Sarah Williams, David Hollingum oboes
Geoffrey Richardson Bridget Wilcox clarinets
Andrew Meredith, Susan Moss basset horns
Sue Bellamy, Heather Lawrence bassoons
Annie Barnard, Richard Gamlen, Peter Lewis, Stephen Caldicott horns
Dick Hammett double bass
Margaret Lynn presenter

At the invitation of Horsham Music Circle, an augmented group will 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

Review of New Harmonie Concert – 8 February 2009
“From Tin Pan Alley to Abbey Road” – Victory Hall, Balcombe, 8 February

They’ve done it again! A couple of years ago I attended a thoroughly convincing “entertainment” by the New Harmonie Wind Quintet in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, in which a pot-pourri of popular light music of the period was stitched together with a narrative recalling significant events and nostalgic memories of daily life.

The concert I attended last Sunday followed the same format and, to my mind, was equally successful. This time the subject was the development of popular music from the 1890s to the 1960s. Playing to a full house, New Harmonie regaled us with a string of “standards” that took us from the era of vaudeville through ragtime, jazz, swing and Broadway up to the Beatles. An informative narrative presented by two of the players set the scene as the programme proceeded.

This type of concert is highly effective and creates a rapport between the audience and the musicians. The ensemble - Liz Burtenshaw (flute); Sarah Williams (oboe); Geoffrey Richardson (clarinet); Sue Bellamy (bassoon) and Richard Gamlen (horn) – played with style and enthusiasm. I understand that the programme will be repeated at a number of West Sussex venues and I strongly recommend anyone interested to go along – I note from their colourful flier that the dates and venues are on their website (www.newharmonie.org.uk)

George Gibson

• 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;
• 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. We will be running workshops with Brownies in the autumn 2010
• in Special schools where trios and quartets have run music/drama workshops based on “Animal Magic”, “The Grand Ball”, “Minibeasts” and “The Circus”;
• 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;
• 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 tries to raise funds from trusts, foundations, The Arts Council, The Lottery, local authorities and private companies, all of which supports its varied programme of work and the great bulk of which has gone back into musical/drama activities in communities and schools, mainly in West Sussex reducing the cost of the group to those venues