Music

It seems that we are not going to be able to enjoy Christmas in the usual way this year so LALG and the Settlement are planning a Christmas spectacular to be enjoyed from the comfort of our own homes on Friday 18 December. The start time is to be confirmed.

We are asking members to contribute a short piece of prose, song or music to be recorded in advance. If you can contribute please send your details to derek.blyth@lalg.org.uk. Derek is putting it all together for us. Please submit entries by 6th December.

We will have karaoke carols and songs to sing along to at home and as no one will hear you, you can join in as much or as little as you want. We hope you will get into the Christmas spirit by wearing something festive and will raise a glass of your favourite tipple and maybe munch a mince pie or two. If performing is not your thing but you have a festive photo you’ve taken to share with us, we would love to have that too.

The performance will be broadcast on Zoom. Details of how to book your FREE place will be published here shortly.

The second session on a Thursday is also for six players and is from 2.15pm to 3.15pm

Booking now open! Live ticket sales will cease once sold out; Zoom ticket sales will close on Thursday 22 October. See below for details.

LALG and the Settlement have joined forces to launch what we hope will be the first in a series of musical events.

Thanks to the hard work of the Settlement team, we are able to offer, to LALG Members or Settlement Members only, a limited number of seats within the Kincaid Hall where the concert will take place. These seats will be socially distanced and will meet all the Covid Secure requirements as shown in the Settlement Covid19 risk assessment. 

We are pleased to announce that our first performer is flautist Emma Halnan, who lives in Letchworth. Since winning the woodwind section of Young Musician of the Year 2010 she has gone on to perform at major venues worldwide and live on BBC Radio. Emma will play a varied selection of pieces and there will be a chance to ask her questions during the event, which will last for about an hour. 

The programme is expected to be

JS Bach: Partita in A minor
Claude Debussy: Syrinx
Malcolm Arnold: Fantasy
Wil Offermans: Honami
Lowell Liebermann: Soliloquy
Jan Bach: Two-Bit Contraptions for flute and horn

The concert is kindly supported by Making Music’s Philip & Dorothy Green Young Artists scheme. Making Music is the UK’s leading organisation for leisure-time music, with over 3,500 music groups in membership. Since its creation in 1961 its Philip and Dorothy Green Young Artists scheme (PDGYA) has helped to launch the careers of dozens of young musicians, including those of Steven Isserlis, Elizabeth Banks and Craig Ogden. It is made possible by the Philip and Dorothy Green Music Trust, which promotes young artists and composers. 

The concert will take place at 7.30pm on Friday 23 October with the doors of the Kincaid Hall opening at 7pm to allow the audience to be seated in good time.  As we are limited to only 20 seats, the concert will also be broadcast live via Zoom and tickets for this are also available.

Booking opens at 9.30am on Thursday 15 October.

The live audience tickets will be sold on a first come, first served basis via telephone only at the Settlement on 01462-682828 and will cost £10. A maximum of two tickets per person please, and you will need to provide your contact details including name, email address, telephone number and membership number of either LALG or the Settlement at the time of booking.

Anyone joining us live on the evening should be aware that:-

• As required, the Hall will be ventilated by leaving doors/windows open so please wrap up in case the heating system does not fully compensate for any cold air.

• Face coverings will need to be worn at all times, except when drinking.  Please bring your own drinks (non-alcoholic) as the Settlement is currently unable to provide any refreshments.

• Please enter the Hall only as directed by the Team Members who will be there to seat you safely, and your patience would be appreciated as they do so. You may need to queue for a little while and we ask that you socially distance whilst doing so.

Zoom tickets will go on sale at 9.30am on Thursday 15 October, cost £5 and are available by clicking on the special button on the Settlement website. Sales of Zoom tickets will close on Thursday 22 October. (Live ticket sales will cease once sold out.)