This year marks the 47th Season of Leigh Music Society and it was a pleasure to perform a recital with Duncan Glenday on 2nd Feb 2020. The Society present seven concerts a year between September and March on Sunday afternoons in the Derby Room, above the library at the Turnpike Centre, in the centre of Leigh, Greater Manchester.
The Turnpike is a unique arts venue and since January 2017 Turpike, an independent arts organisation, has occupied the first floor of the iconic 1970s brutalist building. There are lots of activities happening at the centre with the aim to raise aspiration, resilience and encourage people from the across the community to take part in the activities. There are art exhibitions and weekly workshops – Simeon Barclay’s Bus2Move exhibition was just being installed and will be open to the public from 14th Feb. https://www.theturnpike.org.uk/bus2mov
Returning to sing for Leigh Music Society brought back lots of happy memories. Duncan and I performed a programme of English Song this year. The first time I sang there was in 2002 while I was studying at the Junior RNCM – I loved my time there! I was really thrilled that Karen Humphreys MBE, Head of Junior RNCM was at the concert – I’m always thankful for the opportunities, support and encouragement we had as young performers to step out for the first time in front of public audiences – and nearly 20 years later Karen is there in the audience, and all of her support and advice still means the world!
It was great to see a ‘full-house’ for the concert with many much loved friends in the audience. There is always a warm and friendly atmosphere and if you would like to attend a forthcoming concert please visit their website – https://leighmusicsociety.info/about-us/ The Society regularly invites established professional musicians from around the region to perform, and also provides a platform for young musicians to perform. If you are interested in performing a concert for them you can contact them by email.