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New
Harmonie will perform Mozart’s Serenade for 13 winds
(Gran Partita) at The Capital Horsham as part of Horsham Music
Circle’s Season at 7.30pm on Friday 19th November 2010
(note over a year’s advance notice!)
New
Harmonie first performed this jewel in the crown of Mozart’s
wind music, displaying his brilliance in writing for wind
instruments, on October 15th 2006 in Billingshurst Village
Hall in celebration of the composer’s 250th anniversary
year.
The piece is written for two oboes, two clarinets, two basset-horns
(now obsolete members of the clarinet family), two bassoons,
four horns and a double bass. Dr Margaret Lynn will talk to
the audience about the piece with the help of musical illustrations
from New Harmonie and then the complete work will be performed.
Extracts from the 2006 performance can be heard by using the
link on this site.
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"Courtesy
Mark Dean"
STOP PRESS .............Sunday September
26th 2010 3.00pm - full decet concert - venue not fixed
as yet - we hope this will be the first concert with the
title "The Golden Age of Popular songs and dance"
. With specially commissioned arrangements we will play
the popular dance band music of the 20's, 30's and 40's.
------
The 2008-09 tour by New Harmonie “From Tin Pan Alley
to Abbey Road” (the Beatles) ended at Rusper Village
Hall on Saturday night October 17th 2009. The press release
below is by Neal Osborne who with a team of helpers promoted
the concert. Not only do these concerts bring a great entertainment
to Sussex communities (young and old) but also a great fund
raising opportunity for Village Halls and Churches. New
Harmonie fees are covered by the grants awarded by Trusts
and Foundations so the promoters can keep most of the proceeds
from ticket sales.
A new tour will be started in 2010 depending upon how much
financial support New Harmonie can raise from external funders.
Currently nine more venues want this concert/show and the
first two will be at St Mary’s Church West Chiltington
on Saturday 6th March 2010 and St John’s Church Felbridge
on Saturday March 27th 2010.
If your Church or Village Hall is interested in promoting
this concert in 2010-11
Phone 01403 242429.
| RUSPER
OCT 17th 2009
New Harmonie (www.newharmonie.org.uk) brought their
current West Sussex Tour of twelve village halls and
churches to a close as part of the centenary celebrations
of Rusper Village Hall. Playing to virtually a full
house the quintet told the story of popular music
from 1890s Vaudeville (just before the hall was built)
into the 20th century with ragtime, jazz and swing
to the golden age of the Broadway musical and the
Beatles era. Sarah Williams and Geoff Richardson told
the story with lots of audience laughter and the quintet
illustrated the different musical styles. There was
good audience participation, quite a lot of feet tapping
and gentle humming of well known tunes. Generous applause
at the end was accompanied by demands for an encore.
Rachel Wright (flute), Sarah Williams (oboe), Geoffrey
Richardson (clarinet), Sue Bellamy (bassoon) and Annie
Barnard (horn) clearly enjoy making music together
and played some fine arrangements. Together they make
a great sound and should be thoroughly recommended.
Geoff Richardson
explained that New Harmonie tries to raise funds from
Trusts and Foundations. Funding for this Sussex tour
of twelve venues has been obtained from The Batty
Charitable Trust, D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust,
Sussex Community Foundation, The West Sussex Arts
Partnership and Horsham District Council. Each venue
has to organise and promote the concert but the grants
cover the players’ fees so that most of the
revenue from ticket sales is retained by the venue.
In the case of Rusper all the proceeds will be added
to Hall funds to be used for the maintenance of this
important village amenity.
Geoff has
informed me that “nine more venues have already
written to New Harmonie asking for this show to come
to their village hall or church. The process has started
trying to raise the necessary funds. Already funding
has been secured for St Mary's Church West Chiltington
(6th March 2010) and St John's Church Felbridge (20th
March 2010)”.
Neal Osborne
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HARTING VILLAGE HALL February 7th 2010
A friend told me about New Harmonie. She had been to a quintet
concert by New Harmonie in Harting Village Hall in 2009 and
thought it was wonderful. I went on their web site and was
very impressed by the clips of their music and all the work
the group does in schools, residential homes and hospitals.
