Archive

AJSW Concerts

We organise many concerts per year including London venues as well as Bristol Cathedral and St Georges Int. Concert Venue (Bristol).

More information

All concert and booking of artist enquiries to our society address.

St Sepulchre: The Musicians Church

Although we are no longer holding lunch concerts at St Sepulchre, the Musicians Church, it's history and it's place within the Church of England should not be overlooked or neglected. The Bishop of London signed a document soon after he took up his position granting its special status. Within the church was the 'Musicians Chapel'. The Bishop of London is a traditionalist and has a preference for classical music.

The departed musicians recorded in the Musicians Chapel's Remembrance Book deserve respect. They represent music that has lasted for centuries of the highest order. The musicians we brought there reflected their predecessors' art and musical skills. Sir Henry Wood (buried there) and Dame Nellie Melba (a window dedicated to her) symbolize that the music there should reach for the heights. It became difficult to maintain such standards especially the necessary organizational consistency required for such musicians to give of their best and attract a regular audience at levels conducive to a welcoming and warm environment. From our first concert there on October 31st, 2012 to our last on July 23rd, 2014 enabled some memorable musical moments by a number of remarkable musicians ready to give of their best.

So in memoriam to all those wonderful musicians past and present we mark our place in its history in trying to keep its status and place as intended.

The Musicians' Chapel was dedicated Jan 2nd 1955. A rare recording of a BBC News Item of the historic ceremony was discovered in the church in 2012. The Albert Hall Proms founder Sir Henry Wood is buried in the chapel. He was organist at St Sepulchre when he was 14 before he founded the world famous proms which he conducted for 50 years. Dignitaries, including his successor and friend Sir Malcolm Sargent, attended the dedication leading to St Sepulchre's status as The National Musicians Church.

Musicians' Chapel Dedication
(click on image to play video)

The clip below comes from a 1936 British feature film entitled "Calling the Tune", a story about the development of the gramophone industry, and Sir Henry Wood and his Queen's Hall Light Orchestra, seen here, were among the guest stars.

Sir Henry Wood conducts Shepherds Hey (Grainger)
(click on image to play video)

We thank the National Churches Trust for an article in the week starting 12th July '14 in praise of our efforts at St Sepulchre printed the week prior to our departure!

Please visit their web site at www.nationalchurchestrust.org

Musical Traditions

St Sepulchre's continues to cultivate links to musicians and musical institutions today through The Friends of the Musicians' Chapel, and a wide range of concerts and recitals.

Its musical traditions continue to thrive thanks to the help of Anglo Japanese Society of Wessex (AJSW), the main organiser of lunchtime concerts at the church.

Since 1996, the Anglo-Japanese Society of Wessex has been promoting Japanese culture and Japanese artists in events throughout the Wessex region and beyond, which variously extended from the south west of England to include London and its surrounding area. It also now organises events beyond that region and incorporates musicians from all over the world whilst retaining its original focus.

Godfrey King, Director of AJSW, has been dedicating his time to promoting the excellent talents of young artists from across the globe for over ten years. He said: "After organising hundreds of mainly lunch concerts in London Churches I came to St Sepulchre to build yet another lunch concert programme from October 2012."

"Lunch concerts support the church concert programme where it is hired by various orchestras, ensembles and choral groups. And last September, following an interegnum, the Rev David Ingle was installed as the vicar. Religious services were restored to St Sepulchre's growing reputationbefitting the largest parish church in the City of London. A personal wish is for that to stretch to a new concert grand piano as well!"

"To our lunch concerts the finest musicians come from all over the world to the UK to study, visit or live. Our evening concert 'SHOWCASE' on Friday July 18th of our own AJSW Chamber Music Ensemble 7.30 follows a lunch concert at 1.10 by flutist Yukari Yamamura and pianist Yukiko Shinohara indicating the wealth of that talent. Musicians from Japan, Korea, Spain, UK, Belarus and Bulgaria play for our fourth CME concert."

"Do come join us at St Sepulchre for that 'Great Experience' and help build up our audiences by showing your appreciation of the musicians' talents."