I know what you mean Solari! I got up early to ensure that I got to play at least on a Yamaha grand! It was great fun and so nice to meet up with fellow forumites.

If you haven't been before and are considering going - just go for it. What a wonderful experience. As an aside, I did find it helpful to have had contact with forum folk before...I knew I would encounter at least one friendly face...which I did in the form of Daisychain, Missypiano and so many more including Sbhoa (surely deserves an award for the most helpful forumite as she showed me around the campus).

Anyway back to practice on my piano...nowhere near such fun as a Yamaha grand ...but I will still enjoy it!

Oops I knew I'd forgotten someone! Good to see you too, Scotliz

Now I have a week and a bit to get my pieces sorted out for my teacher down here.... Chet's was used to fix some pieces I'd only tried learning half-heartedly. 5 hours a night is going to be needed to get pieces done for my teacher! I'll be pretty quiet for a while I think!

I sent it to the info at pianosummerschool dot com one that I'd used to ask questions before - don't know if that was right though. You could probably just do it on the 'contact us' form on the website.

Wonderful to hear you all sounding so enthusiastic. I'm so pleased that it was such a success for everyone.

Cool, thanks! They did say they might fire out a mailshot.

I think it's best to just get in there and send feedback ASAP though. I felt really sorry for Murray, he was obviously completely knackered.

All those concert pianists performing were amazing but one highlight for me was Philip Martin's beautiful playing of Mozart; I was hooked - every phrase sparkled and held my interest He puts many of the big names to shame IMO. Harry Harris is outstanding too!

sounds like you all had a great time!

I'm definitely going to send an e-mail as well. It would be awful if it was all cancelled. Actually, I wonder if any of you who have been to summer school in the past, and who have had a good experience, would like to send an e-mail saying how much you have enjoyed it as at the moment there are difficulties and talks about the possibility of it being unable to continue. It was just so wonderful to be totally immersed in piano world and not have to think about much else.

Welcome back to the forum folks!

It's been rather a Woodwind-centric forum for the last week or so. I have been doing my best to keep the WW at bay though , mainly battliing the clari's - - trying to inject keyboard-talk where I can!

Another week though and there'd have been a clari coup, I'm sure of it!

I am sending my enthusiastic (and hand written) letter of support by snail mail. I think something original and signed will carry more weight (with the people that Murray has to fight with to keep the summer school going) than an eMail.

I urge all other happy attendees to do the same.

Hi all. It's Will from Bermuda here (North Rock is a part of the outer reef of our island). Told you I'd join your forum so here I am! It was great meeting you all during week 1. Missypiano (such a bad influence ), Panthera, Solari, Mad Tom, Stumac and a bunch of others. You were all really welcoming and hopefully I can meet up with the London contingent on my future visits to sunny England.

It was quite a long way for me to travel but definitely worth it. Very intense 5 days what with the practice, lessons, masterclasses, concerts, drinks (in that order, usually). The standard seemed high, very high in some cases. Some of the Asian kids I heard were just insane. But I think we amateurs all held our own amongst the pros.

Slightly concerned to hear talk of it maybe being cancelled next year. I shall send a postcard!

Hi Will, good to see you on here. Great stuff signing up, hopefully we'll see you at a playday/event in the future then. Still got your Liszt performance in my head, that was really great.

I found the rumblings about next year a bit unnerving but I'm firing off a mail shortly. Hopefully the red tape brigade can be trampled over.

Only thing I reckon they should do is some extra workshops aimed at the adult beginner/intermediates as it seems some people feel a bit nervous about "following" the more advanced players.

Really exhausted now - so draining but worth it

Equally, I was on the standard course rather than the adult amateur one, and I got the impression there would also be some workshops for us which didn't materialise. It didn't matter, I had plenty to do, my pieces improved loads anyway, and none of the lovely people I met were at all judgemental, but it would have been a good alternative for those of us who are less advanced than the other players on the standard course and who find the word 'masterclass' a little scary. Maybe I should just join the adult amateurs next year...I didn't this year because I'm 18 and while I'm certainly an 'amateur', I wouldn't really say I feel like an 'adult'!

