society neWsThe AGM of the Brighton & Hove Philharmonic Society took placein the Founders Room at Brighton Dome on sunday 4december 2016 immediately following the afternoon concert.Chairman Nicolas Chisholm, MBE, who was re-elected for anotheryear, thanked departing Board members Katherine Blenkinsopand mike dickson for their service to the Society, and thankedthe Board of Management and elected officers, particularlyHonorary Treasurer Sue McHugh, the orchestra’s Friends,sponsors, donors and supporters for their continued support.

One of the vacancies on the Board wasfilled by stephen chamberlain, who waselected for a period of three years.Stephen was born and grew-up inBrighton and his very first exposure toorchestral music was attending free BPOconcerts as a 15 year old under thesponsorship scheme with AMEX. Theexperience of hearing Scheherazade and

Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, among others, wasformative in forging his future career in music. Having recentlymoved back to Sussex with his young family, Stephen wantedto offer his skills and experience to an organisation whichhelped shaped his musical future.

The Society is still seeking another Board member, and wouldparticularly welcome interest from someone with anaccountancy background and experience of Sage. Please getin touch if you or someone you know would be interested.

Friends of theP hil harmonicmarch 2017 | www.brightonphil.org.uk

Brighton philharmonic orchestra, 41 george street, Brighton Bn2 1rJ tel: (01273) 622900

Barry Wordsworth was deeplytouched to receive thefollowing poem fromcentenarian leonardgoldman who says: “As analmost lifelong supporter ofthe Brighton Phil, I pennedthis little ode, which I thoughtmight be of interest.”

In addition to a book of poetry Leonard haspublished his autobiography in three volumes: OhWhat a Lovely Shore: Brighton in the TwentiesThrough the Eyes of a Schoolboy; Brighton Beach toBengal Bay: The Adventures of a Young Man inThirties London and Wartime India, and Back toBrighton: Return to That Lovely Shore. Barry islooking forward to meeting Leonard (whocelebrated his 100th birthday last August) and hiswife Rita after the concert on Sunday 26 March.

sUmmer seAsonAfter a lot of debate and with greatregret the Trustees of the Brighton &Hove Philharmonic Society havedecided not to present a series ofSummer Chamber Music concerts inthe Unitarian Church in 2017. Thedisappointing audience numbers overthe four concerts in 2016 did not bringenough income to make the summer season pay itsway. Even with generous sponsorship from Friends,each of the last three summer seasons has made a lossand the Trustees have decided to look at other ways inwhich to promote the Brighton Philharmonic duringthe summer months. We are very grateful to the loyalband of supporters who did attend our Summer Seriesand to the composers from Brighton whose works wewere able to introduce to a new audience. Watch thisspace for fresh ideas.

A poem dedicAted to BArry WordsWorth And the Brighton phil

PHILHARMONIAby Leonard Goldman

The music swells and saturates the senses,Invading all one’s spiritual defences.Our wandering souls are active, can’t keep still,As we’re all the captives of the wondrous Brighton Phil.Yes, music is the heavenly food of love.The Bard has told us so and we can surely proveThat there’s wisdom in that memorable quotation;Because harmonious sounds arouse such deep sensation.Play on, musicians, help us keep our sanity,Your skills the very essence of humanity.When suffering souls are deep in mournful gloom,You can sow the seeds that make the flowers bloom.

What inspired you to learn the violin and then to becomea professional musician?

My grandfather was an amateur violinist. He was headmasterof a very rough school in Northwich in Cheshire, a real rag taglot, and if he felt like playing the violin (he had a violin in hisstudy) he used to walk into any classroom, chuck out theteacher, and just start playing. And if anyone giggled or didn’tpay attention, he would whack them over the head with hisbow. (He would come home with the odd broken bow forwhich he would find other uses, such as stirring paint!)

My mother was a headmistress and she loved music, loved allthe arts. She decided that when each of her three kids (I wasthe oldest) reached their tenth birthday they would learn amusical instrument. There was no way out of it and we had todo ten minutes practice every day, which seemed like forever.We were allowed to choose the instrument ourselves as long

as it wasn’t too expensive, or too big or too heavy. I actuallychose the violin because I thought I might be able to makeracing car noises with it. (Some of my esteemed colleaguesthink I’ve succeeded!)

I really became a professional musician because, at the backof my mind, I didn’t want to be pushed into the teachingprofession. All my family were headmasters orheadmistresses, and I just hated the idea of becoming ateacher. I don’t know how anyone can stand up in front of aclass of 30 to 40 kids and keep control. That was the maindriving force, before I got into music properly: before Irealized I actually enjoyed music.

There was a lot of amateur music making in my family,although they were horrified that I had ambitions to becomea professional musician. They all thought that acceptingmoney for making music was really not on, not the thing todo. It didn’t sit well with them. When I eventually became wellestablished as a professional musician, leading orchestras,broadcasting solos, playing for TV adverts and film sessions,happily working flat out, my mother or my auntie would askwhat I was doing and I’d proudly start to explain “Yesterday Idid this and this…” and half way through the sentence they’dinterrupt with “Do you remember your little cousin Elizabeth?She played exquisitely for a charity on her cello last week.”This was a much more worthy effort than mine in their eyes!

