MEMBERS BULLETIN

WINTER 2013
A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF COUNCIL
Dear Members
I hope that you had a good break over the Christmas period and that 2014 is a good year for you. So far it looks very promising for Benslow, with strong bookings for the first part of the year. Details are given below of the booking arrangements for those courses with a particularly high demand for places, which are well worth reading if you wish to secure a place. We bade farewell to Graham Rolaston in December. Graham had been Benslows General Manager and brought long experience both of running his own company and as a school Bursar. We wish him well for the future and thank him for his loyal contribution. Tim Sharp joined us in November for an extended handover period and took over in January as Director of Operations. Unlike Grahams, Tims appointment is a full-time one, and he will often be staying on-site overnight when he is on duty. We hope that this arrangement will help to improve still further the quality of the services that we provide to our visitors. Tim has already identified a number of areas in need of attention, including one that will be dear to many of your hearts, I feel sure: extended Wi-Fi coverage. Council has approved additional expenditure to cover such items in 2014 and Tim has prepared an action plan to carry out the necessary work. In November, we were delighted to welcome Sue Blott, a long-standing BMT member and serial course attendee, as a Trustee and our new Treasurer. Sue brings much experience as a professional accountant, together with her inside understanding of how Benslow works for its course members, and she is already hard at work on your behalf dealing with the multifarious aspects of her new role. In other Council news, professors Tim Blinko and Geoffrey Norris stepped down as Trustees recently and we thank them for their support of BMTs work in the past. Finally, I was pleased to write to our President, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, on Benslows behalf recently to congratulate him on being appointed Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in the 2104 New Year Honours. He is, of course, a towering figure in the musical world and it is good to know that he values his connection with Benslow Music Trust as he does.

Philip Meaden

NEW BOOKING PROCEDURE FOR MEMBERS - SEE INSIDE FOR DETAILS

COURSE BOOKING ARRANGEMENTS FOR MEMBERS HIGH DEMAND COURSES - MEMBERS ONLY
To make the process fairer, we are trialling a balloting procedure for high demand courses. Those applying for high demand courses or places can submit applications by post or email only (E: info@ benslowmusic.org) between 9 am on 17 February and 9 am on 2 March. No phone bookings will be taken for high demand courses for places between these periods. If applying by post use the standard application form. If applying by email do not include credit card details. Where a high demand course or place is oversubscribed by 9 am on 3 March applications will be entered into a ballot. You will receive confirmation or otherwise of your booking on the same day or as soon as we can contact you. Please ensure that if you are booking as a pre-formed group or as a couple you put all applications on one form. If any high demand places remain they will be open for booking in all the normal ways from 4 March.

High demand courses and places are:

String Quartets witH tHe Maggini (14/342, 14/270) String Quartets witH tHe FitZwilliam (14/347, 14/281) String Quartets witH tHe Coull (14/353, 14/287) String and Piano CHamber Music witH Nigel ClaYton and tHe BingHam (14/363, 14/295) MiXed CHamber Music (14/345) (flute and clarinet places only) THe KerrY Camden AdVanced Wind Ensembles Course (14/283) (flute and clarinet places only) SYmpHonic Wind Band (14/286) (flute and clarinet places only)

ALL OTHER COURSES - MEMBERS ONLY

Booking opens for all other courses at 9 am on 17 February by telephone or post.

NON-MEMBERS
Non-members may book all courses by telephone or post from 9 am on 17 March

EXTRA FIDELIO TRIO COURSE

Were delighted to announce that the world-renowned Fidelio Trio, hailed as one of the finest chamber ensembles of its kind, will be giving another of their excellent courses for advanced string and piano chamber groups (we are happy to entertain trios, quartets, quintets and sextets) from Monday 28 April to Thursday 1 May and will give a public concert on Tuesday 29 April at 8pm (Code 14/FID). The quality of the Fidelios teaching is second to none, and their courses regularly attract eager non-professional players from far afield. As well as coaching groups individually, they will also present a stimulating workshop and offer insights into how they rehearse and prepare the widely varied repertoire which they play. Those who have already benefitted from their teaching at Benslow Music rightly feel extremely privileged. Their concert programme is typically eclectic. Besides Schumanns brilliant Piano Trio No 2 in F, Op 80 (1847) and Korngolds appealing Piano Trio in D, Op 1 (1910) it also includes Sir Harrison Birtwistles fifteen-minute Piano Trio, written in 2010. Its a work many will find perhaps surprisingly unscary and serene given Birtwistles reputation as a maker of the complex and difficult.

