May 2025

Ronald Corp OBE
1951-2025

It is with great regret that we record the death of Ronald Corp, OBE, who passed away suddenly on May 7th 2025, aged 74.

LLMMG attendees will remember that Ronald was our guest at the meeting in May 2024 and is of particular interest as the creator of a series of six Light Music CDs, four of British and one each of European and American compositions. These were on the Hyperion label, and featured his New London Orchestra, with which he made many other recordings. He specialised in Choral Music and ran two choirs in London.

A prolific composer himself, Ronald was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1999, latterly serving at the Church of St Alban the Martyr In Holborn.

An obituary for Ronald Corp can be found in our Obituaries Section.

Tony Clayden
May 2025

May 2025

New CD from Gavin Sutherland

The new album by GAVIN SUTHERLAND conducting THE FAST TUNES ORCHESTRA and ROYAL BALLET SINFONIA.
Newly recorded at Abbey Road Studios

available from Ebay on CD or Double LP

52 tracks (see Ebay item descriptions for full details)

April 2025

Bank Holiday Afternoon Concert
by the Aspidistra Drawing Room Orchestra

on 26th May 2025, 2:30 pm
at Lauderdale House, Highgate Hill, London N6 5HG

Tickets:
Full price £10, Concessions (over 65) £9, Children (under 12) £5
will be available from www.LauderdaleHouse.org.uk

This year’s programme is to include:

Love Last Word is Spoken - Cesare Bixio
Baion de Santos - Eric Jupp
Para Ti, Rio Rita - Enrico Santeugini
Illusions Perdues - Jacob Gade
Love in Arcady - Haydn Wood
Sleepy Melody - Clive Richardson
Dardanella - Felix Bernard
They were doin’ the Mambo - Sonny Burke
Por Una Cabeza - Carlos Gardel
Skye Boat Song – Trad (Arr Roy Bell)
Ukrainischer Tanz - Zygmunt Noskowski
The Black Cat Rag – Frank Wooster

Aspidistra Webpage: www.aspidistra.org
Youtube channel: www.youtube.com/channel/UCG4tDIrMNGP0_LpijfTvk5A

April 2025

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March 2025

Legends of Light Music

All of the articles in the above category, which appeared on the RFS website over the years, have now been reproduced and posted in the 'Articles' section of the LLMMG website for easy reference.

March 2025

RFS Website

Due to insurmountable technical problems, Geoff Leonard, who has run the website of the former Robert Farnon Society for the last ten years, has been obliged to permanently shut the site down.

I am pleased to inform you that I have been able to acquire the entire set of data files, as a result of invaluable assistance from Jonathan Burns, and with due thanks to Geoff Leonard.

These will now be held as an archive; no further additions will be possible, but they will soon be accessible via the LLMMG website.

Tony Clayden
14/03/2025

March 2025

Robert Walton

It is with great sadness that I have just learned of the death – in Ireland – of Robert Walton, which occurred about six months ago.

Robert had been a stalwart member of the former Robert Farnon Society for many years and – after having retired to the 'Emerald Isle' – he maintained a steady stream of contributions to the RFS website, which were always of great interest.

An obituary can be found in the 'Obituaries' section here.

Tony Clayden
14/03/2025

March 2025

For information about past and upcoming episodes of Friday Night is Music Night on BBC Radio 3 you can follow this link: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001xmxc/episodes/player

It shows previous episodes which are still available for replay via BBC Sounds (for up to 30 days after broadcast).

23rd May 2025 at 7.30pm
Great Yarmouth
The BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by George Jackson returns to the iconic Hippodrome in Great Yarmouth for a special Friday Night is Music Night concert celebrating the orchestra's long-standing Create Yarmouth residency. There’ll be songs from classic musicals performed by West End singing sensation Rachel John. The orchestra premieres two brand new commissions from locally-based young composers of the community arts group Freshly Greated, plus there'll be a taste of Fado – the passionate popular song from Portugal - with local singer Zara Maia. Naturally, there’ll be popular classics old and new, including The Dam Busters March, and a whole squadron of British favourites inspired by land, air and sea – as well as a spotlight on one of the BBC Concert Orchestra’s own stars, principal horn Andrew Littlemore.
Presented by Katie Derham.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0024xv4

30th May 2025 at 7.30pm
Paris in the Jazz Age
The BBC Concert Orchestra, live from Alexandra Palace, with violinist and conductor Fiona Monbet, in Gershwin's American in Paris, and clarinettist Giacomo Smith in works by Ellington, Reinhardt and Debussy.
A Friday Night is Music Night featuring French music and jazz from the early years of the 20th century. The orchestra is joined by the effortlessly virtuosic clarinettist Giacomo Smith.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002cjd3

13th June 2025 at 7.30pm
Opera Gala (repeat)
Soraya Mafi and Nicky Spence join conductor John Andrews and the BBC Concert Orchestra in a gala evening of operatic favourites, recorded in the grounds of Hampshire's West Green Opera in July 2024.
Presented by Petroc Trelawny.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0025llf

January 2025

Laurie Holloway
(1938-2025)

The composer, pianist and musical director Laurie Holloway has died at the age of 86.

An obituary by Anthony Wills can be found in our Obituaries section, HERE

January 2025

"The History of the Northern Dance Orchestra"

The BBC Northern Dance Orchestra was a big band run by the BBC and formed in 1956 as the successor to the BBC's Northern Variety Orchestra. Known to listeners as the NDO, it broadcast on the radio daily, usually from recordings made at the Playhouse Theatre in Hulme, Manchester, and on many trips to halls throughout the UK.

The NDO project produced for Serenade Radio — 3 x one hour programmes on the NDO and NVO, with contributions from people who knew and worked with the bands, and lots of great music!

Listen here!

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