure of grander premises and rolling acres. And there is always something else to spend your money on, whether its an activity break, a night at the opera, or that meal youve been promising yourself at The Fat Duck (a Director of Music can but dream). So at Benslow Music we cannot take our foot off the throttle. We need the musicians and music lovers who visit us to continue to do so even more frequently, and we need also to attract those who have yet to discover what we have to offer.

NEW COURSE DATE

Bassanos Brass School (Code 13/237) will now run from 24 to 26 May.
CANCELLED COURSE

Preparing for your Violin Diploma Code 13/246, 24 - 26 May.

I cant fail to give mention to a very special concert which it was my privilege to organise in February. What I love about Steve Bingham and the Bingham Quartet is their open-mindedness and their readiness to tackle any challenge which ignites their collective imagination. Kicking around ideas for a concert programme last year, Steve expressed a yearning to play Schoenbergs early masterpiece Verklrte Nacht. But how could they? Its written for string sextet and we only had a string quartet. It was composed by a man the very mention of whose name usually sends audiences (unjustifiably) rushing towards the exits. But it was just too tempting a thought. Why not risk it and stretch to an extra fee for the two extra players? And if were being bold enough to put the name of Schoenberg on the programme, then why not stay bold and partner it with something equally passionate, Janceks First Quartet, (The Kreutzer Sonata). I hereby do freely confess that maybe a glass of wine encouraged this risky strategy. As the day approached I worried that we would have a hall populated by the proverbial two men without the dog. What had I done? I neednt have been concerned. Despite a low number attending the associated string quartet course, and despite the concert being on a Tuesday night, audience numbers surged into three figures, which by our standards is pretty good. The playing of these two hugely difficult pieces was extraordinary, and so, equally vitally, was the listening. As a music critic in a previous life I attended many thousands of concerts in famous venues from Argentina to China. Few were as memorable as this one. Thank you to those who came, and please keep trusting in our programming. How wonderful it would be if we were to fill the hall on 14 April, when the Fidelio Trio plays piano trios by Ravel and Faure alongside two poetic contemporary British pieces, Sally Beamishs The Seafarer (with myself as narrator) and Luke Bedfords Chiaroscuro.

Stephen Pettitt Director of Music

www.benslowmusic.org

VACANCIES
Theres still space for more participants on the following courses. Alleluya: The Chant of Easter (Code 13/231, 17 - 19 April). Springtime Recorders (Code 13/229, 17 - 19 April). Keeping it Fresh - a Course for Piano Teachers (Code 13/232, 19 - 21 April). The Benslow String Orchestra (Code 13/318, 29 April - 2 May). Bassanos Brass School (Code 13/237, 7 - 9 May). Evelyn Nallens Advanced Recorder School (Code 13/320, 7 - 10 May). Voices and Viols (Code 13/238, 10 - 12 May). Matters of Style: Baroque Performance on Modern Strings (Code 13/239, 10 - 12 May). Composing with Stephen Montague (Code 13/323, 13 - 16 May).

Celebrating Britten
The recital given by the Maggini Quartet on 22 March includes Benjamin Brittens First String Quartet and is in fact the first of three recitals this year each of which includes a different string quartet by Britten in celebration of the centenary of this great composers birth. The Fitwilliam Quartet plays the Third Quartet on 13 September, and the Bingham Quartet gives the Second Quartet on 6 December. Benslow Music can claim a link with Britten. Our Pamela Maud wing is named in memory of one of the four siblings for whom Britten wrote A Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra in 1946. (Humphrey, her brother, was for a time one of Brittens favourites.) Tragically Pamela was to die in her teens. Their mother, Jean Maud, who was married to the senior civil servant Sir John Maud, served as Chairman of Benslow Musics predecessor organisation, the Rural Music Schools Association, from 1949.

forthcoming concerts
FIDELIO TRIO Sunday 14 April, 7pm (please note start time)

Composing with Sir Peter Maxwell Davies

We had hoped that after reluctantly having had to withdraw from teaching his composing course in 2012 Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, our President, would be returning this year. Unfortunately for the moment other demands on him must take precedence, but he has expressed a desire to return in 2014. In the meantime we are actively seeking his replacement

REPERTOIRE ANNOUNCEMENT
The repertoire for Nic Fallowfields Group Quartets course from 9 to 12 December (Code 13/351) is as follows:

Programme includes works by Faure, Beamish Haynes and Ravel.

