Summer is looking very lively, with a bounty of festivals, summer schools and our own exciting workshops—two in July—to which to look forward. It’s got off to a great start both in terms of weather and early music, following the very successful Bristol Early Music Festival, a new star in the firmament of early music, and the dynamic joint workshop with BMEMF at Gloucester with David Allinson. Bristol and Bath have caught up with Devon (with the Dartington Festival at the heart of its summer) in terms of concert density, and our autumn programme is building on the summer school experience with a workshop by Vivien Ellis, well known in both Yorkshire (HISS and York Early Music) and London for her emphasis on the natural voice and on linking singing with a history of place.
The AGM is in Backwell this year. We hope to see as many members as possible there, and to recruit a new diary editor. As no-one has yet come forward to take over, this could be the last ever edition of the Diary. We do hope that this will not be the case, and that the Diary will be able to continue in some form. At the very least we hope to produce an events digest as an export from the website, but even this will require a diary administrator to arrange the printing, packing and posting. The website is used increasingly as the vehicle for information and is kept vitally up to date by our savvy, proactive web editor, Sara, who has now made it possible for you to post your events directly onto the web page using a simple form. What we might consider, going forward, is a slimmer version of the Diary, with a more condensed presentation of workshops and links and a more fluid exchange of information with the website, from which some of the Diary’s content will be directly generated. In the meantime, please send all notifications of events to the web editor.
I’ve loved my five years as editor, it’s great to be at the centre of an information flow, to get to know members. What a sharing, friendly, knowledgeable and skilled membership you are. When I took the Diary on in 2014, I did so because of my editorial experience; my knowledge of early music was pretty small. It’s been a marvellous learning curve, thanks to a generous and supportive committee and membership. Thank you for five great years!
– Lindsey Shaw-Miller