A friend and I decided to go to this latest concert by the
full group. I was so pleased that I did. The group offered
a varied programme. Peter and the Wolf in words and music
and a new commission The Young Person's Guide to the Wind
Ensemble were both appreciated by the considerable number
of children in the audience. A bit of the classics, suite
from Merry Widow, swing - something for everybody. It is quite
an experience to hear the wind section of an orchestra on
its own without brass and strings. And how do they do it without
a conductor? Quite a few of the arrangements were by John
Newhill who died recently and New Harmonie dedicated the concert
to his memory.
Gillian Jones
Wherever we play we ask a sample of our
audience to evaluate our work. We make the results available
to our funders. This was the last review of a decet concert
at Harting Village Hall February 2010. Twelve members of
the audience took part.
Did
you enjoy the Concert? Yes 12 No 0
Please
comment “Technically very good..excellent timing..lovely”
“ Excellent” “Good variety of music –
splendid entertainment” “lovely mix of old and
modern music” “I feel it was well suited to
the mixed age audience and very informative” “Also
enjoyed by 6 year old grandson”
Please
rate your enjoyment on a scale of 1-5 where 5 = very much;
4 = enjoyed quite a lot; 3 enjoyed in parts; 2 didn’t
enjoy most of it; 1= didn’t enjoy at all.
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5 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
| Praeludium |
6 |
5 |
1 |
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| Die
Fledermaus Overture |
9 |
3 |
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| Where
the Wind Blows (Young Persons Guide) |
5 |
5 |
2 |
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| Peter
and the Wolf |
5 |
5 |
1 |
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| Divertissement
Emile Bernard |
5 |
6 |
1 |
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| INTERVAL |
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| Country
Gardens |
8 |
4 |
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| Stars
and Stripes |
9 |
3 |
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| Merry
Widow |
8 |
4 |
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| Merry
Musicians (Lustige Musikanten) |
7 |
2 |
2 |
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| Duke
Ellington Don’t get around much anymore |
8 |
3 |
1 |
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| Spooky
takes a holiday |
8 |
4 |
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Was this your
first New Harmonie concert? Yes 6 No 6
Would
you come to another New Harmonie concert ? Yes 12 No ?
Would
you encourage friends to come to the next concert? Yes 12
No ?
Any other comments
"All very
good indeed. Very precise playing. Superb" " Most
enjoyable. Excellent musicians” “ Wonderful
concert – many thanks”“ Excellent entertainment
which suited all ages. Please come again” "...enjoyed
second half more than first” “Keep doing what
you are doing – you do it very well. Thanks”
“ Although not very musical I really enjoyed the afternoon
and to see first hand how these difficult instruments should
be played”
| FUTURE
NEW HARMONIE PUBLIC CONCERTS ( click “concert dates”
for more details)
TIN
PAN ALLEY TO ABBEY ROAD There will be two more
of these quintet concerts in words and music telling
the story of the development of popular music from the
1890s to the 1960s (Beatles). They will be at St Mary’s
Church West Chiltington on Saturday 6th March 2010 and
St John’s Church Felbridge on Saturday March 27th
2010.
On
Sunday May 23rd 3.00pm, the full New Harmonie
ensemble with ten players (two flutes, two oboes, two
clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns) will give a concert
at St Marks Church North Heath Lane Horsham. The programme
will be suitable for all ages and all tastes. It will
include words and music to tell the story of “Hansel
and Gretel" , a new commission “Where the
Wind Blows – a Young Person’s Guide to the
Wind Ensemble” - to show off all the instruments,
a bit of the classics, some swing and more.
Sunday
September 26th 3.00pm - full decet concert
- venue not fixed as yet - we hope this will be the
first concert with the title "The Golden Age of
Popular song and dance" . With specially commissioned
arrangements we will play the popular dance band music
of the 20's, 30's and 40's.
