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WHAT IS THE BRITISH MUSIC SOCIETY?
The British Music Society was founded in 1979 by a group of musical enthusiasts, both amateur and professional, who believed in the need for an organisation which by its specific promotional efforts might help combat the generally indifferent attitude then widely displayed by many music lovers in this country towards their home-grown British musical tradition. It was felt that, while a number of the most famous British composers such as Purcell, Sullivan, Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Delius and Britten perhaps did not need special support in this regard, often having individual societies and organisations of their own to help promote their music, many more composers of comparable worth such as Bax, Bridge, Ireland, Moeran and Warlock had written much fine music which was virtually never heard in concert halls and recording studios of the day and deserved fuller promotional attention. Moreover, this small list of names represented only the tip of a very large iceberg of British composers whose music was then little performed.
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Over the thirty years which have passed since the BMS was founded, there has been significant change in the cultural situation just described, due in good part to the Society's pioneering efforts; and a wealth of British music not heard for decades has been rediscovered, particularly through the dissemination of recorded music. But the need for special promotional effort continues, and the aim of the British Music Society remains to encourage and renew international enthusiasm for much British music of the last 150 years or so which is still too often undeservedly neglected.
This aim is pursued through the dissemination of recordings and printed publications issued under the Society's own imprint, and the promotion of lecture-recital series and occasional concert performances for which the Society acts as sponsor. Society recordings are produced on three labels: the BMS main label and its subsidiary BMS Historic label, both available for general sale as well as to members (the latter at discounted rates); and the secondary Environs label, normally made available only to members.
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BMS publications include an annual journal (British Music) and four quarterly newsletters (News), which are distributed to all members as part of their membership. Other publications include individual monographs and occasional books, also available to members at discounted rates and to the general public. The Society's principal live-music activity has been its biennial BMS Awards competition, open to young musicians studying at one of the eight major British music colleges and devoted to promoting performances of rarely heard British music.
The British Music Society currently has over 600 members worldwide. It was granted charitable status (Charity Number 1043838) in 1995.
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Membership Database |
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The British Music Society maintains membership records on a personal computer. These records comprise name, address, phone/fax/e-mail details, and numbers and types of membership. They are used for various administrative functions such as putting members in touch with each other and with other music researchers, preparing statistics, addressing envelopes, recording payments and preparing claims for tax refund on covenants etc. If any member objects to the holding or disclosure of such personal data in this form by the Society, please inform the BMS and any relevant personal data will be immediately removed from the computer records. |
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President: John McCabe CBE Vice Presidents: Dame Janet Baker CH DBE • Richard Baker OBE • Stephen Banfield • Jennifer Bate OBE • Michael Berkeley • Malcolm Binns • Arthur Butterworth MBE • Sir Colin Davis CBE • Giles Easterbrook • Lewis Foreman • Tasmin Little • David Lloyd-Jones • Sir Peter Maxwell Davies CBE (Master of the Queen's Music) • Peter Middleton (Founder Chairman) • Sir Simon Rattle CBE • Betty Roe MBE • Basil Tschaikov • Raphael Wallfisch Benefactor: Michael Hurd Berkeley Medallists: David Burkett • Roger Carpenter • Brian Blyth Daubney • Paul Daubney • John Dodd • Gerald Leach • Stan Meares. |
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