Aldeburgh Music

The latest Hesse Student Alumni news from Megan Peel, Alumni Co-ordinator.

50TH ANNIVERSARY

The Hesse Student Scheme 50th anniversary celebration was a great success with a special guest appearance by Michael Chance (Hesse 1975) and Iain Burnside (Hesse 1974) in the 62nd Aldeburgh Festival. They surprised all of us with a beautiful rendition of Oberon’s aria 'Welcome, wanderer… I know a bank' from Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, on the same stage were the piece was premiered. We are so grateful to them for donating their services for this wonderful fundraiser.

Simon Loftus, Sophia Tennant, Michael Lloyd, Rose Battye, Sarah Zins, Paul and Rosalind Newis (nee Harris), Ariane Bankes and Peter Khoroche were just some of the many Hesses that came back for the concert and the reception. Thanks to your generosity, we can ensure that this wonderful and unique scheme can continue for the next 50 years!

We are planning another get-together in London at Kings Place in November when Aldeburgh Music is in residence there.

RECOLLECTIONS OF A HESSE ALUMNUS

Michael Lloyd, (Hesse 1966, 1967 & 1968) is now a conductor and wrote in with his recollections of the Hesse Student Scheme:

'I was a Hesse student at the 1966 Festival (world premiere of Burning Fiery Furnace) and sang in the chorus at both the 1967 (the opening of Snape Maltings) and 1968 Festivals as well as being Imogen Holst's chauffeur for those two Festivals. Later (1972?) I was an accompanist, at Philip Ledger's invitation (or as a result of his influence) for a morning concert in the Jubilee Hall for Stephen Roberts and Alexander Balanescu (Stephen sang the Vaughan Williams Songs of Travel and Alexander and I played the Brahms G Major Sonata. Or at least that is what my memory tells me!).

GERMAN HESSE ALUMNI

I have been in touch with some of the German Hesse students who were members of the Darmstadter Kantorei. As over half of the students were from Germany in the early days, we are anxious to get back in touch with as many as possible for the anniversary year. Ellen Gottschämmer (Hesse, 1990) was very helpful and we are always on the lookout for more from the Darmstadt days.

FAMILY CONNECTIONS

I met Louise Mock (Hesse 1969), a ceramicist at a Christmas party and it turns out that her son, Thomas O’Grady (Hesse 2005) was also a Hesse Student. There are lots of family dynasties in the Britten–Pears Young Artist Programme and I am sure that are lots in the Hesse Students too. Last summer, Geoff Williams was a Hesse Student and his uncle Vivian Williams was a Hesse Student in 1969. Please let me know on mpeel@aldeburgh.co.uk if there are any other family connections that I am missing.