Events for your diary

Berkshire Organists’ Association Visit

On Saturday 17th February the NDOA will be acting as host to members of the Berkshire Organists’ Association who will be visiting Newbury to play on the organs of St Nicolas, St John’s, Baptist and Methodist churches, in that order. A dozen or so visitors are expected and the starting time is 13:45 at St Nicolas. Tea will be served in St Nicolas hall at 16:30, followed by choral evensong from 17:00 onwards.

NDOA Annual General Meeting

The AGM has been scheduled for 8 pm on February 21st in the small room of St Nicolas Hall. Please come and give your support in planning a vital future programme that caters for all interests.

Newbury Spring Festival Organ Day

This year the Newbury Spring Festival is including a day of special organ-related events on Monday 7th May, which hopefully will be well supported by NDOA members. Firstly, Daniel Phillips, who is Assistant Organist at Worcester Cathedral, will be giving a lunchtime recital in St Nicolas at 12:30 and later, at 14:30, a master class (helpers are needed to provide refreshments for this). In the evening Colin Walsh, Organist at Lincoln Cathedral and a former pupil of Jean Langlais, will be giving an Organ Concert in St Nicolas.

Visit to Bradfield College

The social visit and organ crawl to Bradfield College, previously proposed for May, has been arranged for Saturday 9th June, with the enthusiastic cooperation of Colin Burgess, the Director of Music at Bradfield College.

It is proposed to meet at 15:00, probably at the chapel, but more specific details, including a map and a description of the organs, will be sent out nearer the time. Three organs are expected to be on show and the visit will conclude with tea at 17:00 in Colin’s house. Friends and family will be very welcome.

Subscription reminder

If, by some chance, you have not yet paid your annual subscription please send it without delay to Carl Legg.

John Butterworth

Newbury & District Organists' Association
Annual General Meeting
Wednesday, 21st February 2001
at 8 pm
St. Nicolas Church Hall, Newbury

Agenda
  1. Apologies for absence.
  2. Minutes of the 2000 Annual General Meeting
  3. Matters arising (agenda items excepted).
  4. Chairman's Report.
  5. Hon. Secretary’s Report.
  6. Hon. Treasurer's Report.
  7. Hon. Membership Secretary's Report.
  8. Web-master’s Report.
  9. Election of Officers and Committee:
    (a) Chairman.
    (b) Hon. Secretary.
    (c) Hon. Treasurer.
    (d) Hon. Membership Secretary.
    (e) Hon. Newsletter Editor.
    (f) Committee Members.
  10. Appointment of Hon. Independent Examiner.
  11. Future Events.
  12. Any Other Business.

John Butterworth

Hon. Secretary

Chairman’s Report

THE year has been a year of decision for us, the members of our association. We had such a small group on the committee that it was impossible to arrange any events other than the monthly lunchtime recitals. These have been very successful and have been generally well attended.

The organ at St Nicolas’ awaits its rebuild and there should be some good news about this soon. Meanwhile, with tender loving care from Tony Foster-Waite and myself it remains in good playing order with everything working!

You will remember me going on about an organ day to awaken interest in the organ among budding keyboard players and those already established pianists. Well, we have arranged the “Organ Day” on 7th May (Bank Holiday Monday) as part of the Newbury Spring Festival.

Two excellent recitalists are booked: Daniel Phillips (Assistant Organist of Worcester Cathedral) who is playing a programme of popular appeal (Whitlock, Bach, Humperdinck, Sanger, Hakim, Holst, Elgar, Saint-Saens) at lunchtime followed by a master class, and Colin Walsh (Organist of Lincoln Cathedral) who is giving the evening Organ Concert. As Colin was a pupil of Jean Langlais his programme contains some French music, but of popular appeal along with Bach, Mozart and Franck.

After our last AGM we have a few more on the committee and we have one or two interesting events lined up for you.

The first event which needs your support is the visit of the Berkshire Organists’ Association to Newbury on the 17th of February. We are meeting at St Nicolas Church at 1:45 pm for a demonstration of the organ and an opportunity to try it out! Then on to St Johns at 2:30 pm, the Baptist Church at 3:10 pm, Northbrook St Methodist at 3:55 pm and finally St Nicolas at 4.30 pm where we will have tea, followed by a rehearsal at 5pm for all those members of both associations who would like to sing in Choral Evensong at 5.30 pm (Canticles Dyson in F and “O Thou the Central Orb” by Wood).

Helpers with the preparation of the tea would be very welcome and if you can make cakes that would be more than welcome!

I will be demonstrating the St Nicolas Organ which will mean giving a brief history of the instrument from 1770 to the present day and picking out some of the 1770 pipework for people to hear. Then on to the Bevington stops of 1859 and finally the big loud stops that Walkers added in 1927. I will be demonstrating the other organs in the same way, unless there is someone else who would like to do the honours,

The second event is the social visit and organ crawl to Bradfield College and church at the kind invitation of Colin Burgess. This will be on June 9th at 3pm.

David Reynolds