Welcome! Much has been going on and there is plenty coming up in the next few months. Please do read all the attachments/links to be up to date.

Today

London Organ day is happening as I write, but I’ve provided information here, thanks to Christopher Town of the Bromley and Croydon group. Details on an attachment; also today is a recital by Bromley and Croydon member Jonathan Holmes tonight, with mention of two further recitals this month.

Recent event:

As we couldn’t hold our annual composite recital live, we decided to invite recorded submissions, followed by a talk by William McVicker. I am personally hugely grateful to Richard Pilliner, Sam Gover, Robert Bowles, Norman Harper and William McVicker for their putting together of the whole evening. We had just over fifty people attending. I have attached a report on the event, by our member John Mitchell.

Tom McLelland-Young RIP

Tom was a former SSLSO member and a highly talented musician. John Mitchell has kindly supplied the attached obituary.

Kevin Mayhew RIP

The publisher, organist and composer Kevin Mayhew died on January 14th. He was born in 1942 and had been a chorister at Westminster Cathedral. he was well known for his publishing of organ music, including for those learning how to manage simple voluntaries and he brought out “Hymns Old and New” in various editions.

Coming soon:

1. Our AGM will now be hold on Zoom, on Monday week, March 15th. at 7.30p.m. Please aim to join us at 7.20p.m, so that we can begin on time. We start with organ music played by Alasdair Friend at St. John’s Church, East Dulwich, the originally intended venue; the meeting will follow. We can accommodate one or two more people on to the Committee; Ashley Valentine and Lionel Bourne will be steeping back.

2. We had hoped to join the Enfield and District Organists’ Association on May 15th, but this is just before we are allowed out! Instead, the Enfield group has invited us to their previous event on Thursday, March 25th; please see the attachment. This will be a discussion of John Norman’s latest book. Our thanks to Michael Hennin and Rosemary Knight for this.

3. Saturday, May 15th. will nonetheless be a date for our own Zoom meeting, now moved to 7.30p.m. We shall have a quiz. This will not be competitive and is purely for fun. Questions may be on music generally or on church music and organs, or on local geography…..it’s up to the people that I’ll invite to offer the questions! All for fun and not to be taken too seriously.

4. Saturday, June 5th. Hooray! We can go out for the day! Norman Harper has heard from St. Mary’s, Saffron Walden that we are welcome there at 2.30p.m. We hope to go to Thaxted, slightly south of Saffron Walden, in the morning and have lunch there (or in the car, if not!). More on this soon. Thaxted Church had a fascinating history during the twentieth century and I have visited it many times. It is connected with Gustav Holst, amongst others.

And coming less soon:

Big news – we are planning a trip to The Netherlands from April 1st. to 5th. next year. Our member Pieter Shaw is based there and has sent information which I have attached. It would be good to know who is interested, without being 100% committed at this stage, as numbers have to be limited.

Update on singing:

Another attachment offers support on this; it is based on information from “Making Music”, based on Government advice.

Links:

After all this serious stuff, we all need something lighthearted. The first two links certainly come in this category:

1. Thanks to Daniel Moult and the Bexley Association for this one. Which of these two singers do you prefer?

2. Rhyming slang and Ronnie Barker (thanks to the Enfield Association for this).

3. From Reg Boulton of the Bexley group, we have organ music with a well known theme.

4. Again, received from Reg, we now have fabulous Mexican organs, in twenty minute doses.

5. Noël Tredinnick has sent this news item about the organ at York Minster.

6. The RSCM is offering a chance to join then for Compline on Wednesdays in Lent: RSCM Compline in Lent – Do Join Us!

7. A take on worship songs (from the Bexley Association – they aren’t the performers, mind you).

8. This came from our member Ian Clifford. I originally thought that I was seeing three different singers, but no, it’s one very clever person acting out the lot. It’s a take on “Three Little Maids”, from “The Mikado” and the singer is fundraising, so you can donate if you wish; she is highly talented: link here.

9. The Virtual Choir, which John Mitchell sent me: The Birth of the Virtual Choir.

10. On the same topic, there are even courses on this subject.

Do send your news or more links; the next newsletter will be on April 3rd. I look forward, in the meantime, to seeing you at the AGM; let me know if a trip to he Netherlands interests you.

John