Recent concerts

We have welcomed a wide variety of concert artists over the years. Here are details of the most recent concerts to give you a flavour of what you will hear at Cardiff Organ and Keyboard Society.

Our secretary Vic takes a look back at the year just past:

We have

just completed yet another eventful year. It started with the loss of Penny & Tony, due to them moving house, and finished with their return, due to not moving house!! So we look forward to seeing them again, whenever our dates do not clash with Penny's concert programme.

I hope you will agree that we have maintained a high standard of concerts with some "Old Favourites" such as Nicholas Martin, Janet Dowsett and Brett Wales and a few organists new to us like Sarah Foley and Elizabeth Harrison. If you would like any particular performers for 2009, please let any committee member know and we will see what we can do.

December saw our own Christmas Concert performed by members on Keyboards, Organ and with our own Choir, the whole being held together by visiting musical director Peggy Garner-Smith. Free cake and sherry helped to ease the pain!!

The Committee has co-opted Fran and Eve and we will be asking you to confirm their appointment at the AGM. We are still looking for somebody with book-keeping experience to be Treasurer, so how about it? there must be somebody out there who is willing to take over from Margaret.

Finally, our membership holds fairly steady at around 120 but there are still quite a few who have not renewed their membership yet for 2008.

I hope you enjoy our 2008 programme and look forward to seeing our membership grow.

March 11th 2008 saw a welcome return of an old favourite, Tony Stace. Tony entertained us with two hours of musical mastery on his faithful Yamaha HX1, interspersed with his usual humorous comments and stories about the cake shop that he and Louise run in Caterick Village. There was a difference this time, though. Tony has added a Midi Module which is programmed with sampled sounds of ALL the pipes of the Blackpool Wurlitzer and I doubt whether anybody could tell the difference between Tony's HX1 and the real thing! A really magical evening.

Our next concert on April 8th. features another old favourite, Jean Martyn, so come along for the best evening out in South Wales.

We tapped our feet to the infectious rhythm of Nicholas Martin. His instrument looked glorious in a new coat of white paint (or Tippex, so he claimed) and he played a wide range of popular pieces which sent everyone home with a spring in their step to match the spring in the air that night.

The concert was preceded by a highly polished set played by Charles Lewis on his Tyros 2 keyboard.

Having enjoyed him 18 months previously, our audience were excited by the return of Pete Shaw. Pete arrived with a Ketron/Tyros set-up with MIDI pedals and an impressive lighting rig. He chose unusual and polished repertoire, with quite a few pieces featuring his smooth singing-voice. Another super evening.

Norman Harris stepped in at the last minute to give a superb welcome spot on the grand piano.

Richard Bower told us to expect great things of Sarah Foley, who Richard has taught. The audience was not disappointed by this talented young lady and look forward to following what must be a sparkling career in the future.

Sarah's concert was preceded in style by a welcome spot played by Roger Martin on Roland Keyboard.

We started a New Year with a familiar artist, in the shape of Richard Bower who played for us on his Tyros Twin. Although this consists of two keyboards and a set of MIDI pedals, this was an organ concert in every other sense, featuring many of Richard's richly individual arrangements from his EL90 days.

The welcome artist was Griff Sage who played a crowd-pleasing selection on grand piano.

December 2006 saw a WORLD PREMIERE at Cardiff Organ & Keyboard Society, when the Cardiff Keyboard Orchestra and Chorus took to the stage under the baton of our secretary, Penny. 12 players and 10 singers had rehearsed all year and they did themselves proud, along with guest soloists Brian Ainsworth, Garry White, Alf Jackson, Griff Sage and Ceri Chick, Tony Kerr and John Barry.

Margaret Hardman gave us a side-splitting version of Little Red Riding Hood, Jack Hardman organised some taxing Dingbats and Vic Cumner-Price hosted a music quiz. With sherry and cake in the interval, the whole evening had a family feel - and what a family! There wasn't an empty seat in the hall. It was a real pleasure to welcome so many new faces.

Those who braved some torrential November rain will have been amply rewarded by this concert from Michael Wooldridge. Mind you, when he came in with the diminutive Roland AT15 under one arm we wondered how big the sound would be. What a surprise! Having programmed his disks on a Roland AT80 he produced a massive and sparkling tone. A real treat of a night, including the now almost traditional spot on the grand piano.