As you became more successful and established did they change their opinion?

They just didn’t ask anymore! Although 40 odd years later Iplayed Saint-Saëns 3rd Violin Concertowith the Brighton Phil.I spent nine months working on it, played it from memory,and I felt it went really well. There was a reception afterwards,which my family came to, and my sister Katharine actually said“Very good John” - so that was a big improvement!

John BrAdBUry - leAder oF the Brighton philhArmonic

2017/18 concert seAson highlightsWe thought that Friends might like a sneak preview of next season’sprogramme, the details of which will be announced later this month. We are delighted that Barry Wordsworth will be conducting fiveconcerts including New Year’s Eve and those that open and closethe season. 2017/18 sees the return of conductor stephen Bell,pianists melvyn tan & howard shelley, who is also directing,and violinist matthew trusler. We welcome pianist Alexandradariescu playing tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1 and conductorand clarinettist michael collins in a programme of mozart, haydn& Beethoven.

Symphonies we will be performing include tchaikovsky No.4, rachmaninov No.2,Brahms No.3, dvořák No.6, schubert No.8 (Unfinished) and Vaughan Williams No.4 toname but a few. Concertos will include Britten Violin Concerto, ravel Piano Concerto, mozartClarinet Concerto, mendelssohn Piano Concerto No.1 and Arutunian Trumpet Concerto.

Our season finale will include saint-saëns Carnival of the Animals performed by piano duo steven Worbey & Kevin Farrell (pictured far right) with new up to date prose. Not surprisingly this piece will be the focus of our music education workshops next season and our open rehearsal for children will take place on the morning of this concert on sunday 25 march 2018.

John Bradburyrecently spent amorning in the Bpooffice talking abouthis musical career andhis life outside theBrighton phil. in thefirst of several articlesfor the Friends of thephil he describes howhe first came to learnthe violin and thenpursue a career inmusic.

rememBering ted We are sad to record thedeath at the age of 88 of tedmcFadyen (Edward JMcFadyen) who had been aFriend of the Phil for 30 yearsand from time to time aPatron of the orchestra and asponsor of concerts.

Ted was born in Ipswich. Hetrained as a journalist and

lived and worked in London until the 1970s. In the 50sand 60s he was an active and avid anti-nuclearcampaigner and a member of the famous ‘Committeeof 100’, the precursor of CND. He took part in theAldermaston marches, the annual gatherings of tens ofthousands of protestors that every Easter weekendwalked the 52 miles from the Atomic WeaponsResearch Establishment in Berkshire to TrafalgarSquare in London.

All his working life Ted was a committed trade unionistand a member of the National Union of Journalists.Under the auspices of the NUJ Gay Group he wrote aninfluential pamphlet – aimed at his fellow journalists -setting out the basic facts about HIV and Aids “becausethere were so many distortions and lies at the time andwe felt they needed to be told what was what”. He wasalso responsible for Gay Rights at Work, a booklet thatplayed an important role in persuading trade unions togive better support to their gay members.

Ted moved to Brighton in the early 1970s and soonbegan to attend Brighton Phil concerts. He became anenergetic member of the Sussex Playwrights club andboth wrote and performed in plays. He was activelyinvolved in local gay rights campaigning and later withthe management of Brighton Gay Switchboard. It wasat this time he began quite frequently to write letters tothe Guardian newspaper - on a wide variety ofsubjects! A commendable number were published.Characteristically of Ted, they were a nice mixture ofhumour and waspishness, but always with a seriouspoint to make. The hypocrisies of politicians were afavourite subject.

It is hoped that in due course a gathering will bearranged to remember and celebrate Ted’s life.

Bob Young

FAreWell to peter BAcK peter Back has been writing theprogramme notes for the Brighton Philfor nearly 20 years and many of you willalso know him from his entertainingpre-concert interviews with our guestartists, and the previews he writes for thelocal press before each of our concerts.

Sadly after much soul-searching Peterhas decided that it is now time for himto “hang up his pen”, so to speak, at theend of this current season. In doing so

he says: “Researching and writing about so much music hasenhanced my own appreciation and enjoyment and, hopefully,that of our audiences. It has also been a privilege to have playeda part in the work of the Brighton & Hove Philharmonic Society.

Above all it is the involvement with both musicians and audiencemembers alike that has given me the most pleasure, with manywonderful memories and some lasting friendships. I haveenjoyed feeling part of a team and am grateful to everyone, BarryWordsworth and John Bradbury in particular, for their interestand encouragement.”

