The Parish Church of St John-at-Hampstead

The response from the public was reassuring, audience numbers were generally between 35 and 40. I was very fortunate to have been able to engage the services of musicians who were all of a very high standard; they all connected with the audience and the rapturous applause of the general public and the generous donations given to them spoke volumes.

David Moore started us off with a splendid Organ recital – at the last minute having to adapt his material to the Chamber organ as the Willis was not ready. He kindly donated his collection to the church – half to the FoM and half to Crypt Devt Fund.
The other three weeks following did our church proud as well, the rich quality of Thomas Humphreys’ voice was very well received by people who want him to return again, and Anete Graudina set people ablaze with the passion she delivered – the cheering seemed to go on forever with her versatile repertoire. I was especially touched by Angela Brownridge, the warmth of her presentation and the fact someone of her established status gave her time so generously to support these recitals touched my heart deeply, I felt honoured.

I also would like to thank Michael White for helping with the publicity of these concerts in the Ham & High.

I was very grateful to the members of the congregation who supported with their appearance and others who though unable through other commitments gave me their best wishes for its success. The atmosphere was magical each Wednesday and the feeling of community spirit made everything worthwhile.

Judy East has been a tremendous help with the design and printing of the flyers and programmes and looking after the performances. I was grateful as it allowed me to enjoy the concerts from a bird’s eye view at the front.

Stephen, our Vicar, and Handley Stevens have both been extremely supportive also, giving the green light to the project and carrying the weight of my many queries and questions. And thank you to the Friends of the Music for providing the funding.