Find an activity:
| Frequency | Weekly |
| Time | 1.30 pm |
| Day | Monday |
| Duration | 2 hours |
| Location | Members' homes |
| Coordinator | Bob Johnston |
We are a small, and somewhat diverse, group, meeting informally to explore chamber music together at a very amateur level. Current instruments are violin, two clarinets, flute, cello and piano. We should make it clear we are not a group for beginners, learning to play instruments. Our general standard is about Grade 4 to 5. We would welcome new members prepared to play at this level, and in particular could accommodate an oboe, viola or another violin, although if the group increased in size by more than one or two we would need to find new accommodation.
We have no formal tuition but try to listen to one another and so improve our ensemble playing. Our (small) repertoire ranges from Monteverdi and Teleman to Scott Joplin (arranged by one of our members) and we are also privileged to have "A Staveley Suite", a piece in four movements specially composed for the group in 2004 by the late Alan Paynes, a member of South Lakes U3A.
We normally join with other groups to contribute to an informal "concert" at the April monthly meeting of the South Lakes U3A.
You can listen to group members performing the Staveley Suite via the Gallery page.
October 2011
The good news is that we now have another viola. We must now be the most mellow instrumental group on the planet but it makes the discovery of suitable music even more difficult - Brahms being a bit challenging.
On the downside, we are beset for a variety of reasons by absenteeism. But playing a piece with one or two lines missing can be very instructive. We look forward to a session with just two violas and two clarinets - but even more to one with a full complement.
June 2011
Philip Wraight has surrendered leadership of the group after 9 years at the helm. He will however continue to host some of our sessions when the greater space afforded by Judith's room is not needed. He will also continue to provide the group's grounding with his experienced and dependable bass line. We are very grateful to him for reforming the group after Ruth Gordon's lamented death and carrying us forward for so many years. Occasionally the old hands look back on the struggles we experienced with some pieces which we now manage fairly readily - the "Staveley Suite" which Alan Paynes wrote for us for example - and realize that we have after all developed as a group over this period.