GWYN WILLIAMS BURSARY CONCERT

                                                          St Andrew’s Church Wilmcote (20.7.25)

Wilmcote’s St Andrew’s, a beautiful jewel of a church, was packed to the rafters for a fascinating concert on Sunday evening which included two-and-a-half world premieres (read on).

The occasion was the latest fund-raising concert in aid of the Gwyn Williams Bursary. Gwyn played in the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, where he was Sir Simon Rattle’s principal viola, for 30 years, and the Bursary was founded by his widow, Stephannie <SIC> in order to assist young string players. After a year making donations to the CBSO Youth Orchestra and inaugurating two Gwyn Williams Viola Prizes at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, funds have been seriously depleted, and as The Ven. Dr Brian Russell, popular senior churchman in the Stratford area, subtly pointed out during his engaging introduction to the evening, it was essential to replenish the coffers.

That the coffers were replenished by over £1000.00 is a tribute to the generosity of the performers, donating their services, to the dedication of those ladies in the church who provided a delicious array of canapes for interval consumption, and to around 75 audience members who bought tickets which included the buffet with wine, made donations, and bought books by Stephannie Williams and Christopher Morley, and CDs featuring the evening’s musicians.

Sisters Fiona and Jean Kelly were a delightful flute and harp duo, some of their offerings including music from their native Ireland; pianist Mark Bebbington and his past student Irene Loh made a Yamaha keyboard sound like a Steinway grand; and soprano Robyn Pullen, a dramatic 11th-hour replacement for an ailing Maria Jagusz, entertained with a Puccini aria and songs from the shows. Everyone introduced their own contributions charmingly, and with some delightful anecdotes.

The two-and-a-half world premieres? Local composer Edward Watson, previously with the Royal Shakespeare Company, heard Mark Bebbington give the first performance of his haunting “Love’s Melody”; Christopher Morley’s miniature “The Robin and the Honeysuckle” was colourfully delivered by the Kelly sisters, Jean telling the story of how Gwyn reappears to his family in the form of a robin, inspecting both Stephannie and the honeysuckle in their garden; and Bebbington and Loh gave a sneak preview of the uproarious “Fun and Games” for piano three hands by the late Master of the Queen’s Musick <SIC> Sir Arthur Bliss. The official premiere is on Monday morning at the Hereford Three Choirs’ Festival.

As the concert began, the west door of the church was left open, allowing the evening sun to shine directly down the nave, illuminating the performers, their music wafting out to mingle with the birdsong in this country churchyard, where Gwyn Williams lies to rest.

Christopher Morley

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