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Thursday, November 12, 2020
Monday, October 12, 2020
Tuesday, September 22, 2020
Monday, March 9, 2020
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Clef Club’s Appeal To Piano Accompanists
Can you help to ensure the ongoing future of the Auckland Clef Music Club?
Our not-for-profit, amateur, classical music club hass been around for 73 years now, providing aspiring amateur musicians with a platform for performance experience, while at the same time providing regular affordable concerts for those in the community interested in classical and sometimes, lighter, music, but unable to afford to attend professional musical performances. *
* Clef Club’s concerts are on the third Tuesday evening of each month at The Fickling Centre in Three Kings, Auckland.
Like many other similar community-based endeavours, we’ve had to face many changes, over the years, particularly recent competition with electronic enertainment, rising costs of venues etc, to name just a few, but we’ve managed to survive where others have succumbed. However, Clef Club has the added difficulty in that its continued survival is very much dependent on the availability of accompanists to support its vocalists and instrumentalists.
If you are a pianist, we appeal to you for help.
For all of its years Clef Club has relied on the generosity of pianists who, as “honorary” accompanists, have given freely of their time to assist the endeavours of aspiring fellow performers, be they vocalists or instrumentalists. This concept was established in a more leisurely age where there was less pressure on everyone in terms of time, commitments and, indeed, associated expenses and such willing volunteers were happy to receive little but the satisfaction of helping others. At the same time, the vocaists and instrumentalists were themselves less driven by competition and ambition to move into a professional sphere and more inclined to show appreciation and consideration for the assistance they received.
However, we recognise that times have changed and the concept of volunteering time and talent is becoming increasingly rare. We are now at a crisis point where we need to find accompanists to prevent the Clef Club from demise. Therefore, after much discussion and soul-searching about this problem, our Committee feels that it is time to replace the concept of “honorary” accompanists with a new system - a list of pianists willing to accompany at Clef Club evenings on the understanding that while they will not be paid a full professional fee for their services, (taking into account that our performimg musicians are also unpaid for their concert performances), they can at least expect some form of recognition for their services. Some of our Performers have already initiated such tokens of recognition to our existing honorary accompanists and we have intimated to our Performing Membership as a whole that this should become the norm and take the form of a sum of between $20-$30 minimum (or more if possible), for 1x rehearsal and performance, or an equivalent value in petrol/gift vouchers etc, as agreed with the accompanist concerned.
Accompanists willing to make themselves available on this basis for Clef Club Concert rehearsal /performances will not in any way be obliged to provide their services, if the date/time etc is not convenient for them.
Such a system will remove the burden of constant commitment and pressure from a very few willing individuals and serve the dual purpose of forcing performing members to properly organise themselves to engage and cooperate with an accompanist as early as possible before their performance date.
Do you think you would be able to help Clef Club by committing to our “Accompanist List”, on the basis described?
We would be interested to hear from you and please draw this situation to the attention of any other pianists you know, especially younger ones seeking this kind of accompanist experience in a non-judgemental situation, or more mature pianists whose professional work and life/family commitments may be diminishing.
Please contact: The President anneshanksnz@gmail.com
Saturday, February 15, 2020
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