Schubert String Quartet in A minor, D804 Rosamunde Haydn String Quartet in D minor, Op 103
The Tedesca Quartet give a public concert which includes Mendelssohns String Quartet no. 6 in F minor, Op 80, on Wed 11 December at 8pm.

WIHAN QUARTET Friday 3 May, 8pm

Art exhibitions
The temporary art exhibitions found in the entrance hall and dining rooms have often given rise to controversy and debate, and the current exhibition, of work by Margaret Miles, has certainly proved to be no exception. We welcome all comments pro and con, remembering that the point of all art, including music, is not necessarily to please but to stimulate thought. We are now looking at the possibility of providing this space as a rotating exhibition for the work of art students at local educational establishments.
Programme includes works by Haydn, Mozart and Ravel. Concerts take place in Peter Morrison Hall, Benslow Music, Benslow Lane, Hitchin, Herts SG4 9RB.

Tickets 10

Box Office: 01462 459446

Free entry for young people and full time students. Please contact us for details.

its all speed ahead for The Fairy Queen

Most pieces of the complex jigsaw which constitutes our Baroque Opera production are now in place, and were all set to experience once again the tensions and triumphs of this always extraordinary week during which we aim for the impossible by creating a fully staged performance of an opera in five days flat. Our cast for Purcells magical semi-opera The Fairy Queen is truly international and includes sopranos Jane Monari and Cally Youdell, mezzo-soprano Marie Ann Hall, countertenor Simon Ponsford, tenor Bo Wang, baritones Andrew Thompson and Nicholas Mogg and bass Tim Gillott. Deborah Cohen, currently making waves at Welsh National Opera, directs, and musical direction is in the expert hands of Julian Perkins and Judy Tarling. Specialist vocal coaching comes from David Roblou and continuo coaching from Henrik Persson, and John Flinders is our repetiteur.

BUILDINGS NEWS
Were very excited to report that work is to proceed immediately after the opera on 8 April on an important double building project. First, we are improving our en suite and disabled facilities by modifying the ground floor of the Coach House. Weve long been conscious that the facilities we are able to offer our less mobile guests have been at best only adequate, and that the ambience of our designated bedroom has left much to be desired. With this work well be able to guarantee a better degree of comfort. Starting at the same time is work on the Ground Floor of the Pamela Maud wing in order to provide dedicated office, studio and storage space to the Benslow Instrument Loan Scheme, of which Benslow Music Trust is the sole trustee. This work entails the erection of a new extension to the rear of Pamela Maud, creating a studio space which will also serve as a new Green Room for our concert artists. The Loan Scheme will have the benefit of a self-contained suite, bringing its instrument store and its administrative offices close together and removing the need to store instruments wherever we can find a reasonably secure cupboard. Work on the Coach House should be completed by the end of May. The Pamela Maud project will finish towards the end of July. Further envisaged works include some minor modifications to the layout of the first floor of the Main House, the relocation of office spaces, and the reclaiming of a potentially magnificent bedroom. Inevitably during the course of the works from time to time we will have to endure a certain amount of noise disturbance, although our builders have agreed to keep this to the absolute minimum. The normal hours of work for contractors are 8am 4.30pm. We ask our guests to exercise maximum tolerance at this time. Were confident that the results will be well worth the inconvenience.

Theres only one performance this year, at 7 pm on Saturday 6 March at the Main Theatre, North Hertfordshire College, Hitchin. We expect high demand, so we advise you to book tickets (at just 12 each) on 01462 459446 quickly

...AND OUR Software project starts rolling

We have now reached an agreement with the software company Kinetic Solutions which will provide Benslow Music with professional-level integrated back-office software tailored to the special needs of our establishment. Stage one of this two-stage project involves the installing of conference and accommodation software which will integrate seamlessly with our accounting software. Stage two involves the bolting on to this software a booking facility which will be adapted to the special requirements of each course or event and which will also offer the ability for our guests to book course places directly online, at any time of day or night from any place in the world. Once installed, the software will help us work far more efficiently. Work starts on the project imminently.

