In response to Covid-19 the prestigious York competition for early music ensembles will move from July 2021 to 13 – 16 July 2022. Recognised as a major international platform for emerging talent, the competition takes place at the National Centre for Early Music
as part of York Early Music Festival. For more details see https://www.yorkcomp.ncem.co.uk/
YORK EARLY MUSIC COMPETITION, 2022
ELISABETH CHOJNACKA HARPSICHORD COMPETITION
The Second Elisabeth Chojnacka Harpsichord Competition, will take place at the Palace at Rybna, Tarnowskie Góry, Poland from the 17th – 19th October 2022. The deadline for submitting applications is the 3rd October 2022.
The competition is dedicated to the great polish harpsichordist Elżbieta Chojnacka (1939-2017) to popularize harpsichord music, both ancient and contemporary, and to encourage composers to write new music for the instrument. Rules of the competition: https://www.aleksandragajecka-antosiewicz.com/konkurs-klawesynowy-im-el%C5%BCbiety-chojnackiej/
THE 38th ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON MUSIC IN 18th-CENTURY BRITAIN
The Study Day will take place on Friday 25th November 2022 at the Foundling Museum, London WC1N 1AZ. Offers of contributions to the programme are invited. We encourage proposals for presentations focusing on all aspects of music in 18th-century Britain. As well as formal papers we can accommodate formats such as round tables, reports on work-in-progress, lecture-recitals and performance. Proposals should be approximately 250 words. The length of the paper or presentation is normally limited to 30 minutes, but longer or shorter formats will be considered. Collaborative or related topic papers are also welcomed. Please submit your abstract by e-mail to handel@foundlingmuseum.org.uk ; be sure to include your name, address or institution, telephone, and email address in the body of the message. All submissions will be acknowledged by a return email.
Closing date for submissions is Thursday 29 September 2022.
A Handbook for Studies in 18th-century English music, vol.XXVI.
Offers of articles and reports, between 500 and 5,000 words, are welcomed. We aim to produce this in time for the Study Day (see above) if anyone has something they wish to commit to submitting around the beginning of September.
OBITUARY FOR ANDREW GARRETT
Chris Nobbs writes ‘My friend Andrew Garrett, musical instrument maker, conservator and restorer, who has died aged 83, was one half of the
Clayson & Garrett partnership and the National Trust’s adviser on the conservation of musical instruments.’
For the full Obituary see https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/dec/24/andrew-garrett-obituary
BOALCH, ON-LINE VERSION.
Due to be launched very soon is the on-line version of Donald Boalch’s ‘Makers of the Harpsichord and Clavichord 1440 – 1840’. The timeline is being extended to 1925, to allow the inclusion of the pioneering ‘revival’ instruments of Dolmetsch and others. Updating and editing is well under way but the success of the venture will depend upon all those with knowledge of new discoveries, or instruments that have changed hands since the 1995 Third Edition, to share the information. Please contact www.boalch.org
THE FUTURE – MAKERS AND TECHNICIANS
Recruiting and training the next generation of harpsichord, clavichord and fortepiano technicians and makers, is now reaching crisis point. A document has been compiled to encourage and help anyone who might be considering a future career in this field. It is a pdf file which also includes links to a number of relevant websites. To open please click on ‘Guide to Training Resources’
DISCOUNT FOR MEMBERS
Founded in 2020, Lyrebird Music, is a publisher of scholarly editions of early music, specialising in keyboard works by under-represented composers and early collections of music. They are kindly offering a special discount of 15% , to all BHS members, (sales and special offers excluded).See https://lyrebirdmusic.com/
NEW CHARITY RAISES £100,000 TO BOLSTER PERIOD-INSTRUMENT ENSEMBLES
A new charity, Continuo Foundation will give grants which create work for freelance musicians and aims to draw upon innovative thinking and technology to help period-instrument ensembles improve long-term sustainability post-Covid-19. Under the enthusiastic patronage of Dame Emma Kirkby, Sir Roger Norrington and Rachel Podger and a team of professionals from music, business and media, Continuo has recently reached the first of many fundraising milestones, having raised £100,000 in just three months. It is now open for grant applications from professional UK-based period-instrument ensembles.
Full details on how to apply are available on the Continuo website: www.continuofoundation.co.uk/grants
