Tuesday 11th

What a day...
Set off mid-morning for Dorking and the Surrey Performing Arts Library where I had an appointment with Peter Baxter, the Senior Librarian , there.
http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/SCCWebsite/sccwspages.nsf/LookupWebPagesByTITLE_RTF/Surrey+Performing+Arts+Library?opendocument

The library is attached to a Winery (why not?) http://www.denbiesvineyard.co.uk/ and is situated about 15 minutes walk from Dorking station, in the countryside.
The premises are quite crowded and as they lend a lot of performance score sets to local groups and via ILL there was a lot of public space taken up for this. Sets can be ordered on line. There is a large collection of librettos for musicals, miniature scores and chamber music for groups.
The library covers not just music , but dance ,theatre and cinema as well. As well as music scores they lend play sets to groups and they charge for this service, so as to generate income. It is £20 per annum for Surrey Groups and £25 for those outside Surrey.
Choral TV and Radio programs have boosted the interest in choir singing and so choral scores are very popular , as are enquiries about individual song titles. They also provide Jazz packs for Jazz ensembles , children's music sets and orchestral sets for schools.
There is not the same volume of material published for enquiries on Dance , however. The library receives a lot of enquiries re social dancing enquiries .
The Library has to purchase material through their ordinary suppliers ,which is a pity as there are so many specialist suppliers in the UK. As a result, they often have to wait lengthy amounts of time and often miss out on some of the better material .
The staffing consists of the Senior Librarian, a Librarian, the Library Manager (who organises the front desk etc) and one and a half library asssistants. There should be two and a half assistants, so they are working with ne person less than they should have. They have several volunteers , including the former Senior Librarian.
Upstairs is the Vaughan Williams room with special collections and displays . There is also a practice piano with headphones. There is a special Shakespeare collection
Sadly they do not have a lot of electronic resources and the Library Service does not subscribe to Grove on-line. It was axed from the overall budget and the Performing Arts Library does not have the money to fund it.
The Library has a very active 'Friends' Group which organise talks etc and help with funding.
There is a basement with storage space and the IAML Library is there. They also have a stack in a local drill hall.
Their community information area is in the foyer and features predominantly local groups of which there are many. It is great to have all this info. collected in the one place. They also have a 'Clash' Diary book in the foyer which I thought was a fantastic idea. Individuals and Groups can write performance dates and details in the diary and this helps to prevent the same music etc being performed on the same date or around the same time. This would certainly help in Sydney !
All in all, considering budget and staffing limitations, it was my impression that this library is a wonderful service for the general public. This impression was born out by the famous trumpeter Crispian Steele-Perkins who I met later that night at a concert, and as he had been in the library that morning, I discussed it with him briefly.

So, I had a very worthwhile visit to Dorking and headed back for London about 4p.m. (It is dark by 4.30 ) and made my way to Barbican tube station to attend an organ and trumpet recital at a very quaint institution called 'Charterhouse' It is a home for elderly gentlemen and the site was a priory in 1371 and consists of Tudor buildings etc. A truly British Institution.
The organist was David Hill, conductor of the London Bach Choir and the BBC Singers and formerly Director of Music at Westminster and Winchester Cathedrals, and St John's College , Cambridge. David has been to Australia 11 times and I first got to know him in 1989 at a Brisbane RSCM Summer School and again in 2005 at the Sydney Summer School.
Crispian Steele-Perkins, the trumpeter, has also been to Australia and my goddaughter and her husband got to meet him when he performed with them in Australian Baroque Brass. Since they moved to London he has given them work , so I really wanted to meet him, which I did.
The audience was not huge and the chapel is quite intimate . The organ is a Walker organ and a very fine instrument, although not easy to play.
The concert was wonderful and afterwards I was invited for drinks with the residents and then when that finished David and I met at the pub to catch up on news etc. He was impressed with my research project and thought it a very worthwhile thing to be doing.
So it was a lovely evening and I got home after midnight!