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Tag Archives: Members’ blogs
Do Check Benslow Out
In October, I attended a four day residential string quartet course at Benslow Music Trust http://www.benslowmusic.org at Hitchin in Hertfordshire. Warmly encouraged by my sister, Carole Collins-Biggs, who has been a Benslow regular for some time I was a bit … Continue reading
Bum notes from the brass – further thoughts
First a definition: A bum note is a note that is wrong by pitch, dynamics or timing. It includes the correct note but played in the wrong octave, too loud, not loud enough or at the wrong time not to … Continue reading
Yes, music really does change lives
Steph Batchelor So, I’m sat in my kitchen on another Monday evening, desperately trying to keep myself awake after a day of school and a meeting after work, wondering just what it is that keeps me going to Ashford Sinfonia … Continue reading
Bum Notes from the Brass section: In 1960s France remembering the fallen
Music is often associated with ceremony. And few ceremonies, especially national ones, are without music. Brass bands are a useful portable musical accessory for memorials in fields, town centres – wherever. Eastbourne Silver Band (ESB) had its share of call-outs … Continue reading
Music you dislike but can’t resist?
During one of the Proms this year I turned on the radio (well started it on an app on my phone, to be precise) and it was the early stages of Ravel’s Bolero. This was the piece that Torvill and … Continue reading
Bum Notes from the Brass Section
On this particular evening in front of a paying audience, I was playing in a youth orchestra in the Birmingham City Hall. The piece was the New World symphony by Dvorak, conducted by a flamboyant chap, tall and thin with … Continue reading
My Musical Journey
Like my older sister, Susan Elkin, I started group violin lessons in our London County Council primary school because our father was a gifted folk fiddler. The English Folk Dance and Song Society produced an annual festival at the Albert Hall … Continue reading
The Summer Concert
It was the Summer concert afternoon And we all tried hard to play in tune. We plucked and bowed and banged and blew And received our very first review! Despite England’s failure at the ‘beautiful game’ We played ‘We are … Continue reading
What sort of music do you like?
As a music teacher I often get asked by students, “Sir, what music do you like best?” This is a surprisingly hard question and it took me a while to come up with an answer I am happy with. You … Continue reading
A first encounter
I was 11 and in my first term at grammar school. It must have been very early in the term because I hadn’t yet made any friends. I’d been playing the violin for three years at primary school and was … Continue reading
Ashford Sinfonia 