| The original Musical and Amicable
Society was founded in 1762 by James Kempson, an enthusiastic impresario, who
directed the choir at St Bartholomew’s Chapel, Birmingham. Together with
fellow musicians from St Philip’s Church (now Birmingham Cathedral), Kempson
and his singers would meet at ‘Cooke’s in the Cherry Orchard’,
a local tavern situated in Cherry Street. Here they gathered on a regular basis
“for practice and recreation”. In 2003, Kate Fawcett and Martin
Perkins decided to revive this historic society as a collective of young professional
period-instrument specialists, performing in combinations ranging from small
chamber ensembles to full orchestra. The Society has a flexible line-up, depending
on programme requirements. A special feature is the democratic nature of the
group, with no one fixed ‘leader’. This policy is central to the
philosophy of an ensemble in which the presiding ethos is one of chamber music
- however large or small the formation - where each and every performer has
a significant role to play. Rapidly in demand, concerts in their first season
included Handel’s Theodora in
Leicester and Acis and Galatea for
the Ross-on-Wye International Festival. During the past year they have given
several performances of Vivaldi’s Four
Seasons and Bach’s Brandenburg Concerti, Purcell’s Dido
and Aeneas and Vivaldi’s Gloria.
Following two acclaimed concerts at Ross Live! last summer, they will continue
their association with the festival in 2006. Individual members of Musical and
Amicable Society maintain successful freelance careers with prestigious period-instrument
ensembles including the Academy of Ancient Music, the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, the English Concert, the Hanover
Band, La Serenissima, Dresden Baroque Orchestra, the Corelli Orchestra and Ex
Cathedra. Members of the Musical and Amicable Society include: Kate Aldridge - bass/violine Mark Baigent - oboe David Bentley - horn Nick Benz - horn Natalie Clifton Griffith - soprano Warwick Cole - harpsichord/cello Huw Daniel - violin Kate Fawcett - viola/violin/viola d'amore Christiane Gagelmann - violin Sarah Halpin - bass Linda Hannah-Andersson - violin Nathaniel Harrison - bassoon Gail Hennessy - oboe Elizabeth Hodson - violin Rachel Latham - flute Alexandria Lawrence - viola Veronique Matarasso - violin Liz MacCarthy - violin Peter McCarthy - violone/bass Kelly McCusker - violin Bethan Morgan - violin Philippa Morgan - bass Jonathan Moss - bass Frances Norbury - oboe James O'Toole - violin Martin Perkins - harpsichord/organ Henrik Persson - cello/viola da gamba Joel Raymond - oboe Barbara Reiter - cello Jane Rogers - viola Rachel Rowntree - violin Benjamin Sansom - violin/viola Anneke Scott - horn Imogen Seth-Smith - cello/viola da gamba Siona Spillett - bassoon Rebecca Stockwell - bassoon Kathryn Templeman - violin Wiebke Thormahlen - violin Alison Townley - violin Miranda Walton - violin Nicola Wemyss - soprano Harriet Wiltshire - cello |