There was a coffee morning on Wednesday morning, in which a reduced number of players entertained those participating in the coffee drinking. Bassoons weren't needed, and I spent the morning getting ready for my houseguest, Margaret Munro, and doing some practice.
Margaret arrived a little after midday, having driven up from Wales. We had lunch and then went down to Finchcocks for the afternoon. Richard Burnett had about half a dozen young performers helping him out and the mini-concerts went on until nearly 6:30pm.
This meant that the timing was a bit tight for the evening chamber music session at Jerry's place. We were a few minutes late getting there, but were both very welcome, as nearly all wind chamber music requires a bassoon, and Margaret, who is a violinist, got pressed into service as a conductor. The repertoire being attempted was mainly 20th Century, and her input to the evening contributed quite a lot to its success.
We did get a report from the group who played at Terry's place, as one of their number was taking one of our players home afterwards. Their group was a mixed wind and string group. I imagine they were probably playing works such as the Spoehr Nonet.
Helen
Last Revised: 10th August, 2001.