About Us

A short note about Music in the Village.

April 15th, 2010

Concerts in the Music in the Village series started in 2003. Maybe it’s a mystery that they did.

When I moved to Walthamstow I was struck by the lack of concerts in the borough. Sure there were symphony concerts given by the Forest Philharmonic, but very little chamber music that I could see. Chance bought me to St. Mary’s, attending a rehearsal at the request of colleagues and I immediately saw it as a lovely concert venue. Talking it over with Trevor Pinnock, then the music director of the English Concert for whom I am the bass player, he instantly volunteered to give the first concert! I approached Jonathan Rathbone, director of music at this church, and off we went .

It wasn’t all a one man operation. Nothing would have been achieved without considerable help from Jonathan Rathbone, Paul Butler (then Rector of St. Marys), George Peake the verger, the indispensable and irreplaceable Chris & Chris (who incredibly manage to serve a drink to well over a 100 people in 15 minutes), Philip Herlihy who volunteered to provide the website, and our art department (Gail Hennessy).

Music in the Village is run as a not for profit organisation with a Community Account at the Co-Operative bank. After the costs of advertising, printing, church costs, refreshments etc, all the box office takings go to the artists performing that evening. It’s never anything like a professional fee but we have been very lucky that so many people have come to play without letting that deter them, and indeed with the risk that there might be no money at all if there were no audience at all! Trevor Pinnock donated all the funds from his first concert so that the series has a “float” to cope with all the expenses at the beginning of each season. I take no remuneration for running the concerts or playing in them: it’s my contribution to the community. But I’m very glad to be the “house” bass player, if one is needed.Eventually, I hope to gain charitable status for our concerts.

Of course, you all know what I’m leading up to. Like all arts organisations, money is always in short supply. Tonight is our 48th concert. The first concert of our 2010-11 season, on September 30th will be our 50th! Collegium Musicum 90 are coming to play Vivaldi and Albinoni - the Four Seasons in fact, in a way that you may never have heard it played before. We have been incredibly lucky with support for our annual commission, with small grants from the local arts council, from Waitrose and particularly with donations from members of the audience.

If you would like to support a particular concert or a whole series, maybe September 30th, anonymously or otherwise, do please get in touch. Even a small donation makes an enormous difference.

Peter McCarthy

Enquiries: 020 8223 0772
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(As printed in the programme for the concert on April 15th, during which this happened.)