CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY
A Committee Meeting was held on Saturday 30 April 2005 at 10.30 a.m. in the Latimer Room, Clare College
Present:
Executive Officers: Mark Austin (MA), Aidan Brown (AB), Stephen Cleobury (SC), George Corbett (GC), Simon Fairclough (SF), Maggie Heywood (MH.), Sam Hudson (SH), Dora Kemp (DK), Gordon Lawrence (GL), Jamie McVinnie (JM) Graham Ross (GR)
Co-opted members: Tim Brown (TB), Claire Pike (CP), Jo Whitehead (JW)
Apologies:
Richard Andrewes (RA), John Barber (JB), Martin Ennis (ME), Caroline Goulder (CG), Fiona Jacques (FJ), Max Pappenheim (MP), Alex Selby (AS), Beth Thompson (ET)
2. Minutes
The minutes of the meeting of 15.03.05 were approved
3. Matters arising
a) The Chorus Tour to Switzerland is going ahead and SC will conduct since the KCC tour to Spain is not now going ahead.
b) It was agreed that we would keep both names for the Zephyr Ensemble for this term.
c) String re-auditions: it was agreed that the convenors of CUMS I & II should seek the opinion of their ensembles and send the opinions to SC, who will consult with the new conductors before the next committee meeting.
d) Tsunami cheques have now been written and distributed. TCB will prepare a press release for Varsity, TCS, CEN & CAM. He will also contact the V-C, the Dean of KCC. It should go onto our website and also be reported to the society as a whole.
e) The Annual Dinner, held at New Hall, was a great success and enormous thanks were expressed to Claire Pike who organised it all. It was agreed that we should fix the date of this event next year in time to go into the CUMS diary in October.
4. Programme Planning 2005/06
SC outlined the programme as it stands so far, having asked the performing members and concerto soloists for suggestions. The Guest Conductor for the Lent Term has still to be fixed, and the outcome of that may have a bearing on the concertos. It was suggested that we might build on the good work done this year by inviting Peter Stark back next year. The Treasurer said that we must apply to the CUMS Fund to pay his fee next time.
CUMS I
Sat 19 November 05 at 8pm. Con Hall
Wagner
Prelude & Liebestod from Tristan
? Concerto?
Tchaikovsky Symphony No 6
Conductors:
George Corbett, Courtney Lewis
Sat 18 Feb 2006, at 8pm. Con Hall
Bartok Piano Concerto No 3
Piano Clare Hammond
Guest Conductor (Douglas Boyde? / Richard Dickens? Peter Stark?)
SC found that the chorus enjoyed Bach's Singet dem Herr'n last term and also Handel's Dixit Dominus last year and felt that if one purpose of CUMS is to introduce students to the major works then he would be prepared to do Bach's B minor Mass next year. He suggested that the orchestra would enjoy and benefit from some baroque coaching from someone like Andrew Manze, and he would invite a small group of players to accompany the arias, the full orchestra playing only with the choral movements. TCB asked if he would consider a guest leader for such a piece. SC agreed, provided that the leader of the orchestra knew that from the start of the year.
We have been invited by the Blue Plaque Society to give a concert in Trinity next year to mark Stanford's association with CUMS & Trinity before the plaque is put up on his former house. An all-Stanford programme for chorus and organ has been devised for mid-Lent term. TCB asked whether or not we have a CUMS organist, and suggested that for this concert we should invite James Sherlock (new CUMS conductor) as the organ scholar at Trinity to be that person. MH was asked to check which costs will be covered by the Blue Plaque Society.
SC is still considering the May Week programme, (Verdi's Requiem at the moment). Faber Music is in the process of producing a new version of Vaughan Williams's The Wasps for chorus, orchestra and narrator. SC thinks that with a narrator such as Timothy or Sam West this would be a draw, and the piece would be fun for both chorus & orchestra.
TCB asked about soloists. SC suggested a young team for the B minor Mass, but a more experienced quartet for the Verdi.
CUMS I & CHORUS
Sat 3 December 2005 at 8pm. King's College Chapel
Bach Mass in B minor
Con Stephen Cleobury, 5 soloists
CHORUS
Fri 10 February 2006, (time tbc) Trinity College Chapel
A Stanford Celebration and dedication of a Blue Plaque
Magnificat for double chorus
Organ works
Readings from Stanford's writings
Song including `The Bluebird'
Three Motets: Justorum animae, Beati quorum via Coelos ascendit hodie
CUMS I & CHORUS
Sat 12 March, 2006, at 8pm. Concert Hall
Vaughan Williams The Wasps
Conductor Stephen Cleobury
Narrator (Timothy or Sam West???)
CUMS I & CHORUS
Sat 17 June 2006 at 8pm. King's College Chapel
Verdi Requiem
Four soloists
Conductor Stephen Cleobury
SC said that there are a few loose ends to be tied up in both the CUMS II and Zephyr programmes, and the costs of music hire have not yet been established, which may make a difference to some programmes. MA is looking into these on behalf of the CUMS II conductors and will let MH/SC/DK know as soon as he hears from Brian Jordan.
