Little Gaddesden Music Club
Little Gaddesden Music Club, one of the oldest in this country, started in 1946 with recitals in private houses and in Ashridge College. Nowadays we usually meet in private houses in or near the village; we also use Little Gaddesden Church which allows for larger ensembles, provides more room for guests and has a good piano. We have also been able to hold concerts in the Village Hall in past years.
Membership is open to all and we operate by an annual subscription for a season, usually of five recitals. The season runs from October to May or early June. We allow members to bring a limited number of guests to attend those concerts where space allows, subject to checking beforehand. Members of the public are welcome to attend concerts in the Church or the Village Hall, where tickets are available at the door.
The concerts are on a Sunday evening, and start promptly at 5:15 pm, finishing around 7 pm after a brief interval. After the concerts we serve a glass of wine or fruit juice and have some nibbles – during this time members enjoy the opportunity to mix with the performers.
The use of private houses as venues means that the performers are usually a soloist or a duo, but we regularly have wind trios and string trios as well. We often have a solo piano recital in the programme, usually from the Philip and Dorothy Green Young Artist Award scheme run by Making Music.
Duos can take many forms: the most common is one instrument accompanied by piano, but we also have other pairings such as harp with flute or with voice, violin & guitar, clarinet & violin and guitar duo.
As can be seen from the comments above, we encourage young musicians, typically soon after they have graduated from music college, occasionally while still studying. Their standard is extraordinarily high and some go on to distinguished careers. We have heard many star performers including: the cellist Sandy Baillie; the flamenco guitarist Paco Pena; pianists Viv McLean and Margaret Fingerhut; violinists Paul Barritt and Peter Fisher and the guitarist Craig Ogden. We are fortunate to be able to hear music played by young virtuosi in an intimate setting within a few miles of the village.
Contact
Ian Hamilton
07491 654415
music.club@littlegaddesden.org.uk
Little Gaddesden Music Club
Details of 2024/25 Season
Subscriptions and membership
The cost of membership for the four concerts is again £60. We are hopeful that we can keep the subscription at this level for the next few years.
In 2014 we changed the renewal form to invite a donation on top of your membership. This change has been important, and in recent times donations have made up around 20% of our overall income. We always welcome new members; please do all you can to encourage potential new members (or guests, possibly to try us out). Guests are charged at £20 each.
Concerts start at 5:15pm prompt and finish around 7:00pm, unless otherwise indicated below.
Subscription Programme
Extra Concert – Open to Non-Members
We have another concert in Little Gaddesden church which will be open to all and in addition to the subscription series (as last year).
6pm on Sunday 18 May 2025 (note later start time)
Manu Brazo and and Prajna Indrawati – saxophone and piano
Cost £20.00 for members and non-members in advance from ianh72542@gmail.com or 07491 654415
Or £25 on the day
Header image credit: Joel Wyncott on Unsplash