Helen Wright transformed

The largest bedroom on the second floor of the Main House, named after Helen Wright, is now an en suite room following the erection of strategically placed studwork. This enhanced accommodation has won instant plaudits from those lucky enough to have occupied it. Although it removes access to one bathroom from rooms on the same floor which do not enjoy en suite facilities, we draw clients attention to the underused suite of bathrooms on the first floor just at the foot of the stairs.

TUTOR PROFILE: STEPHEN MONTAGUE

Stephen Montague is one of a number of highly distinguished composers who regularly teach composers of all levels of accomplishment and experience at Benslow Music. Born in New York State, following his doctoral studies he spent time in Warsaw on a Fulbright Fellowship in the early 1970s. Since 1975 he has worked as a London-based freelance composer and teacher. Among commissions from around the world have been works for the BBC Proms, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Hilliard Ensemble, the Vienna Music Days, and the Mexico City Festival of Contemporary Music. Besides writing for conventional groups, Stephen has also composed works such as a Horn Concerto for klaxon horn soloist and an orchestra of cars, or another concerto for piano, eight motorcycles, brass and percussion. His composing heroes include his compatriots Charles Ives, Henry Cowell and John Cage (to whose radical dictum that all sound is music he enthusiastically subscribes) and the minimalists. Stephen, who has many awards and honours from around the world, is renowned as a curator of new music programmes and series and has commissioned works from many eminent composers, including Sir John Tavener, Michael Nyman, Frederic Rzewski and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin. He currently teaches at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and has been guest professor at the University of Texas at Austin and at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He is also a highly accomplished concert pianist, as well as an active cyclist, hiker and tennis player, formerly the Florida Junior College Tennis Champion.

COMMENTS ON RECENT COURSES WIND ENSEMBLES WITH THE LONDON MYRIAD Tutors: Julie Groves, Jenni Britton, Nadia Wilson, Susana Dias,Paul Cott
The enthusiasm and readiness to be available of the Myriad winds was most refreshing and helpful - Catherine

FANTASTIC FLUTES Tutors: Zo Booth, Rachael Buxton

A really enjoyable course - tutors both unstoppable and outstanding - Pat

bINGHAM STRING QUARTET Tutors: Steve Bingham, Marina Gillam, Brenda Stewart, James Halsey
Another excellent course - The Binghams are particularly helpful and supportive coaches, who create a very positive and dynamic atmosphere Vicky

Farewell to Khalid
One of our ablest, most loyal and hard-working young casual staff, Khalid, leaves us at the end of Baroque Opera week having completed his studies and secured his first permanent job. We offer him our heartfelt thanks and best wishes for his future career, and hope that he will remember his time with us with pleasure. We will all miss him.

COURSE PROFILE
Composing with Stephen Montague Mon 13 Thu 16 May (Code: 13/323) Stephen Montagues friendly and exciting composing courses are renowned above all for their collaborative aspects. Students are encouraged to explore together the very essence of sound and to think about possibilities, not limitations. Well notate, process and assemble the sounds we discover into our own collaborative composition, which we will then realise in a final workshop, using our voices, any instruments we might bring along, and any other sound sources we might find. We hope also to involve members of the concurrent clarinet and saxophone courses. No matter how inexperienced or experienced, well all work together in an atmosphere of mutual support, encouragement and, of course, inspiration. Resident: 315 Non-resident: 245 Under 27s (as at 1 Jan 2013) Resident: 236.25 Non-resident: 183.75

RECIPE OF THE MONTH DEBBIES LAMB SHANKS

Lamb Shanks (as many as required) Seasoned flour 2 Crushed garlic cloves 1oz Balsmatic vinegar per shank 2oz Red wine per shank Red onion per shank Greaseproof paper Coat the Lamb shanks with the seasoned flour and lighty fry on each side. Add the onions and garlic and fry until the onions are soft. Add the vingar and wine, bring to a high simmer for about two minutes or until the mixture becomes sticky. Transfer the shanks to a casserole dish and pour over all the juices from the frying pan. Cover the ingredients with a piece of greaseproof paper and place the lid on the casserole dish. Cook for 2 - 3 hours on gas mark 4 (180o). Serve with vegetables and rice or cous cous.

Debbie Ling

Benslow Music, Benslow Lane, Hitchin, Herts SG4 9RB T: 01462 459446 I E: info@benslowmusic.org I W: www.benslowmusic.org