Newsletter #43 January 2020 – Strings Attached

Welcome to our forty third newsletter – designed to keep you informed about our activities, as well as other chamber music events.

2019/20 COFFEE CONCERT SEASON CONTINUES

The third concert of the series was given on 8 December by the Maxwell Quartet. Reviews can be found on https://www.stringsattachedmusic.org.uk under ‘Reviews’. Reviewers were hugely impressed.

The next concert will be on 26 January at 11am at the Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts, University of Sussex, Falmer, given by the Heath Quartet.

Beethoven String Quartet in D major Op. 18 No.3
Brahms String Quartet in A minor Op.51 No.2
Beethoven String Quartet in C major Op.59 No.3

The Heath are too well known to need any introduction. They have become famous since they were a young quartet in residence here in Brighton, winning too many prizes to mention. They are in the middle of performing the complete Beethoven cycle in Vermont, so we get to hear two of his quartets, as well as the Brahms, which they will be playing at the Wigmore Hall on 9 February.

For those who like to prepare for a concert, programme notes are available on https://www.stringsattachedmusic.org.uk .

We look forward to seeing you there.

PRACTICALITIES

The Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts (ACCA), formerly the Gardner Centre, is at the University of Sussex at Falmer. We are still using ACCA while the refurbishment of the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange enters its final stages. There is free parking at the Sports Centre, near the Attenborough Centre, and at other car parks on the campus nearby (it being Sunday). There are also excellent public transport links:

by train from Brighton or Lewes; or
by bus: No. 25 from Hove and Brighton, No. 23 from Brighton Marina or No.s 28 and 29 from Brighton or, coming the other way, from Tunbridge Wells via Uckfield and Lewes.

Help with transport
A happy tradition is established whereby Strings Attached members offer lifts to others who would otherwise have difficulty with transport. If a lift has not already been arranged for you and you would like a lift, or if you would like to offer one, please email the secretary Margaret Polmear on m.polmear@btinternet.com . It will only be possible to find a lift for you if there happens to be someone in your area who is offering one.

Ticket prices for the coffee concerts are £18.50 (concessions £16). A half-season ticket for the three concerts in 2020 is £49.50 (concessions £42).

Tickets for all concerts are available from the Brighton Dome box office (01273 709709) or https://brightondome.org/ or from the Attenborough Centre on the day. Tickets for those aged 8 – 25 are free as part of the Cavatina Scheme. They can only be booked by visiting the box office in person. The Brighton Dome box office can issue these free tickets in advance; the ACCA box office will be open on the morning of the concert. Either the young person should be present at the time of booking, or the person booking for him or her must show proof of age, e.g. a passport. Under 14s must be accompanied to the concert by a paying adult.

MEMBERSHIP

For those who haven’t already done so, there is still time to renew your membership of Strings Attached for the period 1 August 2019 to 31 July 2020. Membership renewal forms can be downloaded from https://www.stringsattachedmusic.org.uk/friends/ . Payment can be made by bank transfer or by cheque but the form still needs to be sent by post or handed in at a concert. For Gift Aid reasons please complete one form per person. Paid-up members will receive a membership card which can be used to obtain a glass of sherry or fruit juice during coffee concert intervals.

We hope you will choose to renew your membership and support our work – and encourage like-minded people to join us too.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Because of the high cost of holding the Strings Attached AGM at the Attenborough Centre, this year’s will again be held at 9 Powis Square, Brighton BN1 3HH on Thursday, 13 February at 12 noon.

Because this is a private home, it is vital that you let us know by Thursday 6 February at the latest if you intend to come by contacting the secretary, Margaret Polmear, on 07447 076317 or at m.polmear@btinternet.com . This is so that appropriate seating can be provided or an alternative larger venue arranged if necessary.

Please note that parking in and around Powis Square is very limited.

If you intend to come to the meeting, please bring with you the following papers:

Agenda for AGM 2020
Minutes of the 2019 AGM
Annual Report for 2019
Statement of Accounts for 2019
Data Protection Policy
Register of Systems

They can be downloaded from https://www.stringsattachedmusic.org.uk/annual-general-meeting-2020-agenda/ . We do not supply copies on the day.

The agenda for the meeting will be largely confined to required AGM business including approval of the annual report and accounts and election of the committee for the forthcoming year. It is expected to be a short administrative meeting.

If you have any other item for discussion, please inform Margaret Polmear as above by Thursday 6 February.

Nomination of committee members
Strings Attached has a committee currently comprising 5 members. The committee meets 4 or 5 times a year with email communication between meetings. If you would like to become involved either as a committee member or by helping behind the scenes please contact the Chair, Mary McKean on 01273 554278 or at memckean@me.com .

Contribution to the AGM discussion in the event of being unable to attend
If you are unable to come to the AGM but have comments on the papers or ideas for future activity, please send them to the Secretary, Margaret Polmear, as above by Thursday 6 February.

OTHER CHAMBER MUSIC EVENTS

The next concert at the Nicholas Yonge Society in Lewes will be on 24 January, given by the Carducci String Quartet with Kate Whitley (piano). Kate is a phenomenon both as a composer and as a pianist. She was co-founder of the marvellous Multi-Story Orchestra which performs in car parks in an attempt to integrate classical music into everyday life. Perhaps she can do the same for the rather bland hall at East Sussex College. In addition to her newly commissioned piano quintet you get string quartets by Beethoven (Op.95), Britten (No.1) and Mendelssohn (Op.80). Tickets are available on http://www.nyslewes.org.uk or on the door.

The next concert of the Seaford Music Society will be given on 9 February by the London Mozart Players Chamber Ensemble. It will include Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante and Richard Strauss’ Metamorphosen.

Details of concerts in local churches and those organised by other local music societies can be accessed via the Strings Attached chamber music calendar. For information about all of these go to https://www.stringsattachedmusic.org.uk and choose “Calendar” from the menu.