FIFE ELECTRONIC ORGAN SOCIETY

Concert Attendance Statistics ( Sept 08 – April 09 )

Date            Artiste              Members        Temp Members         Comp Tickets                 Total

Sept 08      Longhawn Trio       93                                                      3                         97

Oct 08      Andrew Nix           112                   1                                  8                        121

Nov 08      Chris Powell          113                  2                                  7                        122

Dec 08      Chiho Sunamoto      78                   1                                  16                        95

Jan 09      Chris Stanbury        104                  3                                  14                       121

Feb 09      Mark Thomson       117                   2                                  31                       150

Mar 09      Ian House              110                   6                                  13                       12

April 09      Key Klix              102                       8                              34                       144

Average Attendance = 122                                      Comp Ticket Uptake = 35.8%

Membership = 176               Jun Membership = Nil             New Members = 12

FIFE ELECTRONIC ORGAN SOCIETY

Concert Attendance Statistics ( Sept 2009 – April 2010 )

Date         Artiste              Members    Temp Members    Comp Tickets                        Total

Sept 09    Pete Shaw             107               4                                20                       131

Oct 09      Dave Smith            92                 4                                17                       113

Nov 09      Tony Stace            122               4                                32                       158

Dec 09     Paul Carman            113               2                                7                         122

                    Jan 10      David Thomas

                    Feb 10      Brett Wales

                    Mar 10      Dirkjan Ranzijn

                    April 10     Penny Weedon

Average Attendance = 131                                      Comp Ticket Uptake = 21%

        Fife Electronic Organ Society

January 2010 Newsletter

          www.feos.org.uk/

December Concert 

A newcomer to the Society, Paul Carman sent us home happy after an entertaining evening. He cleverly interposed stories and jokes between his musical items and held our attention. Paul is a very talented player and arranger and also played one of his own compositions, namely “Janette” which pleased the audience. His programme was wide and varied, covering ballads, old standards and marches, all of which were played with style and great sounds on his Orla Organ. He is a true professional and was well received by a very appreciative audience.

Subscriptions        

As we are now into the second half of our season, anyone joining the Society now, will only have to pay £5, half of the annual subscription of £10. Previous members who have not joined so far this season will find a subscription form enclosed with this newsletter.

   Supper Dance

Tickets are now available for our Supper Dance on Friday19^th March 2010 in the Victoria Hotel, Kirkcaldy. This is always a very enjoyable evening with a great band. If you would like to book tickets, they are available on concert nights at £19 each, or direct from Maureen McInnes, 2, Allan Street, Leslie, Fife, KY6 3LA,  Telephone 01592 741553. Maureen’s help is greatly appreciated.  

Web Site

Our excellent web site is still up and running, www.feos.org.uk/  where you will find information about the society and details of items for sale and wanted. If you wish to make any comments regarding concerts or the society, or wish to buy or sell a musical instrument etc., send details to George Taylor at info@feos.org.uk 

January Concert

We start the New Year with our first concert on Wednesday 13^th January 2010, when we have a return visit from organist and entertainer, David Thomas. Like many other professional musicians, David’s interest in musical instruments started whilst at secondary school when he took up the Trombone. This led him to play in School Orchestras, a Dance Band and later, the local Youth Orchestra which all went side by side with taking both practical and theory of music examinations. However, he found that practicing the Trombone was a very un-fulfilling task, and it was around this time in the late 70’s he found an old “Trench”, fold away Harmonium tucked away in his grandparents house and began experimenting with it. He then decided that he would like to try something more up to date and eventually laid his hands on a keyboard. He is certainly glad he made the change from “Blowing” to “Tickling”, and in the many years since, has appeared with many of Britain’s top Organists and at many prestigious venues. He has also played on Radio and been the subject of Personality Profiles in Home Keyboard Review and other magazines. In 1982, he helped to get East London and Essex Organ Society off the ground at their first meeting and he is now their Honorary President. In 1988, David became resident Organist for London Borough of Barking, at its Broadway Theatre, where he provided pure “Dance Music” (Ballroom, Latin, Disco, Sequence and Old Time) for monthly Tea Dances. He now works as a freelance Artiste/Demonstrator for the renowned Roland Company, with their range of “Atelier” (French for Workshop) Home Organs. David’s “On the Road”, equipment currently consists of the fabulous “state of the art” Roland ATELIER AT900-C Organ, retailing at £20,999 along with a VP-550 Vocoder and high quality amplification system. To enhance an audience’s enjoyment, David also uses a performance camera and screen with graphics. Sounds like a concert not to be missed.

