City Music Society

City Music Society is a London-based music society founded in 1943 during the wartime period when informal and accessible concert activity was helping sustain cultural life in the capital. Its formation was influenced by lunchtime concerts organized by Hilda Bor at the Royal Exchange and by the widely recognized performances associated with Myra Hess at the National Gallery. Ivan Sutton was the principal driving force behind the Society's establishment. He received assistance and encouragement from Bor, who became a vice-president, and from Edric Cundell, then principal of the Guildhall School of Music, who became the Society's first president. The Society's first recorded event was a lecture by Cundell at the Guildhall School in December 1943. Its first concert followed in January 1944, featuring the Morley College Choir. In its early years, the organization used several London venues, including the Chartered Insurance Institute and the Royal Exchange. Sutton subsequently secured permission from the Goldsmiths' Company to use Goldsmiths' Hall for a series of three evening concerts in autumn 1946. The following autumn, the Society's lunchtime concerts moved from the Guildhall School to the Bishopsgate Institute. The opening concert at the new venue, given by pianist Louis Kentner, drew a capacity audience. The combination of evening concerts at Goldsmiths' Hall and Tuesday lunchtime concerts at Bishopsgate Institute became the recurring framework for the Society's activities. Within that framework, City Music Society developed a program intended to serve both established performers and musicians at the beginning of their professional careers. Its programming policy has consistently sought to introduce outstanding young artists, many of whom later achieved international recognition. This emphasis gives the Society a role not only as a presenter of chamber and related classical music but also as a platform for professional development. The Society has also supported composition through commissions. Its historical program included new works by a diverse group of British composers, with the available account describing an average of approximately one commission every three years. Named composers associated with these commissions include Roger Smalley, Nicholas Maw, Diana Burrell, Richard Rodney Bennett, Elizabeth Maconchy, Phyllis Tate, Robin Holloway, John McCabe, Geoffrey Burgon, Peter-Paul Nash, Kevin Volans, and Michael Berkeley. By the period described in the reference material, City Music Society was staging approximately 26 concerts per year and had presented more than 2,000 lunchtime and early-evening concerts. It completed its 60th-anniversary season in April 2004. The Society is therefore best understood as a long-running cultural institution and concert presenter rather than a commercial consumer brand. Its identity rests on continuity of programming, support for new and emerging talent, commissioning activity, and its historic relationship with central London venues. Its archive is held at Bishopsgate Institute, providing an institutional record of its activities.

City Music Society was established in London in 1943, with Ivan Sutton as the main organizing force. Its origins lay partly in the wartime tradition of accessible daytime concerts, including events associated with Hilda Bor at the Royal Exchange and Myra Hess at the National Gallery. Bor supported the Society's creation and later served as a vice-president, while Edric Cundell, principal of the Guildhall School of Music, became its first president. The Society began with a lecture by Cundell at the Guildhall School in December 1943. Its first concert, a performance by the Morley College Choir, followed in January 1944. Early concerts were held at a number of London locations, including the Chartered Insurance Institute and the Royal Exchange. A significant venue development came in autumn 1946, when Sutton obtained permission from the Goldsmiths' Company for three evening concerts at Goldsmiths' Hall. In autumn 1947, the lunchtime series moved from the Guildhall School to Bishopsgate Institute, where pianist Louis Kentner opened the new series before a full audience. The Goldsmiths' Hall evening concerts and Tuesday lunchtime concerts at Bishopsgate Institute subsequently formed the regular structure of the Society's public work. Its activities expanded beyond the presentation of established performers. A central feature of its policy was the engagement of highly capable young professional artists at the beginning of their careers. The Society's historical account notes that many such performers later gained international standing, making the organization an important early platform within London's classical-music ecosystem. Commissioning has been another continuing part of the Society's history. It has supported new compositions by British composers, historically commissioning approximately one work every three years. The composers identified in the available account include Roger Smalley, Nicholas Maw, Diana Burrell, Richard Rodney Bennett, Elizabeth Maconchy, Phyllis Tate, Robin Holloway, John McCabe, Geoffrey Burgon, Peter-Paul Nash, Kevin Volans, and Michael Berkeley. This activity placed contemporary British composition alongside the Society's broader concert program. The Society's scale by the early twenty-first century was substantial for a specialist concert organization. It was presenting about 26 concerts annually and had accumulated more than 2,000 lunchtime and early-evening concerts. Its 60th-anniversary season concluded in April 2004. The Society's archive is held by Bishopsgate Institute in London. The available reference material does not provide a current leadership roster, detailed financial information, or a full account of activities after that anniversary period.

• 2004

  Sixtieth-anniversary season completed

  [1]City Music Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The Society completed its 60th-anniversary season in April 2004.

• 1947

  Lunchtime series moved to Bishopsgate Institute

  [1]City Music Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The lunchtime concerts moved from the Guildhall School to Bishopsgate Institute, opening with a capacity-attended performance by Louis Kentner.

• 1946

  Evening concerts established at Goldsmiths' Hall

  [1]City Music Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The Society secured use of Goldsmiths' Hall for three evening concerts in autumn 1946.

• 1944

  First concert

  [1]City Music Societyen.wikipedia.org

  The Morley College Choir gave the Society's first concert in January.

• 1943

  Society founded in London

  [1]City Music Societyen.wikipedia.org

  City Music Society was formed in London, with Ivan Sutton as its principal founder and organizer. Hilda Bor supported the initiative and Edric Cundell became its first president.

• 1943

  First lecture

  [1]City Music Societyen.wikipedia.org

  Edric Cundell delivered the Society's first event, a lecture at the Guildhall School of Music in December.

A longstanding London concert society combining accessible daytime and evening classical-music programming with support for emerging artists and commissioning of contemporary British composition.

• Concert programming · 1944

  Lunchtime concert series

  The Society's lunchtime concerts became a defining part of its program. After early events at the Guildhall School, the series moved to Bishopsgate Institute in 1947, where Tuesday performances provided a recurring platform for professional musicians and an accessible format for London audiences.

• Concert programming · 1946

  Evening concert series

  Evening concerts developed through the Society's relationship with Goldsmiths' Hall, beginning with a three-concert series in autumn 1946. Together with the lunchtime program, the evening series supplied the regular framework for the Society's concert activities.

• Contemporary music commissioning

  Composer commissions

  City Music Society has commissioned new works from a range of British composers. The available historical account describes a pace of roughly one commission every three years and identifies composers including Elizabeth Maconchy, Nicholas Maw, Richard Rodney Bennett, Diana Burrell, John McCabe, Kevin Volans, and Michael Berkeley.

1. 1City Music Societyen.wikipedia.org