On May 14th, we were back at Theatre by the Lake, with our first concert there since 2020! This was a magical evening: a succession of wonderful arias by composers from Purcell to Sondheim, chosen to tell a complex operatic story of love, dance, loss and harmony and performed by world-class singers with a virtuosic string quintet playing the orchestral music cleverly arranged for string quintet by their director Orlando Jopling – also the cellist.

The four characters suffered and triumphed through a riot of Italian opera and hits from the musicals,  from four centuries of great dramatic music … wit, passion, comedy, tragedy … as in opera, all life was there. The audience, many of them Members of the Society, loved it – see the review on the Reviews Page.

This was the last concert of the Keswick Music Society’s 2021-2022 season. After Covid we are still looking for a permanent venue, and hoping to be able to return to Theatre by the Lake. We will be announcing  our new 2022-2023 programme and our new plans as soon as possible.

At last some more concerts! On Saturday March 5^th at 7.30pm at St. John’s Keswick Sophie Rosa, violin, and Ian Buckle, piano, young and dynamic musicians with a growing reputation, will play a very varied programme for violin and piano duo: sonatas by Schumann, Beethoven (The Spring), and the Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov – and, at its centre, a selection of pieces by English composers. 

We look forward very much to seeing our members again. Tickets (£15) can be bought at Bookends or on the door (correct change much appreciated!). Covid restrictions will be relaxed by then, but we hope that by showing consideration we can enable everyone to feel comfortable.

Then, briefly, the following month, on April 23^rd, the wind ensemble Festivo Winds will be performing, also at St. John’s, and in May we will at last be back at Theatre by the Lake for an unusual (for us) concert, for which tickets will soon be on sale from the Box Office. We will present an evening of Opera Highlights at the Theatre, informally staged to make a narrative that connects the music, performed by four world-class singers and five fine chamber musicians. The evening includes arias and ensembles by Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, Bernstein with some other surprises and unusual gems. 

We hope that by early summer we will be able to restart our Membership Scheme.

In March and April 2020 the last two concerts of the 2019/20 KMS season had to be cancelled because of Covid-19 restrictions which forced the closure of the Theatre by the Lake. Our 2020/21 season was also completely cancelled and the 2021/22 season has been put on hold as the Theatre by the Lake has remained closed to outside events and there was too much uncertainty about other venues, travel, and performers, along with changing audience restrictions. 

But we feel that we can now hold regular concerts again although at relatively shorter notice. Between now and February/March 2022 these will be at St John’s Church, Keswick on Saturday evenings. We hope soon to be back at Theatre by the Lake after its partial reopening for their autumn and Christmas season. 

Our first concert at St John’s will be given by a dynamic group of young professionals, The Elmore String Quartet. They met a few years ago when studying at the Royal Northern College of Music, and before Covid-19 struck were starting to carve out very promising careers. They will be performing quartets by Britten and Beethoven and a beautiful miniature by Webern, written in the late romantic style before he embraced the serialism for which he is better known. 

In recognition of KMS members missing out on concerts at the end of the 2019-20 season, this concert is offered FREE to those who were KMS members in the 2019/20 season. Subject to availability, non-members may buy tickets from Bookends in Keswick or on the door (£20). Members may pre-order additional tickets for friends, family etc and pay for these tickets on the door. 

To ensure Covid security in St John’s Church we ask you to confirm whether you wish to attend by contacting Elaine Moor, Membership Secretary  (01900 85967 or at  keswick_music_society@hotmail.co.uk), by 6th November. Audience numbers will be restricted to around 150. We will offer free tickets to the first members who respond. See below for further details about the concert and tickets.

If you do not feel able to attend the concert or do not get a ticket, please keep an eye on our website for news of further events.

CONCERT AND BOOKING DETAILS

The first of these occasional concerts will be held at St John’s Church, Keswick at 7.30pm on Saturday 13^thNovember 2021 and will last approximately 1 hour 45 mins including a short interval.

The Elmore String Quartet will perform:

• Anton Webern – Langsamer Satz 

• Britten string quartet no.3 

• Interval 

• Beethoven Op.132 No.15 in A minor 

COVID Info

• The church has been assessed and organised as a “Covid-secure” venue for services and performances. It will have been thoroughly cleaned before the concert. 
• Please DO NOT ATTEND if you have any of the common symptoms of Covid-19, if you have tested positive for Covid in the prior 14 days, or if you are required to isolate. 
• The audience will be limited to around 150 persons (the maximum capacity of the church is over 400). All non-household members will be able to separate by 1m. Seats will be allocated to audience members in arrival order. 
• Audience members will be checked-off against a register on arrival. 
• The register will be held for 28 days in case track and trace is required.
• Social distancing will be encouraged as the audience queues outside and inside the church. There will be no social mingling allowed inside the church, and no close interaction between performers and audience.
• Audience members will be required to wear facemasks when moving around in the church.
• The audience will enter by the front door and exit by another to the right of the choir. 
• Hand sanitisers will be used on arrival and available on exit. 
• The performance area is between the main aisle and the choir. The performers will be able to socially distance from the audience.
• There will be a short interval of 10-15 minutes, but no refreshments will be offered. Audience members will be encouraged to either stay in their seats or go outside to socially mingle. The church doors will be opened during the interval to aid ventilation. 
• The church has limited toilet facilities.
• There is no carpark at the church. 
• While there will be no ticket cost for members for this concert, a retiring collection will be taken which will help towards KMS costs and future events.

Please do not book unless you know you can and will come.

If you would like a ticket(s) please e-mail Elaine Moor  keswick_music_society@hotmail.co.uk or telephone her on 01900 85967 stating how many tickets you would like. 

Dear Members,

We are working on a date in early summer for a free concert for 2019-2020 KMS members at St. John’s Church, and will let you know all details about it as soon as possible. Due to the disruption to our programme because of COVID19, we have delayed restarting our membership scheme until the 2021-2022 season, and we hope to announce this when Theatre by the Lake  has decided on its re-opening schedule.