What's the problem about running it next year? Funding?

I've just had a work-based course that I was looking forward to (sad sack) pulled because of this.
I should have thought it was an efficient use of the premises to run a Summer school - unless it was being vastly subsidised, of course. It doesn't appear to be the case that they can't fill the places.

It's not funding. Don't want to say too much but it is a matter of internal politics (small p) and admin. Murray needs a significant mass of individual support to present his case for the Summer School.

I'm going to send it both by email and post

Well, being bold , I did ask this question and suggested deposits up front for next year if the issue was financial. It doesn't seem to be the case, though. If I heard correctly, then apparently it's something to do with health & safety, child protection and employment law... Basically bureaucratic killjoys trying to p*** on the parade.

If that is the case, then

Had a fab time as usual Sent my email this morning; my summer won't be the same without Chets! (This year was my 3rd time there.)

If that's the case I can understand the difficulties. Those who run things will have been put through all the dross protocols regarding Safeguarding Children and I can imagine it would be a logistical nightmare.

Were there any children around or on site during the Summer School? Extraordinary steps usually have to be taken to prevent adults and children encountering each other.

Yes, it was mixed and has been for the past 10 years from what I can tell. The "house parent" thing seems to work well, although some parents do join their kids on the course. They also separated out the accomodation into "zones".

And why extraordinary steps? This is getting silly - are we going to start banning adults from entering parks where children might be playing? This automatic assumption that every adult is capable of hideous things is damaging the fabric of society IMO. If they separated the course into two weeks, one for adults, one for children, I think it'd be hard going on the teachers.

Sorry...

So pleased that you all had a great time and look forward to when I next see you all to hear even more about it.

It would be a great pity if this fantastic summer school isn't held again. It would appear that it is becoming a bureaucratic nightmare.

Meanwhile I was doing my best to stage a single handed clari coup at Chetham's.

Cldn't agree more Sol.

^^

It may be some other issue altogether that is causing difficulties so I don't want to dwell on this particular one.

It just reminded me of some recent headaches in one of my places of work where management were wanting to introduce walls and doorways to fall in line with the latest initiative in the name of Safeguarding Children.
I don't get annoyed about it any more but my frown lines are getting deeper.

Hope you all get your Summer School next year.

Yep I was veering off-topic... I don't want to jump to conclusions, sorry!

Hopefully we'll get a summer school next year, and many more to follow

Had a great ten days at Chet's! Have learnt sooooooo much my head is spinning. Loads of great ideas as well as technical bits and pieces. Where else could you go and see wonderful professional pianists giving concerts every night?


The concert of the week has to go to The Appassionata! He made it look so very easy.

Lecture of the week goes to the wonderful Bernard Roberts! I loved him! And he just happened to play the Beethoven sonata and Bagatelles pretty well too!

Song (and magic trick!!) of the week goes to our very own Rubber Duck! And the lad who did the George Formbey turn. He's got a great future ahead of him.

Was lovely to meet Yamaha, Pianonotes, Will from Bermuda, Bevpiano and Hammerklavier (from a distance). And great to catch up with old friends again too.

Who knows....if things go according to plan, I may have even gained a piano teacher! One clue to the identity...tor-----ti----llla!

Sincerely hope there will be a summer school next year.

Goooooood. Well done, sbhoa *strokes cat in the style of a James Bond villain*

I'd counter your glee by masquerading as Bond's nemesis, 'Jaws', but unfortunately I'm a good 9" shorter than actor Richard Kiel - probably why I didn't get the job!

After I ate the pudding on Monday lunchtime I was given the advice from one who knows.
'Don't eat the Chet's puddings!'
I think I left poor rachi traumatised at the memory of that (allegedly) chocolate custard.

That "chocolate" sponge and "chocolate" sauce was really gross! I actually thought some of the puddings before that were fine, though.

No need for a PM.

There is some opposition to the school that might lead to it not taking place again, but the organizers and staff were very vague about who is in opposition and on what grounds. We were never told clearly who and what they are. [And as Murray MacLachlan's father is seriously ill in hospital, and his wife also went into hospital with an acute illness just days before the start of the school (she is okay now) I, for one, was n ot very inclined to hassle him to find out ] He simply asked for as many as possible of the attendees to send letters of support.

