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Volume 13 - Issue 2 - October 2007

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ACKbEAT: ••• READERS REPLYLetter of the MonthSmall tribute to a dear friendI am currently on vacation in Milton, Ontario staying with my cousin Mr BillRowney whose mother (my Aunt Clarice) and her sister (my mother) wereboth born in Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, where I both went to schooland to the Church of England Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin.Richard Bradshaw was a great friend of mine. We met originally whilstat school together at Wellingborough Grammar School. Richard was a coupleof years younger than myself but we were both keen musicians - singing in thevarious school choirs and playing in the school orchestras together.I was deeply shocked to hear of Richard's untimely death but wasdetennined to pay this small tribute to a dear friend. Canadians in general andespecially music lovers in Toronto will be rightly saddened by Richard'spassing. Equally his friends in England and we 'locals' in the Higham Ferrers,Rushden and Wellingborough area in particular will miss the opportunity ofcontinuing to watch Richard's progress on the world's music stage. Sadly weshall not see his like again. His boundless enthusiasm, infectious joy, and keeninterest in the performance of music is an enormous loss to us all.Richard played the organ at my marriage in Higham Ferrers church inJuly 1964. He was just 20. The music was most carefully chosen and enabledRichard's talent to enrich the whole service to the Glory of God. He played avariety of pieces before the service began but the bride's entrance andprocession was marked by his magnificent rendition of JS Bach's 'Jesu, Joy ofMan's Desiring'. We wanted especially to direct the attention of those presentto the Lord Jesus Christ - not to the beauty of the bride (which wasnevertheless obvious!). During the formal 'signing of the registers' Richardplayed further pieces but his performance ofVidor's Toccata & Fugue as weleft the church left no one present in any doubt that they were listening to amusician with outstanding ability. Even as we emerged into the sunshine thevibrant music followed and many people lingered behind until the final notesechoed away.Fortunately I recorded the whole service on my reel-to-reel Grundigtape recorder. It was the first - but, of course, by no means the last -recording of Richard Bradshaw: making music!Yours faithfully,Dr Graham St.John-Willey, NorthhamptonPS. I'm going to join the public tour of the Four Seasons Centre on Saturdaymorning.SOCAN no canI was surprised to find Choral Scenein your Sept '07 issue quoting withoutchecking. The section concerningJohn Bird and the Elmer lseler Singersconnects him with the "CanadianMusic Publishers Association, nowSOCAN." The predecessor organizationsof SOCAN were the Composers,Authors, and Publishers Associationof Canada (CAPAC) and the PerformingRights Organization of Canada(PROCAN). The Canadian MusicPublishers Association was/is aseparate body with quite differentaims and purposes. The Association'sentry in the on-line Encyclopedia ofMusic in Canada, signed "John C.Bird," makes no mention ofSOCAN.Best regards,John BeckwithHow to send a letter tobACKbEATMail to WholeNote Media, Inc. , 720Bathurst Street, Suite 503, TorontoON M5S2R4oreditorial@thewholenote.comCalling all readers! WIN with WholeNote!Congratulations to these lucky WholeNote readerswho have participated and wonfabulous prizes through our "Who's Reading WholeNote?"monthly online surveysand many thanks to these generous prize donors:Natasha Croskell - Canadian Opera CompanyMargaret Couse, Joanne Grant - Sony CentreDavid Barker - Festival of the SoundJosie Grossi - Soulpepper Theatre, La CreperieThis month, WIN PREMIUM TICKETS to the CANADIAN OPERACOMPANY's production of The Marriage of Figaro .Log on to win at www.thewholenote.com.WHO'S READING WHOLENOTE?Visit us onlline and respond to our minisurveyfor a chance to WINPREMIUM TICKETSto theCANADIANOPERACOMPANYproduction ofThe Marriageof FigaroLOG ON TO WIN!www. thewho I enote.com62Back to Ad IndexWWW. THEWHOLENOTE.COMO CTOBER 1 - N OVEMBER 7 2007

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