The Viol is Alive and Well in Warwickshire (2004)
On a dark, cold and wet evening in March, my partner Derek and I found the church of St James in the village of Snitterfield, outside Stratford-upon-Avon. The occasion was a concert given by the Warwickshire Youth Viol Consort, directed by MEMF member Jacqui Robertson-Wade. Our unpleasant journey was well-rewarded with an enjoyable range of performances of both early and modern music give by this talented Consort of six young players, all in their teens. Their jazz version of Pachelbel’s Canon required two of the players to improvise, pointing to one of the major similarities between Early Music and Jazz. What was particularly impressive about this concert was that it was given entirely by the children. Sure, Jacqui was sitting at the front and no doubt giving them visual hints about the tuning amongst other things, but this apart, all the ensemble work came from the children and many adult amateur groups would do well to demonstrate a similar level of togetherness, communication and musicality.
I was particularly interested in this concert, not only because some of my ex-pupils are members of the Consort, but because I had been involved in the scheme to teach the viol in schools in Warwickshire almost since the outset. Back in 1999 Jacqui spoke to me about her plans to teach the viol to children. Viols, hitherto expensive to purchase because they were most frequently made to order, were being produced much more cheaply by a factory in the Czech Republic and funding had been made available by Warwickshire County Music Service, as part of their commitment to Early Music, to provide instruments. Since viol-playing primary school music teachers who would understand the needs of viol players were rather thin on the ground, it was suggested that the scheme be piloted at my school in Stratford as I would be able to provide the necessary support. With the Head Teacher’s agreement, the Warwickshire Waits (the Early Music group made up of members of the County Music Service peripatetic staff, including Jacqui) paid a visit to the school. The children were introduced to a range of early music instruments and at the end Jacqui explained to them that there would shortly be an opportunity for some of them to learn to play the viol.
The response was good and in September 1999 the first group of children started learning. Many of them came from my own Year 4 class and this was particularly appropriate since the period of history covered during this year was the Tudors. By the time of our annual summer informal musical event, the children were ready for a performance. Listening along with the audience, I think I was as amazed as many of the parents and other staff at the progress these children had made and the standard of their performance.
Jacqui had already been teaching at the local Music Centre in Leamington Spa since September 1998, enabling older children to take part in the scheme that was originally initiated by the generosity of the Viola da Gamba Society of Great Britain loaning Warwickshire school children instruments. Sadly, illness forced me to retire from teaching in 2001 and I was no longer able to provide support within the school. However, Jacqui has kept me in touch with the progress made by my ex-pupils. Even Susie who couldn’t sit still was doing well !!!! I’ve also been able to help her with her project to write and publish a series of progressive viol tutors for beginners of any age. That’s the problem when you are a pioneer – you have to produce your own materials!
The number of schools involved in the project increased with children in deprived areas of Leamington Spa being targeted under the Government’s 27b Standards Fund and four years later there were sufficient children of a high enough standard to form the Warwickshire County Youth Viol Consort. They accepted invitations to perform at a number of venues, including a summer concert at Luddington Church, just outside Stratford-upon-Avon. In October 2000 I arrived at Shire Hall for a presentation evening to teachers who had taught in Warwickshire for a minimum of 25 years. Immediately my ears tuned in to the sound of the viol consort providing the background music. From 2000 to February 2004 the County Viol Consort have performed at many venues including Warwick Castle, Charlecote Park, Birmingham Conservatoire, Trinity College of Music, London, the Shipley Festival, West Sussex at the Early of Lytton`s invitation and many more.
At the end of February this year, the Viol Consort participated in the Music for Youth Regional Festival at the Birmingham Conservatoire. Sadly they were not selected to perform at the National Festival in the Royal Albert Hall but it was an experience for them just as much as for those children listening who had never heard of a viol.
Jacqui approaches the teaching of the viol to young people with a missionary zeal, anxious to increase the awareness of the instrument. The fact that one of her pupils, Sean Flanagan, has been accepted to study the viol at the Trinity College of Music, is testament to her hard work.
She is a committee member for the Viola da Gamba Society specifically for viol players under twenty-one and would urge anyone under that age to join the society. All youngsters under the age of sixteen have free membership and will be part of a database of viol players – the next generation. There is a special page in the newsletter featuring anything to do with the viol and youngsters.
Jacqui is now planning a National Viol Day for children in November 2005, the focus for this being a conference to be held in Warwickshire. Watch this space ………. I’ll keep you informed.
Gillian K. Grason (Viol Player and Primary school teacher at Bridgetown School, Stratford-upon-Avon)
September 2004