Brian Ainsworth had started off with a foot-tapping set played on his Technics KN6000. We were all looking for Fred Astaire!

The Chairman seldom misses a concert, but he was away for this one. "Oh, you missed a marvellous evening!" everyone told him. Chiho Sunamoto had been with us again, sharing her particularly charming brand of playing and singing. And as an unexpected bonus, her friend and fellow professional Jon Smith accompanied her and provided duets featuring the grand piano and his own impressive singing voice. Truly a concert to savour, was the verdict.

The evening had got off to a flying start with a welcome spot provided by Norman Harris making his first appearance in that role on the club's grand piano.

We're always assured of a night to remember when the bubbly Jean Martyn plays. On her last visit, not only was her programme entertaining and her presentation warm - she did it all in Long John Silver mode. With her left leg in plaster, she left us gasping as she played her usual lively pedal parts with her right leg! We all waved her off wishing her a speedy recovery.

Our concert secretary, Penny Kerr, tickled the club ivories before the show - rather nerve-wracking with a top pianist like Jean waiting to come on!

Was it really ten years since Brian Hazelby had visited our club? And if so, why? He treated us to a wonderful evening of organ and piano music all presented in such a relaxed and humorous way. When he sat at the piano, we were transported by his incredible technique and ability to conjure up the sounds of players of yesteryear - Errol Garner, Fats Waller, Russ Conway et al. A really absorbing evening that made you forget everything but the music.

Our membership secretary, Vic Cumner-Price, got the evening off to a flying start with his polished welcome spot on the Technics KN7000.

July 2006, and our artist for the evening was David Thomas playing the Roland AT80SL. Another red-hot evening both weather-wise and music-wise. There were moments when we wondered who was talking - the organ or David - as he combined the extraordinary hi-tech instrument with his impish sense of humour. An evening of contrasts, with something lovely for everyone.

Our Chairman, Tony Kerr, fired up his Yamaha Tyros 2 to play the welcome spot, and he evidently thoroughly enjoyed himself if his foot-tapping was anything to go by!

We've waited a long time for our visit from Paul Carman. He says it was eighteen years. If it was, it was eighteen years too long.

Paul put together a programme to please everyone on the Orla GT9000, all delivered in a relaxed style with a few well-chosen jokes in between - the sort of jokes that had you smiling next day. And so did the whole occasion. The clamour of requests for his imminent return were witness to that.

Also on Orla was our welcome artist for the evening, Garry White, making his second appearance. Despite having an accident on the way to the club, Garry made sure the show went on, and he played an excellent set on Paul's organ instead of the instrument he had planned to use. There's professional!

We're lucky that our AGMs are short, well-attended and enthusiastic. Of course, this could be because they are always followed by an evening of super music. May 2006 was no exception, with the local talent of Mike Stevens providing us with a toe-tapping evening on his Yamaha PSR8000 and the Club's own grand piano. It was a hot night, but it flew by as Mike showed us just how good the 8000 still sounds.

Tony Stace always plays to a packed hall, still using his trusty Yamaha HX1. On his last visit, he explained that he had added a PSR9000 Pro keyboard but had broken it the night before - and looking at the HX1 that was clinging on by the skin of its teeth as well. But from the tattered remains of his equipment poured the two hours of pure melody which his fans have come to expect, linked by his witty rejoinders. As usual, time flew - and then so did Tony. What a shame these artists have to make such enormous journeys after working late and hard.

The evening was opened by a fresh and exciting set expertly played on the club's own grand piano by Alf Jackson. This recently-introduced 'welcome player' feature is proving extremely popular.

It's always a welcome return when we hear Andrew Nix performing on Roland Atelier AT80SL. Andrew's playing alone would make the evening a winner, but his gentle humour was the icing on the cake. With music in every possible style, the evening flew by.

The welcome artist on this occasion was Charles Lewis playing on a Tyros II. The music was so attractive that Margaret, on the door that evening, was singing as she sold tickets.

Byron Jones (the Welsh Wizard) returned to his homeland to help us celebrate St Valentine's day. The stage was dressed with pink hearts and balloons for the occasion, and Byron pulled out all the stops to add to the romantic ambience. Byron had just returned from having his Wersi Scala updated in Germany and we were the lucky ones to hear it first in its new incarnation.

Brian Ainsworth brought along his Technics KN6500 and provided lovely music for the Welcome Spot, mixing foot-tappers with relaxing ballads.