Now that Gravity have brought to a
spectacular close to our season of concerts for 2018-19 it’s time to
look back on another successful programme of school visits this year.
With the administrative and financial help of Lincolnshire Music
Service (LMS), who provide a grant of £1,500 annually, via Arts
Council Funding, to facilitate the programme, we have taken five of
our visiting artists into 16 primary schools in and around Boston
this season, playing to just over 2,100 children, mostly of ages 5 to
11. In fact, at Stickney, the nursery class also attended the
performance, so 3+ in age, and they were thoroughly captivated by the
antics of Peter Mitchell and Anthony Mann, the talented percussionist
who make up Gravity. The largest audience we played to was 296 or
thereabouts, the smallest was just 38. But for the half term holiday
in February, Laurence Perkins would have done some school visits, as
he did when he came here three years ago with Cuillin Sound.
In addition to re-visiting many local
schools with whom we have developed a good relationship over the last
seven years, we have visited five new schools this year – those at
Bucknall, Walcott, Martin and Tattershall (all near Woodhall Spa) and
William Stukeley at Holbeach. Many schools are involved with
programmes inspired, set up and/or organised by LMS, giving their
children access to making music, whether it be singing in choirs or
starting to p[lay an instrument, and the heads and classroom teachers
are pleased to expand the experiences of their children with our
visits. This year children have seen and heard the Duo of 19th
century oboe and harp in October, the classical guitar duo from the
RNCM in November (who performed in the three small schools near
Woodhall Spa), the Passacaglia Trio in December, Lewis Banks and his
accompanist, Marianna Abrahamyan in January before Gravity did the
honours in March.
Members of the Committee always
accompany the musicians as they go into schools, and I am extremely
grateful for the assistance of the two Jenny, Dumat and Oughton, and
Keith Osborne in helping to attend these events with me. Lest it be
thought that all we do is turn up up and have a free concert, I
should let you into one or two secrets from the season! For example I
learnt how to assemble and dismantle Passacaglia’s harpsichord and to
carry it to/from their transport, testing muscles I’d forgotten
about, not least when taking them to Gosberton Clough and Risegate,
then Holbeach, on a very wet Wednesday morning following the Tuesday
evening concert, before we rushed back to Boston for a quick lunch at
Downtown; the musicians were staggered by the range of furniture and
goods for sale in the store and would have stayed longer but for the
afternoon performance at Boston West!
Likewise, the visit of Gravity, where
we became experts at setting up, then breaking down and packing away,
their vast array of musical instruments, including the marimba and
the vibraphone; once again, the Wednesday morning was somewhat
fraught given the rapid transition required between the schools in
Stickney and New Leake, thankfully only five miles apart.
Lewis and Marianna performed in three
schools when they were here but only on the Wednesday though, as they
were flying down to East Midlands Airport from Glasgow where they are
based, on the Tuesday of the evening concert. They displayed their
musical pedigree with verve to 600 children in all. However, the
performance at Spalding St John’s after lunch almost never happened
when we discovered to everyone’s horror, once we arrived at the
school, that Lewis had forgotten to transfer his rucksack from Jenny
Dumat’s car to mine in the Downtown car park (in the pouring rain,
let it be said), inside which he had put his reeds….no reeds, no
performance, and not much of a spectacle for the children, although
I’m sure that Marianna would have done her best to hold the fort!
Fortunately Jenny had realised Lewis’ error almost as soon as I had
driven away, so cue phone messages and texts, then one rapid journey
from Spalding to the Sutterton roundabout and back to collect said
bag. The concert then went ahead, albeit a bit late, but nonetheless
well received by the children.
Here’s to another interesting year of
school performances next season, but perhaps without so much drama.
Stephen Boycott
April 2019