Something
rather special
FRIDAY 19th NOVEMBER 2010 7.30pm
NEW HARMONIE - W.A.MOZART SERENADE in Bflat K361 (Gran
Partita)
Horsham Music Circle has invited an augmented New Harmonie
to perform the Gran Partita regarded by many as the
jewel in the crown of Mozart’s wind music. “Magnificent
and grand, excellent and sublime” was how a critic
in 1784 described this piece. The performance will be
preceded by a talk given by Dr Margaret Lynn on some
of the unusual aspects of the work with musical illustrations
by New Harmonie. Additional funding for the concert
is being provided by The John Wates Foundation
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| New
Harmonie has been awarded a grant by Age Concern and
Help the Aged to support music exercise workshops in
five residential care homes and two Day Care Centres.
This is a continuation and development of work started
a number of years ago with elderly members of the community
and running concurrently with New Harmonie’s musical
support for the Falls’s Clinics in Horsham Hospital.
Tandridge
Heights Care Home, Maidenbower Day Care Centre, Glen
Vue Centre, Red Oaks Care Home, Knowle Park Nursing
Home, Stildon Brendon Care Home and Longfield Manor
are all taking part. With the help of staff from Knowle
Park Nursing Home, a routine of exercise and music
has been designed for essentially sedentary elderly
folk with a relaxation session to include singing
at the end.
Dr
Geoffrey Richardson who leads the group “ We
are delighted that we have been able to get the funding
for this project. We are taking a quartet (flute,
oboe, clarinet and bassoon) into each centre. The
Activities Organisers will lead the exercise routines
while we will provide the music and add to the general
air of ‘fun’. We ask a sample of the participants
for their reactions afterwards. ‘The most enjoyable
morning I have had for a long time’ ‘
Thank you so much for coming – really lovely
– personalities of the players made it’
‘Much appreciated. Thoroughly enjoyed it al’
‘Fantastic music – we don’t get
the chance to listen to such good players’ ‘I
thought it was lovely. Much better than recorded music’.
‘Brought back so many memories – please
come again’ So we believe we are making a difference”
Cathie
Kennedy from Age Concern & Help the Aged said
“we are pleased to support these sessions which
are of great benefit to older people, by helping to
overcome loneliness, improve independence, co-ordination,
health & wellbeing, reduce risk of falls, improve
mental health and provide opportunities for reminiscence
and participation”
………………………………………………………………………..
Contact
Dr Geoffrey Richardson 01403 242429 or g.a.richardson@btinternet.com
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Press Review September 1st
2008
New Harmonie Quartet West Hoathly August Bank Holiday
Monday
“The
weather forecast for August 25th was at first encouraging
but with such a dreadful summer behind us, I wasn’t
optimistic. In the event, the organisers who had planned
a musical entertainment around a picnic on a balmy
summer’s evening decided it would be too cold,
damp and windy – and moved the whole invent
indoors to the Village Hall. Janet Slater of The Madeleine
Ensemble has been organising this annual event for
fourteen years and this was the first time the outdoor
event had to be taken indoors.
But
we had a wonderful evening. The first part was a concert
by New Harmonie taking the audience on a musical journey
through the Old and New Worlds. Rachel Wright (flute),
Sarah Williams (oboe), Geoff Richardson (clarinet)
and Sue Bellamy (bassoon) introduced songs and dances
from different countries. They played beautifully
with great precision and musicality. I particularly
enjoyed the Greek dances and the audience insisted
on an encore for an Irish Hornpipe with much stamping
of feet and clapping of hands to the rhythm. The whole
atmosphere was relaxed and we particularly enjoyed
the repartee between players and audience.
After
an extended interlude for supper and wine, New Harmonie
entertained us again with a variety of pieces arranged
for quartet from Corelli to Sousa. As Sarah Williams
said “ No particular theme. We just like the
pieces”. It was a super programme with lots
of variety and such a wonderful performance”
Valerie
Howard |
“New
Harmonie Quartet: left to right
Geoffrey Richardson (clarinet); Rachel Wright (flute)
Sue Bellamy (bassoon) ; Sarah Williams (oboe)
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WORKING
IN HORSHAM HOSPITAL
Awards for All awarded a grant
to New Harmonie to work with staff at Horsham
Hospital in 18 Falls Clinics during 2009-10. A
quartet (flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon) has
just completed the project. The aim was to help
staff encourage patients to exercise regularly
with live rather than taped music as a means of
recovering their mobility and independence.
