Erik Chisholm The Erik Chisholm Trust Newsletter Autumn 2014 SEASONS GREETINGS This week I fly to the USA to spend Thanksgiving with my eldest daughter & family in San Francisco. Soon after my return to Seagulls the Christmas season will be upon us. There is much to celebrate and on behalf of all the Trustees, I wish our many friends in the world of Music, happiness and good fortune in the coming year. Morag Chisholm ECT MEETINGS The ECT has had a very active business year and has had five meetings, three in London, two in Glasgow. Our main focus has been to plan a series of events to commemorate the 50thAAnniver- sary of Chisholm’s death on 8th June 1965, see next section. To date the Trust, by virtue of the initial grant in 2001, has self funded its many activities but funds are now running low. With forthcoming events in mind, the role of fundraising is being addressed for which a new strategic plan will be drawn up for activation in 2015 Several new trustees have joined the board which currently has eight active members: Hugh MacDonald is Chair and Morag Chisholm Vice-chair. The future of the Trust after the 50th An- niversary is over will be reviewed. CONCERTS It has been a successful year on the concert front. In our two Newsletters published earlier this year, details of five of the six concerts are given. A full description can be found on our website. The most recent event on 17 October was preceded by a Study Day Scotland and Russia Performance since 1900 at the Institute of Studies in the Humanities, University of Edin- burgh. The tenth lecture of the day, focused on “The Russian Connection: Erik Chisholm and the Active Society of the Propagation of Contemporary Music” This Society which Chisholm and colleague Patrick Shepherd founded in 1930 invited many out- standing overseas and British composers to perform their works in Glasgow. Amongst these were three Russian composers, Medtner, Pro- kofiev and Shostakovich. Christina Guillaumier’s lecture de- scribed the lengthy correspondence between Chisholm and Prokofiev, who never actually came to give a concert with the Society, nor did Shostakovich! Chisholm’s account of the So- ciety Men and Music is now published on the website. The Reid Concert Hall recital followed with singers Olga Ivakina, bass Arshak Kuzikyan, pianist Rusne-Monika Palsauskaite in a splendid programme of works by eight Russian composers and four songs from Chisholm’s Celtic Folk Songs. Timothy Dean was the accompanist and co- coordinator of the evening’s entertainment. The Celtic Folk Songs, a unique collection of Scottish songs translated into Russian, produced by the USSR State Publishers, on the initiative of Shostakovich, can be ordered from the ECT Web- site on-line shop. WEBSITE ADVANCES Webmaster Tony Hudson has produced an outstanding website of Erik Chisholm’s life to which the complete Catalogue of Chisholm’s Music will be added. Morag Chisholm and two vol- unteers, Kevin Jenkins and Mariam Rezk from the Isle of Wight Volunteer Centre helped with the preliminary search Recent website publications include Sorabji‘s letters to Chisholm written over a period of 30 years, USSR published Celtic Folk Songs for sale on-line Chisholm’s Men and Music lectures, delivered in 1964 Articles by Fiona and Morag about Life with father.. Fiona, a professional journalist with a great sense of humour is the major contributor. OUTLINE OF 50th ANNIVERSARY PROGRAMME IN GLASGOW 5th June (8pm): Kevin Bowyer plays Chisholm’s Hebridean Organ Symphony in Glasgow Uni- versity Chapel in his 'Contemporary Organ Music Platform' 6th June: Glasgow University Centre for Open Studies presents a Study Day on Chisholm's mu- sic led by John Purser and Prof Alan Riach. The full programme will be published in the New Year 7th June (5pm): Pollok House. Pollok House Arts Society presents a recital of songs and piano music by Chisholm with Emily Mitchell (soprano), Andrew McTaggart (baritone) and Edward Cohen, piano. 8th June. First complete performance with orchestra of Chisholm’s one act opera Simoon Late July/early August: the National Youth Orches- tra of Scotland, conducted by Rory MacDonald, will perform Chisholm's Piano Concerto No 1 with solo- ist Danny Driver starting in Perth and then taking it on tour to China. 22nd August: A piano recital at Wolverton Manor, Isle of Wight by Michael Jones in which he hopes to be joined by soprano Olga Ivakina CLOSING COMMENT BY CHAIRMAN HUGH MacDONALD Important anniversaries of a composer's birth or death always offer an opportunity to raise his pro- file. We hope that our commemoration next year of the 50th anniversary of Erik Chisholm's death will make a real impact. It looks as if we shall be able to do it with some style, especially on the weekend of the actual anniversary, Monday June 8th. We're especially excited about the reviving Simoon, Chisholm's powerful, Strindberg-based one act opera Its one and only previous production, sixty years ago in New York, was done with piano accompani- ment, and hearing the music for the first time in its full orchestral garb will be quite something! Later next summer, music by Chisholm will be performed (for the first time?) in China, giving our commemorative plans a truly international dimension. I think we can all look forward to a good Chisholm New Year! .