Sounds like you all had a great time and (if it is still on) I would be interested in going next year

When do they announce dates and how soon do you have to apply in order to secure a place?

- when I have time I will have a wander around their site

Well done Daisychain, glad that you had such a great time.

Thank you, ET. I had such a good time, and it was lovely to go away and forget things here for a while.

Hi Cambiata,

apart from Murray's family problems, there were huge issues with the admin this year, particularly the child protection arrangements, which caused an enormous amount of work & nearly caused the summer school to be cancelled. Murray said he needs a huge volume of evidence that people really want the summer school next year. It doesn't need to be much - he said a one-line email, but he needs it quickly to secure the future of the summer school.

Allegedly this is the only summer school in the country that still mixes adults and children. Even if it's not true it's believable: Isn't that a terrible indictment of our society?

Well obviously the powers that be refuse to accept that this is possible without some poor child being subjected to the will of horrid adult monsters. Only in Britain are adults afraid to so much as cast a glance at a child for fear of paedophilia accusations. No wonder that the younger generations of people seem to be more socially segregated from their seniors than ever before.

What impression does a child get when their elders won't even make eye contact or even speak to them?

Sorry, going off on one again, but this is one subject that really gets my back up. I'd be terrified of giving first aid to someone else's child these days, and it's just wrong that I have to feel that way.

I have just read an article in yesterday's Guardian newspaper regarding a 15-yr old going up to Cambridge to read mathematics at Fitzwilliam College:

"Children cannot live in student accommodation, because the university cannot carry out criminal record checks on all the other undergraduates."

This all drives me INSANE

The British Kodály Academy just had a really difficult time because we had two 17 year olds who wanted to come on our Summer School. We had to say no because it would have meant that someone had to be with them THE WHOLE TIME, including breaks, meal times, free times, evenings...and there was also a problem because the Hungarian tutors aren't CRB checked (they look at you as if you're mad when you tell them about CRB).

In the end the singing teacher of one of them kicked up such a fuss that we had to go back on this decision..fortunately two people volunteered to be their chaperones..but this was an utterly ridiculous situation. Both were EXTREMELY mature, they will be 18 in October and November, and they were a complete delight to have on the course. In fact they were darn sight more mature than a lot of us older in chronological years .

I remember last year in Hungary seeing two stunning demo lessons by the Director of the Kodály Institute with 14 year-olds (his teenage students all call him 'Uncle *his name*') and there was a palpable feeling of mutual love and respect between him and his students. One girl got slightly lost in a fiendish atonal canon - at the end he went up and gave her a hug. I can just imagine the reaction to such genuine caring affection in this country...

One VERY BIG BAH.

<snip> Lots more examples of child-protection stupidity <snip>

One thing I don't understand. How much of this is actually required to conform with the law (in which case we have stupid laws that must be repealed) and how much is overzealous, politically -correct, mistrustful, interfering, killjoy busybodies going beyond what any legislation requires (in which case they should be ignored until they either go away or become human).

This stuff harms a great many children in order to provide dubious "protection" for a very few. But what gets overlooked is that it harms adults too. In every endeavour the youngsters lose out on our wisdom and experience, and we lose out on experiencing their fresh outlook, contagious enthusiasm and boundless energy.

Hear, HEAR!!!

Not true.

The flute and saxophone courses organised by Just Flutes and held at Woldingham school are mixed ages, I think the clarinet and saxophone course at Harrogate is too.

The MehrClef jazz course is split into two, week 1 for over 23's and week 2 for 23 and under (so mixed ages on that one). Not sure exactly why the 23 cut off, it may just be the most convenient way to get numbers to balance.

Aahh... I did wonder how that had worked out in the end.

And there lies one reason why you won Most Sensible Poster yesterday, MT...

Sneaky tactics I call it.....

But yes, you are spot on there.

Thanks for putting me right on that: I had hoped it wasn't true, but my point wasn't whether it was true or not but whether it was believable or not - and it was: THAT's what's so awful.