Last year the group (funded by West Sussex County
Council) ran short pilot schemes in Falls Clinics
at Horsham Hospital and Crawley Hospital’s
Cardiac Rehabilitation Classes. These were to
test whether musicians could work alongside hospital
staff and whether the group could demonstrate
positive advantages for patients and staff by
evaluating their reactions using questionnaires.
Dr
Geoffrey Richardson who leads the group said:
“Normally, patients do their exercises to
a CD, but when they work with us, we are able
to adjust the tempo more easily to suit their
needs. In addition, players interact with patients
and staff and that seems to add to the enjoyment
of the patients. Patients do gentle exercise to
music and patients respond so well to this approach.
For most, the participation rate goes up, and
they seem to want to go that little bit further
with their exercises. The hospital staff are wonderfully
supportive. We hope to be able to go back to Crawley
Hospital’s Cardiac Unit and repeat the success
there too, if we can raise the money. Residential
homes and hospitals can’t afford to pay
us, so it’s schemes such as Awards for All
that are making the world of a difference to us
and to people in this area.” |
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| BACKGROUND
TO NEW HARMONIE
The Horsham Wind Quintet was formed
in 1996 and gave concerts in village halls and
churches in the West Sussex . In 1998, the ensemble
was enlarged to a decet ( 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2
clarinets, 2 bassoons and 2 horns) and was set
up as a non-profit making company, limited by
guarantee and trading under the name ''New
Harmonie''.
In March 2007, New
Harmonie
became a registered Charity.
New Harmonie now gives on average
three decet concerts each year and since 1999
these have been under the banner “Something
old, something new”. The repertoire includes
something from the wind classical repertoire,
medleys from the shows, specially commissioned
arrangements, popular with children, of “Peter
and the Wolf” and “Hansel and Gretel”
(with narration by the players), and swing by
Glen Miller and Duke Ellington. The group tours
village halls and churches mainly in West Sussex
supported by the West Sussex Arts Partnership.
The village community promotes the concerts, the
partnership mitigates the financial risk and,
with a good audience, the village can retain some
of the ticket sale proceeds. Interested local
groups should contact New Harmonie to learn more.
Within New
Harmonie, there are also an octet,
sextet (with piano), two quintets, three quartets
and trios. These groups meet informally to work
on projects which require them to perform in a
variety of settings. New Harmonie has given concerts,
entertainments and workshops:
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in village halls, such as the twelve entertainments
relating the story of World War Two in words
and music in 2005 and "From Tin Pan Alley
to Abbey Road" in 2009;
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in main stream rural junior schools (and after
school with Brownie packs) where over 90 music
drama workshops have been run, based on specially
commissioned pieces for oboe, clarinet, bassoon
and narrator - “The Pied Piper of Hamelin”
and “St Leonard and the Dragon of Horsham”;
a new project "A Smugglers Tale" about
Sussex Smugglers has been commissioned - we
are currently trying to raise funds to take
it into schools and run out of school workshops.
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in Special schools where trios and quartets
have run music/drama workshops based on “Animal
Magic”, “The Grand Ball”,
“Minibeasts” and “The Circus”;
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in residential homes and day care centres where
quartets have performed for the residents’
relaxation, exercise and singing, and in one
recent project working with residents to produce
their own CD for use in regular sessions when
New Harmonie is not there;
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at outdoor village community tea parties as
part of fund raising efforts for worthwhile
local causes; and
in hospitals with medical staff running Falls
Clinics and Cardiac Rehabilitation Classes where
live music and the interaction with players
provide a new dimension to the therapy and help
recovery.
New
Harmonie has raised over £150,000 from trusts,
foundations, The Arts Council, The Lottery, local
authorities and private companies, all of which
has gone back into musical/drama activities in
communities and schools, mainly in West Sussex |
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New
Harmonie
has an Equal Opportunities policy, the only criterion for
joining
New
Harmonie
being musical ability and the existence of a vacancy
For further information and bookings please contact Dr Geoffrey
Richardson
01403 242429 (g.a.richardson@btinternet.com)
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