WE WELCOME SUE BLOTT OUR NEW HON. TREASURER

Sue Blott is a cellist and a regular attender of various different courses at Benslow. She started playing cello at school and was in the local youth orchestra, but it was always only a hobby. After University (where she read Chemistry) she taught for two years and then changed career, becoming an accountant with a variety of local and public authorities. She started playing cello again in 1993 and was introduced to Benslow by Paul Mace, her cello teacher. Sue is looking forward to her new role as Hon. Treasurer, working with staff and trustees to improve financial information and encourage better use of Benslows resources. Benslow is a unique, inspirational place and needs support from its members in the current challenging financial situation - encourage others to share what we have to offer!

Amateur Musicians Exchange Register Update

A few members have been asking about the Amateur Musicians Exchange Register, which hasnt been updated for some time. We were hoping to be able to replace the register, which is essentially an opt-in members list organised geographically, with something online, in the manner of some kind of closed forum which Benslow Music members could choose to subscribe to or not. This would mean that we would not need to go to the expense of printing a list and constantly issuing new editions, so makes both practical and financial sense. Unfortunately other pressing matters have meant that this project has more than once been set aside, but we hope that in conjunction with our webmaster we can set something up soon.

Stephen Pettitt Director of Music

LOAN SCHEME NEWS

An exciting new era in the history of the Benslow Instrument Loan Scheme began in August with the completion of the new offices and the move from our offices in the main house - Sybil Eaton and Oriel. This was skilfully managed with much appreciated support from Liz, the Benslow Music House Manager, and her ever hardworking and resourceful housekeeping team. With their help the Loan Scheme was up and running in a very short space of time, and able to open for appointments two weeks earlier than planned. The new suite of rooms is proving very successful, with its Garden Studio where instrument trials take place, temperature controlled storerooms, and workshop for our luthier, Marco. Working exclusively for the Loan Scheme on two days each week, he is helping us to service and maintain the collection in a very efficient way. In the New Year filming will take place for a promotional DVD, and several of our most talented borrowers, one aged just 10, will be coming to play for the film and for an accompanying CD.

Hazel Bliss

EXCITING NEW COURSES AND WORKSHOPS FOR 2014

COURSES
1 - 4 August Singing for Instrumentalists 8 - 11 August Summer Madrigal and Partsong School 31 August - 3 September Purcells Verse Anthems 8 - 10 September A Beginners Guide to Twentieth Century Opera 26 - 28 September Goethes Faust and Music 4 - 12 October Jazz Ensembles 17 - 20 November Speed Dating for Strings and Piano 28 - 30 November The Magic of Vienna 1

Changes for 2014 Please note that booking terms and conditions for 2014 have changed. Please see page 60 of the July to December 2014 brochure for details. Membership Benefit Members of Benslow Music Trust are entitled to transfer between courses without incurring administration fees or losing deposits.

WORKSHOPS
26 July Early Music Singing Day with Catherine Bott and Masumi Yamamoto 26 July Piano Masterclass Day with Timothy Barratt 27 July Come and Sing Iolanthe with Christine Gwynne and Frances Quintrell 27 July Accordion Day with Paul Hutchinson

Under 27s Offer For guests who will be under 27 on 1 Jan 2014 we offer an automatic 25% discount on all our residential courses. Proof of age required and supplements excluded.

THE COUNCIL OF TRUSTEES

Tony Aston (Chair of the Benslow Instrument Loan Scheme) Andy Baruch Sue Blott (Hon Treasurer) Val Campion Anne Conchie Tim Gillott David Heymans (Hon Secretary) Norma King Philip Meaden (Chairman) Peter Neville (Chair of the Finance and General Purposes Committee) Geoffrey Norris Sedasivam Selvakumar Michael Taylor (Vice-Chairman) Pamela Thompson John Witchell

Paying on Time Please help us by paying your course balance at least four weeks before your course starts. The due date appears on your email/postal booking acknowledgement. Preferably by Debit card, this helps to reduce our bank charges.

Bed and Breakfast Besides hosting music courses, Benslow offers a Bed and Breakfast service (subject to availability) at competitive rates. Whether as a retreat from the worlds hustle-bustle or as a centre from which to explore, its just perfect!

Benslow Music Trust, Benslow Lane, Hitchin, Hertfordshire SG4 9RB T: 01462 459446 E: info@benslowmusic.org W: www.benslowmusic.org Registered charity no. 313663