TB emphasised how important it is to agree the budget before the programmes are agreed. JW offered to help DK put this together. SC said that the conductors needed to know how much they were allowed to spend on music hire, and what the other costs were likely to be, based on this year's expenditure.
CUMS II
Wednesday 30 November 2005 at 8 p.m. Concert Hall
Beethoven Overture Leonora No 3
Schumann Concertstück for four horns
Sibelius Symphony No 1
Horns Alec Frank-Gemmill, Jean-Luc Wietor, Julian Black, Dave Borthwick,
Conductors Graham Ross,
James Sherlock
Wednesday 15 March 2006
at 8 p.m. Concert Hall
An overture
Gershwin Pte Concerto in F
Rachmaninov Symph. Dances
Piano Chen Chen
Conductors Mark Austin, Graham Ross
Wednesday 21 June 2006
at 7 p.m. Concert Hall
Tchaikowsky Piano Concerto No 1
Brahms Symphony No 1
Piano Peter Foggitt
Conductors James Sherlock, Mark Austin
CUMS ZEPHYR ENSEMBLE / WIND ORCHESTRA
Wednesday 23 November 2005 at 8 p.m. Concert Hall
Holst 2nd Suite in F OR
Vaughan Williams Folk-Song Suite (one of these two options)
Whitlock: a new work
Johan de Meij The Lord of the Rings
Conductors Max Pappenheim, James McVinnie
Fri 18 March (or earlier that week) at 1.30 p.m., schools concert
Puccini Scossa Electrica
Hart Cartoon
Gorb Candlelight Procession
Spark Pantomime (with solo euphonium: Sophie Rhodes)
Conductors James McVinnie, Maz Pappenheim
Mon 22 May 2006 at 8 p.m. Concert Hall
Barber Ov: School for Scandal
Wainwright Concerto for Tenor Horn & Wind orchestra
Ellerby Venetian Spells
Johan de Meij James Bond Suite
Tenor Horn Philip Wainwright
Conductors Max Pappenheim, James McVinnie
TB asked what were the highlights for each ensemble. Were there any new works for CUMS II? How about a new work for CUMS I to precede the Verdi? Should we have a long-term view about commissioning? GR suggested that though it was good to have such a plan [involving student commissions] it was also important to have a big name every so often. SC has already suggested commissioning a new piece for the 2008 University Celebrations. The forward-planning group should meet again to discuss this and composers should be asked to alert their pupils to any CUMS composition competitions on offer. It was agreed that new works should become a regular, well-known part of our programming.
The possibility of another CUMS joint concert, as for the Tsunami Appeal, was discussed but was not thought to be feasible for next year.
5. Fund-raising, report on meeting
JW reported that we don't have as much financial flexibility as before with our increased costs (paying secretary & conductor) but the University Development Office will help us by mailing ex-CUMS members with a newsletter in the autumn. This will be lay a platform for our alumni, prior to asking them, in the future, for donations to the society. We need to look for a few people within our alumni to spearhead the fundraising eventually and the Development Office may be able to help with this as well, once the database is up to date. Yale Alumni Chorus has offered to help us get started with an invitation to share in their visit to the UK next year. They are offering dinner in Cambridge on 14 Feb, a concert in Ely 15 Feb, and a concert and Reception at the Barbican on 17 Feb 2006. (It was agreed that we should make discreet enquiries about the quality of this group). JW also said that we needed to clarify our current funding, and that non-performing members (subscribers) needed to be sent an invitation to the Garden Party in June. MH will write to them. She will also make a start on finding people to help set up the newsletter, which needs to be sent in September. TB suggested that we needed an alumni officer for CUMS.
Reports from convenors
CUMS I: no representative present. CUMS II: AB said that all was going well but one or two instruments still needed to be found for this term's concert. The tour planned for the end of September to Prague has 22 people so far but has only been offered for one week. The tour company NST is organising it. TB asked for a document with all the details including the budget to be sent to MH as soon as possible. She will send it on to the committee for their approval. Zephyr Ensemble - no representative present. Chorus - everyone is happy.
A.O.B
i TB asked if we could defer the discussion on the Baroque ensemble idea until the next meeting. Before then SC, SF, CP & MH will meet to discuss further.
ii TB brought the Constitution forward for the extra alterations to be agreed before the EGM on May 5th.
iii JW asked that before the next meeting MH should be asked to report on how the system of ensemble sub-committees is working. SC suggested that in future convenors should all be asked to send in their reports in writing, so that they can be circulated to the committee before the meeting. Their next reports should include a review of the whole year in their own ensemble.
iv TB suggested that prizes or other awards for outstanding musical or administrative achievements might be offered, as allowed for in the CUMS Fund Constitution. This was discussed but no decision reached.
v TB wondered why we didn't seek sponsorship; he will discuss further with DK.
The next committee meeting will be held on Thursday 16 June at 1pm (NB later start time) in the Thirkill Room at Clare.