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The Scottish branch of the Society was formed following two inaugural meetings, held in May
1997 in Edinburgh and Glasgow. A steering committee was appointed and first met in August
1997. The first full meeting took place on 4 October 1997 at Newbattle Abbey near Edinburgh,
followed by a second meeting at 23 November 1997 at Jurys Glasgow Hotel. The branch is now
firmly established with 84 members and is still attracting new members regularly. Most meetings
comprise a talk by a guest speaker concluding with live music. It is a very friendly branch
and we welcome guests to all our meetings.
Programme for 2010
Meeting time and venue :All meetings will be held at St. Mark’s Unitarian
Church and is just behind the Usher Hall in Castle Terrace, Edinburgh, very near to the multi-story car park, so
parking is no problem. The meetings normally run from 2pm to 5pm on Saturday or Sunday
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Saturday 16 January
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by Iain Farrington
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This is our AGM Meeting, with business taking only about 30-45 minutes, but prior to this we welcome back, for his third visit, Iain FarringtonElgar’s Second Symphony. This completes his performances for us of the three Elgar
Symphonies, and, as usual, he will introduce the performance with a short talk outlining the work involved in this venture. We are very grateful to Iain for his visits and should
have a musical treat with his playing.
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Sunday 7 March
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“Elgar Today”
by Conrad Wilson
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Today’s speaker is Conrad Wilson, Edinburgh’s respected music critic; for 27 years with the Scotsman. He will give his talk, “Elgar Today”, with
musical examples, and his theme will be 21st Century attitudes towards Elgar. A sort of barometer of his greatness as we see it now, comparing different works which have
gone up, or down, in our estimation – with special attention to the chamber music. Conrad has written many books on music and is Editor of the Revised Collins Encyclopedia
of Music.
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Sunday 23 May
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“Elgar's Part Songs”
by Donald Hunt
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We are honoured to welcome back Donald Hunt, after a two year gap, to give us his talk, “Elgar’s Part Songs”. Donald has a rightly deserved
towering reputation as conductor, chorus master and Elgarian in the Worcester area and he works tirelessly at the Elgar School of Music in Worcester and with his choir,
the “Elgar Camerata”. This will be a fascinating talk with musical examples, and the meeting will conclude with live music from Branch members, appropriate
to today’s talk.
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Saturday 19 June
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“Billy Reed”
by Paul Bassett
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This meeting sees our Chairman, Paul Bassett, deliver an audio-visual presentation on “Billy Reed – Elgar’s close friend and leader of the LSO”.
Billy Reed wrote the famous “Elgar – As I knew him” book and was Elgar’s close companion for 24 years, and their musical deeds and other escapades give a whole
new outlook on Elgar’s later years! Billy Reed was an accomplished composer in a small way and you will hear some of his work as well as see many photos of
great historical musical importance. Paul is writing a book on Billy Reed and will give a very interesting and factual talk. The meeting will conclude with live music
appropriate to the talk.
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Saturday 11 September
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“The Norbury family and Elgar”
by Kevin Allen
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Kevin Allen joins us for his talk “Gracious Ladies – the Norbury Family and Edward Elgar”, about Elgar’s great friends and near neighbours
in Worcester. Kevin is a founder member of the Southern Branch of the Society and a prolific writer of Elgar books with seven to his name to date. He is currently working
on a two volume book about today’s subject and we can expect a most interesting and informative presentation. The meeting will conclude with live music
from Branch members.
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Saturday 20 November
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“Elgar and Christmas”
by Geoffrey Hodgkins
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We welcome ex-Elgar Journal Editor, Geoff Hodgkins to the Branch for a timely and illustrated festive talk on “Elgar and Christmas”. This
presentation will look at Elgar’s opinion of the festival, what the Elgars did at Christmas and cover works Elgar wrote at Christmas, whilst including some “fun” items
appropriate to the season! This is a fairly new presentation and Geoff is coming from London to be with us. The meeting will close with more live music
from Branch members.
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All visitors welcome to attend any of the above events. For details of membership, venue, or general queries
about the branch, or even to just have a chat about Elgar or the Society, please contact the
Branch Chairman at the above address or number.
For further information, contact :
The chairman or secretary at the address and telephone number given above.
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