For me this was something of an introduction to the BBCM and its uniqueness since I had only been to a couple of weekend classes beforehand. The musical interest of the programme and that of individual renderings was in no way diminished by the fact that a large number of items were practically unrehearsed with maybe one or two chances of a run-through before the day. This, of course, stressed the essence of the workshop and gave the audience the opportunity to concentrate on what seemed important that afternoon: to see work in progress and to join in the music making.

Inevitably I will be mentioning some items and neglecting others. All I can hope is that by now most of you have your own copy of the video recording to remind yourselves of your own personal highlights.

After the introductory Bach movement (Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, 1st movement - adult class) we heard the combined efforts of the beginners group and the 9-10 year old 'old timers' with Snowdroplet (5) making her solo debut. What an honour to witness such a momentous event to which there will hopefully be many sequels to move us on from 'Pease Pudding'!

After a truly beautiful performance of one of the duets from Purcell's 'Dido and Aeneas' sung by Deborah (9) and Ilan (10), we were swept away by Sophia's (7) earthy violin playing with Eli (11) at the piano. This prompted an enthusiastic round of applause, everybody impressed by the sheer presence and seeming assuredness of the performers.

Ilan revealed apparent ease in vocal works by Purcell, Mozart and Britten. He played the cello in a Hungarian Dance by Brahms, in which he was joined by both parents on the piano and rhythmically supported by his inspired and inspiring sister Mira (5).

This was by no means the only family effort. Memorable is an insufficient adjective to describe the sensitive and musical duo of Anna (5 - voice) and her dad on the guitar. To his great credit William's father had taken out his violin after a shocking 30 years of neglect to join his son (14 - piano) in a wild and wonderful boogie.

I was also touched on hearing the Schubert songs attempted by members of the year 9 class. Musical phrasing and an admirable sense of pitch more than compensated for the hesitant manner of delivery, which I am sure was due to unfamiliarity with the material.

Britten's opera for children 'The Little Sweep' was until then unknown to me, but since hearing a couple of pieces from it, which Agnes had chosen for the workshop, I live in hope that her plans to put on a whole stage work in the future will find the support it deserves.

Just before year 9's jazz ensemble played a self-arranged piece, rehearsed on their own initiative and carried out with great spirit, the usually so serious and mysterious Matthew (14) gave us an unusually juicy 'Swan' on the cello. Not the well-known creature of legend and overlong Wagner operas, but the real and temperamental animal we know from the park. (The left-hand fingering was replaced by an orange sliding up and down the strings.) I could have learned a thing or two about cello technique from that performance but was by then too busy enjoying myself.

On that last note of enjoyment I would like to thank Amber for bringing her cousin along and presenting us with a wonderful Turkish folksong. Mention must be made also of Maya who coped so well on her recorder with a large ensemble accompanying her in a rumba by Geoffrey Russell-Smith, arranged by Agnes.

Thank you, Agnes, for encouraging musicality and developing musicianship the way you do. And that way stands in clear contrast to the many 'exhibitions' of music making in the form of the dreaded music school concerts which I remember sitting through in my early days of music education, and whose focus always seemed to be the irrelevant comparison between the technical competence of individual performers.

by Johanna Riesz, BA (Hons) Music
Adult class