Twenty five years of Musicamp-what a record and what an achievement, and how
proud our Founder, Wilf Budd, would have been to witness, from very modest
beginnings, how large and influential this Association has become. Rita Budd
was flown up from the Cape for this occasion and I know how rightly gratified
she felt when she attended some of the rehearsals and in particular the final
concert.
Walter Klauss had brought with him a second Prelude written for Musicamp by Raoul Pleskow. The First and Second Preludes were played at the final concert. Corrado Trinci conducted the first string orchestra in the St Paul's Suite by Holst. The first orchestra played the first movement of Haydn's Surprise Symphony and the Dolly Suite by Faure. The choir sang the Magnificat from the Short Service by Gibbons and Handel's Let their Celestial Concerts all Rejoice. Walter took over the baton to conduct Santa Maria (Mozart) and the Final Chorus from Act Two of Aida by Verdi.
The final concert was held at Peterhouse starting at 5.00pm with an al fresco supper at 6.00pm followed by the second part of the concert at 7.15pm.
1989-2001
It is interesting to note that in 1989 the SA Youth Orchestra was, for the first time, conducted by a former orchestral player, and we followed suit by inviting Corrado Trinci to be our Guest Conductor.
He had kindly invited me to write a couple of pieces for the first orchestra. This type of musical composition does not come easily to me-the last exercise in this medium was during my student days! - but with the aid of Forsyth's excellent book on orchestration I was able to present Corrado with a March (transcribed from the Wedding March for organ I had written for Jim and Charis Peto in 1960) and a Dance-the tune I heard one day on the radio and couldn't get it out of my head. The final chromatic flourish I "borrowed" from Elgar's Second Symphony, third movement.
High attention to detail and the ability to get the last ounce of effort from meticulous players are hallmarks of Corrado's conducting and these were made manifest at the final concert. We greatly appreciated the appearance of Stephen Dutton from the UK, who conducted the wind band and who took part in many other activities at Musicamp. A combined concert and meal ticket at the final concert was sold at $6 per head!
Why don't we hold Musicamp in the Bulawayo
area? Well, in; 1990 we did, at Falcon College. Our Guest Conductor was David
Slater from Botswana, where he was the conductor at Manu-Pula School in Gaborone.
He introduced us to a number of new works for the choir, the Cantique de Racine
by Faure and Three Yugoslav Folk Songs arranged by Matyas Seiber and, for
the first orchestra, the
Symphonic Dances from West Side Story by Bernstein. Corrado Trinci conducted
the second orchestra and Andy Griggs the wind band. Shirley Smith conducted
the junior choir, which gave a most creditable performance.
The evening entertainments followed the usual pattern with games, quiz, professional concert, variety show and group concert. Going past the hall one evening I wondered who was playing Chopin's Ab Polonaise-it was David Slater! In my Chairman's Report I mentioned the death of Hector Thurlow, who had served Musicamps in so many ways for a number of years.
In 1991, with fees rising to $150 a head, we returned to Peterhouse Girls School, and held each successive Musicamp at that venue for the next ten years. Why? There are a variety of reasons. The state schools close their premises at the end of a term; the facilities at the Girls School provide us with excellent accommodation, hall, kitchen and kitchen staff, a common room for the over eighteens as well as tuck shop and a common room for the younger members of Musicamp.
There are pianos, practice rooms and adequate accommodation for larger groups. At the Boys School there is the Fieldsend Hall where our final concerts are usually held and which seats about 350 people. We are extremely grateful and fortunate that we are welcomed back every year to such ideal surroundings. A picnic, usually on a Thursday, is arranged and we have visited Gosho Park, Tsindi Ruins, the Nyamboua Dam whilst we have been in the Marondera area.
Walter Klauss was our Guest Conductor in 1991: Corrado Trinci took the first string orchestra, Jenny Bourdillon the second orchestra, Di Wright the second strings, Andy Griggs the first wind band, Clare Heburn the second wind band and Shirley Smith the second choir. I can find no record of what was performed!
Before we go into 1992, you may be wondering why I have not mentioned any "unfortunate incidents" that MUST have occurred in all these years of Musicamp. Yes, they did occur and were dealt with promptly, but what is there to be gained by bringing them up now? Hundreds of musicampers have attended this annual event and, alas, there are the occasional few who baulk at the handful of rules we have laid down and which are so ordered that Musicamp can run smoothly and with consideration to all and especially to our host school. We would be sadly failing in our duty if we didn't place certain restrictions on what we can and cannot do.
So back to 1992. Walter Klauss was once again our Guest Conductor and try as I have I still cannot pin down the works performed. Paul Bourdillon with his touring musicians gave a very fine recital on the first Saturday evening. The final concert plus meal afterwards now cost $15 per head! At the Annual General Meeting I stood down as Chairman and Paul was elected in my stead.
