THE NEXT event to be held by Bromsgrove Concerts next Sunday, July 7, will be the group’s last after 60 glorious years.
The fun-packed final concert, at Bromsgrove School’s Routh Hall at 7pm, aims to send the organisation out with a bang,
The programme will feature the club’s chairman Alastair Moseley performing George Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ with Enigma Brass, conducted by Dr Richard Jenkinson.
It will also include Gershwin’s ‘An American in Paris’ and Vanquez’s ‘Danzon No 2’ which Mr Moseley describes as ‘a real carnival of fun’.
He added: “Please do come and support us if you can so we can see Bromsgrove Concerts out in style.”
How it all began
Bromsgrove Concerts has put on a multitude of classical music events since it was founded by Jim Page and Jennie Macgregor Smith in 1963.
The pair have done so much for arts and music in Bromsgrove, including being instrumental in the creation of Artrix.
During Bromsgrove Concerts’ 60-year history, it has brought music alive and music lovers together and put on more than 500 performances.
These have featured some of the world’s greatest classical musicians including – in the early days – the likes of Owen Brannigan, Joseph Cooper, James Blades, John Lill, Alfred Brendel and Gemini Brass.
Artists gracing the stage more recently include Craig Ogden, The Brodsky Quartet, Leon McCawley, The Gould Trio, The Dante Quartet and others.
Mr Moseley said: “The fact these world-class musicians were attracted to perform in what is a small provincial market town in the
Midlands is testament to the diverse cultural interests of our community that we celebrate each year with the Bromsgrove Festival.
“Bromsgrove Concerts has also left a legacy of new compositions over the years with over 23 works commissioned for performance here and then all around the world, so the name will live on even if the concert performances have stopped.”
He added the decision to cease performances had not been taken lightly by the trustees, but the fact was that ever since it lost the use of Artrix and the Covid pandemic (which took the life of the group’s much-loved colleague Bernard Hall Mancey) audience numbers had dwindled to the point it was simply not viable to carry on.
“There is nothing more demoralising for a great artist than to have to perform to an almost empty auditorium,” explained Mr Moseley
So what for the future?
He added: “Well, although we are not planning to stage any more concerts, we are making provision for our funds to be used to kick-start new music projects in the town, so with any luck there may be a new musical phoenix waiting in the wings to rise up out of the ashes in time. Watch this space.”
Because this is the final concert, tickets are priced at just £10 including complimentary drinks beforehand, with students and under-25s attending free of charge.
Doors open at 6pm for what is hoped will be ‘drinks on the lawn’, weather permitting, with the concert starting at 7pm.
Tickets can be bought from the Bromsgrove School Box Office at bromsgrove-school.co.uk/whatson.aspx or on the door.
