00:00Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. Lovely this
00:06afternoon to speak to Gell Ellsworthy about the Horsham Music Circle. Now the circle goes
00:12back a long way, doesn't it, and is still very much a key part of the town of Horsham.
00:17Tell me about the origins, how did it begin, do you know?
00:22It started in 1942, and it was the vision of local professional pianist Grace Humphrey,
00:30and she had tremendous drive and enthusiasm and brought many of the top performers of
00:35her era to Horsham. And when you think that it was in wartime, it's particularly marvellous
00:41that she was able to do that. And she brought eventually people like the composer York Bowen,
00:47Colin Davies, when he was actually still a student at Christ Hospital, a young Jacqueline
00:52Dupre, and the pianist Maura Limpany, amongst many others. She had a composer as the first
01:00president, Sir Arnold Bax, and that went on to Sir Edmund Rubbera and Andre Previn. And
01:07then it continued till she retired, and then after that it was taken over by her successors,
01:13her son Brian Harmsworth, with Betty Gripper as an admin secretary. There was Louise DeWaard,
01:20who did the concert planning for a year. And then in 1978, I took over as admin secretary.
01:27And then when Brian retired in 1982, I started doing the concert organising as well.
01:33So you both know fewer than 42 years of doing so. That's quite impressive, isn't it?
01:41And why do you do it? What's the pleasure for you in being part of this?
01:45Well, being a musician myself, I suppose, it's a thing that one does, one can't help
01:51oneself doing. But it is essential to have live music performance. Nothing quite recreates the
02:00feeling of the whole being in the ambience of a concert venue. And essentially, we are
02:08a chamber music and solo recital concert promoting society. But also, we add other
02:14musical forms. So we have occasional jazz elements, vocal groups, more diverse and
02:20innovative presentations, in an effort to bring variety and also introduce something from every
02:26solo instrument, so that we can keep live performance going in the town. There are
02:33masses of voluntary run organisations like this around the country. So it's not just us,
02:39there's many all over the country exist. And there have been for many years.
02:43You've managed to keep going. And I can think of plenty of organisations in recent years
02:48across Sussex that have sadly stopped, that just haven't been able to keep going. Yet you have.
02:55How do you explain that longevity and success?
02:58There have been problems up and down. Yes, I think that does happen. Times change, people's
03:06going to events change. Particularly recently, we managed to keep the traditional concert
03:15music society format of an annual series of concerts, which were subscription events going.
03:23But in 2018 and 19, we were facing major changes because our then chairman, Dr. John Studdart,
03:32through illness had to step down from the post. And the treasurer also was unable to continue.
03:39So we then changed status and we became a not-for-profit group. We moved away from the
03:45traditional subscription season, which went from September through to May, because people could not
03:51commit that far ahead anymore. And we started a new idea of having it in two halves, an autumn
03:58series and a spring series. And that proved successful. So it's a question of adapting for
04:03the times then, isn't it? But it seems to me that anything that survived the pandemic has done
04:08incredibly well, hasn't it? Well, then, of course, we had the pandemic just as we started on this new
04:14idea. So things halted. We did maintain one year where we were allowed to have concerts,
04:21and we had some organ recitals under protocols that tidied us over. And then we went back,
04:32and again, with COVID protocols, with masks and the usual things. And then eventually,
04:38now we're back to normal. And clearly in a good place, doing well.
04:44Well, hope so. I think the thing is that we've been really encouraged. We've continued having
04:51the well-known musicians like Julian Lloyd Webber and Emma Johnson, Evelyn Glennie,
04:57Peter Donahoe, the King Singers and the Allegory Quartet. And now we've brought in some of today's
05:03superstars, so Jess Gilliman, her ensemble, and the Canna-Mason family. So we've had wonderful
05:10evenings of music making from them. And these names naturally attract large numbers. So it
05:16was wonderful to see that. But we hope... Fantastic. And with your reputation,
05:20presumably, it's easier to attract the performers, is it? Do they enjoy coming to you?
05:25Oh, they love coming. But the thing is now is that we hope that those that were inspired by
05:31those composers come along to hear other outstanding musicians. Because some of the
05:36names that we're having perhaps this season are not so well known, but we can confidently say
05:41they are brilliant musicians, and they look forward to coming and playing for locally run
05:47music societies. I think the Canna-Masons did say how nice it was to come to what you'd call
05:54an ordinary venue as against an enormous hall. And it was lovely to have that atmosphere of
06:01meeting with all the people. And they have a closer rapport with the audience in a smaller venue,
06:07obviously, don't they? Yes, yes. So touch wood, at the moment,
06:13we are keeping going. We've benefited from some former members who have given us some financial
06:20support. So that always is helpful. And all of those sorts of music clubs depend on having
06:27donations coming in to support the work. Fantastic. Well, as I say, the wider context
06:33I see is that a number of societies and circles have disappeared, yet you've managed to keep on
06:38going, which longevity in any circumstances is a fabulous thing. So congratulations and
06:45all good wishes for the latest season, Jo. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much.
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