Many of you will recall that Peter’s association with the orchestradates back to extended illustrated talks given first at theConnaught Adult Education Centre, and then at All Saints ChurchParish Room, where the end of each term was often celebratedwith a much anticipated tea-party. The Unitarian Church in NewRoad became the next venue, followed by the Founders Room atBrighton Dome, where noise percolating from the café bar was adistraction, so in recent years Peter has appeared on stage in theConcert Hall, with occasional excursions into Brighton Museum’sEducation Room (to avoid clashing with piano and harp tuning).His research has taken him inside libraries in Brighton, Londonand Cambridge University, and he fondly recalls de-camping toHove Town Hall for the 75th Birthday Weekend concerts, as wellas special pre-season previews at the Sallis Benney Theatre andthe Dome’s Studio Theatre.

In Peter’s own words: “It has been, as they often say on televisionreality shows, quite a journey – but a most pleasurable one. Icertainly hope to continue attending the concerts and helping inany way I can to promote the work of this uniquely wonderfulorchestra.”

There will be a presentation to Peter at the Sponsors’ Receptionimmediately following the final concert of the season on Sunday26 March, which will be attended by the Mayor of Brighton &Hove, Conductor Laureate Barry Wordsworth and musiciansfrom the orchestra. If you would like to contribute to a collectionplease contact Catherine Stead in the BPO Office.

A history oF the BpoA request from The Park Centre Wivesgroup in Burgess Hill to give a talkabout the history of the orchestra setour chairman, nicolas chisholm, thechallenge of finding out somefascinating details. The Society isfortunate to possess a complete set ofprogrammes from 1925 onwards, anda comprehensive analysis of them bylong-time Friend and supporter of the

orchestra, Trevor Bolton. Nicolas spent some time researchingthis treasure trove and following up many leads that now

appear on the internet. The result is an hour-long talkillustrated with a good number of photographs which he iskeen to share with the Friends.

Nicolas will give this talk to Friends of the Phil later in the year.Further details will appear in the next newsletter.

Nicolas would be very happy to present this talk to othergroups in the local area, to spread the word about theorchestra, so if you are a member of a group that would like tobook him, please contact him via the BPO Office or on:nicolaschisholm@brightonphil.org.uk.

mUsic edUcAtion WorKshops& children’s reheArsAlA number of local schools havehosted interactive musicworkshops given by Brighton Philmusicians John ellwood(trumpet) and donna-marialandowski (percussion) in thelast few weeks in the run up to ouropen rehearsal for children.

Children in Year 6 at Benfield Junior School came alive, listeningintently when John Ellwood played the theme tunes from HarryPotter, Postman Pat and Star Wars, and becoming very excitedwhen John let them blow into different mouth pieces.

The Furthering talent group, who came to our film musicconcert in early December, were treated to their very ownpercussion workshop by Donna-Maria, and the music was soinfectious that some of the parents joined in too, with theMarimba proving a particular favourite. (A short video clip can beviewed on Facebook www.facebook.com/Brightonphil)

The workshops culminated in over 400 children and their parentsexperiencing the excitement of seeing and hearing the fullorchestra rehearsing in Brighton Dome Concert Hall on themorning of our concert on Sunday 5 March.

nicolas chisholm, Chairman of BHPS, was delighted with thesuccess of this event saying: "We received so many positivecomments from parents, but for me the highlight was in theconcert interval itself when two bright eyed children came up tome to thank us all for giving them such an unforgettableexperience. They had been to both the rehearsal and the concertitself. They agreed that it would be something that they wouldalways remember."

A full report on the workshops and Open Rehearsal will follow inthe next newsletter.

We are most grateful to those who have contributed sogenerously to this year’s education project, and to Sussex MasonicCharities who have pledged support for next year. Our thanksalso to Friends who kindly volunteered to steward the event.

lAtest neWs From BFcIn September the Brighton Festival chorus spent twodays in the Coliseum in Watford with Barry Wordsworthand the BBC Concert Orchestra recording a number ofless well-known pieces by Elgar. In March they will returnto record Elgar's From the Bavarian Highlands. Therecording (by SOMM Records) should be available later inthe year.

Brighton Festival Chorus isproud to have providedbacking vocals for some ofthe tracks on the album VeraLynn 100, which will bereleased by Decca Recordson Friday 17 March, threedays before Dame VeraLynn's 100th birthday.

BFC is participating in the return of Symfunny to the RoyalAlbert Hall on Wednesday 19 April, bringing togethermusicians and comedians for a night of music andlaughter to raise money for Parkinson’s UK. Symfunny is thebrainchild of producer, composer and conductor Jamesmorgan, BFC’s Music Director, who was diagnosed withParkinson’s at the age of 42.

Finally, the BFC will be joiningBritten Sinfonia underconductor Diego Masson toperform John Adams'sglittering choral symphonyHarmonium in the closingconcert of this year's Brighton Festival at Brighton Domeon sunday 28 may.

spreAding the Word

On Saturday 7 January the Society hosted anotherinformation day at Jubilee Library to promote theorchestra and our current season at Brighton Dome,following a similar event last September. ChairmanNicolas Chisholm and former Chairman Karen plattwere amongst those who volunteered to spend timechatting to visitors and we hope to make this aregular occurrence, with the next event planned forSeptember once tickets for next season have goneon sale to the general public.