Our next concert at Burton Town Hall is on Sunday 28^th September 2008 when Keith Beckingham will preside at the console of the mighty Wurlitzer. Doors open @ 2:00 p.m. and the admission is £5.00. As on previous occasions, refreshments will be available during the interval.

Keith started his career playing the 3c/8 Wurlitzer at the Regal/ABC Beckenham, Kent. He then made appearances for the Granada circuit and has broadcast from the Granada cinemas at Tooting, Harrow, Clapham Junction and Kingston-upon-Thames. Keith was also a demonstrator for Hammond organs and he has played concerts all over the world for that company. More recently he has made CDs on the Wurlitzer theatre organs at the St Albans Organ Museum and at Clydebank Town Hall to name just two. One of Keith’s favourite organists was the late Jackie Brown and I’m sure that he will include one or two pieces played in Jackie’s style during the concert.

Please come and join us for what will be a splendid afternoon – it is vital we get enough support to enable us to continue with our programme at Burton.

Our June concert was a special affair to celebrate the Club’s 70^th anniversary with four Midlands Organists on Parade; namely Christian Cartwright, Norman Scott, Damon Willetts and myself. Thank you to those members who made the effort to attend as both organists and audience alike thoroughly enjoyed the show and it was good to receive some positive feedback. The Burton Wurlitzer is now in excellent condition due to the necessary finances being made available by East Staffordshire Borough Council and the sterling work undertaken by local organ builder Michael Thompson. One recent organist remarked that “this organ is better than 95% of the other theatre organs in the UK”. Praise indeed!

I can also report that the installation of the ex Lyric Wellingborough Compton is proceeding apace at the Bilston Town Hall. New wind trunking has recently been installed in the chambers and the console, which has been overhauled and repainted in white and gold by David Thorp at Pipes in the Peak, should be arriving in the couple of weeks. The Muted Trumpet rank is proving a little troublesome at present due to the tuning wires having been glued into position when the organ was at Weavers School in an attempt to stop the rank going out of tune! It is therefore proposed to install the Vox Humana rank instead for the opening and add the Muted Trumpet and Diapason ranks later on. The Town Hall and organ should hopefully open sometime in September and the TOC has supported this venture with a £500 grant from the Goodwin Fund. The installation team, headed by Steve Tovey has expressed their thanks to me for this support.

The ex Majestic High Wycombe Compton has now been installed in a private residence near Nuneaton and is now a 3/8 instrument being controlled by the console formally at Louth Town Hall. I recently played the organ and can report that it has some particularly nice string ranks and is settling in well to its new home.”

David Redfern

Northern Secretary Reports:

T.O.C. 70TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR CONCERTS

NORTHERN AREA - OSSETT: SUNDAY, 2ND NOVEMBER

The T.O.C's third and final event of the year at Ossett Town Hall will take place on Sunday, 2nd November at 2.30 p.m., when it will be our pleasure to welcome Matthew Bason, making his first appearance at this venue. We announced at the start of the year that the organists at the three T.O.C. events would all be members, and Matthew is more than that, as alongside his busy life as an organist, he is the Membership Secretary for T.O.C. South. The doors will be open from 2.00 p.m., at an admission charge of £3.00, children up to 16 being_ admitted free of charge. As usual, tea and biscuits will be on sale during the interval.

Still only 28, Matthew has been involved with music since the age of seven, when he started receiving piano tuition, and having passed the necessary examinations, he later had classical training on the cello. From the age of 14 he appeared at various venues in the Northampton area, and five years later, in 1999, he won the A.T.O.S. (U.K.) Young Organist of the Year competition, and in 2000 their Dean Herrick Award, resulting in concert engagements on pipe and electronic organs.

In 2001, Matthew became the resident organist at Ashorne Hall, near Warwick, a country estate, which boasted Compton and Wurlitzer pipe organs, electronic organs and a wonderful array of mechanically operated musical instruments. In addition to organ concerts, musical tea parties were a regular feature, and a narrow gauge steam railway provided tours of the countryside. Sadly, all of this came to an end upon the sudden death of the proprietor only two years later, and Matthew has since held various residential positions and makes concert appearances throughout the country. We look forward to his Ossett visit on 2nd November, and hope you will be there to hear him.