   Members Playing Night

Our Members Playing Night on 4^th November went very well with eight different organs and keyboards being played. The ten members who played, from our youngest, Gareth Urch, through to one of our oldest members gave us a very enjoyable evening of music. Only 25 members turned up, and 10 of them were playing, which was a bit disappointing considering the time and effort they put in for our benefit. 

   Demonstration Concert in Kingdom Centre

Our Demonstration Concert in the Kingdom Shopping Centre, Glenrothes, went very well and we had a fair amount of interest shown in the society. Tony Stace did a great job keeping the music going and it all helped to encourage quite a few more people to come along to our concerts, as was evident at the Tony Stace concert on 18^th November. We thank the Kingdom Centre Management for their assistance, also all our committee and members who helped to make the day the success that it was.   

November Concert     

Well, this was truly a great concert! We were entertained regally by one of the best professionals on the organ circuit. Tony Stace held our attention from “start to finish” with his musicianship and the ability to choose a programme which catered for all tastes. The programme included well-known classics by Mozart, Mendelssohn and Beethoven and several lively “Latin American” selections, which along with a “Sousa Selection” and the “Dambusters” had our feet well and truly tapping. Tony showed his love of Strauss in his wonderful interpretation of waltzes and polkas, reminding us of the graceful past. In short, it was a wonderful concert, enjoyed by a very appreciative audience. We will certainly have him back!

Supper Dance

The Victoria Hotel, Kirkcaldy, is once again the venue for our Supper Dance on 19^th March 2010. If you wish to attend what is always a great night, tickets are priced at £19 and can be booked at each concert.

Subscriptions

Most of you have paid your annual subscriptions of £10 for this season, but for anyone who has not yet paid, please pay by 31^st December, otherwise this will be the last Newsletter that you will receive.

December Concert

Our next concert is on 2^nd December 2009, just a fortnight since our last one, due to the main hall at Glenwood High School being required for the schools Christmas activities later in the month. Our guest artiste on the 2^nd Dec. is Paul Carman, who is a very talented and professional musician and entertainer. He was born in Leicester in 1962 and has played the organ since he was 12 years old, having started when his father purchased the first family organ, a Hammond VS350. He was offered six free music lessons and that was the start of his musical career. Then two years later at age 14, he took first prize at a Midlands Art Festival beating many semi-professional players. Music was not his only passion, and as a keen footballer he achieved the dizzy heights of a trial for Leicester City on the same day as school friend Gary Lineker. However, he eventually decided that there was more potential in music on the basis that only the chosen few make it in football. Since then he progressed to being a demonstrator for Goodwin Organs, followed by a move to another Italian manufacturer, Gem. When he was 22, he fulfilled his ambition to work for Yamaha, first as a demonstrator and then went on to Regional Manager, before leaving to form his own software company. It was whilst working with software that Paul made acquaintance with the Orla Organ Company with whom he has worked until the present day. He works closely with fellow Orla personality, Paul Wise of Emswell Organ Store in Suffolk, and both are heavily involved in the research, design and development side of this very popular organ range. He has his own studio and still finds time to teach up to 30 pupils a week on organ and keyboards. He is best known as a prolific concert artiste with a varied repertoire and easy listening style which is a firm favourite with so many music lovers. His programme typically covers all genres from “March and swing time” to some of the greatest love songs as well as movie themes and traditional organ favourites. His unrivalled wit always evokes a sea of laughter from a crowd and he appears to be a thoroughly nice guy and a delight to spend an evening with.

October Concert

   Dave Smith is a man with a wealth of musical expertise and his concert on 14th October truly lived up to

   his pre-concert “build up” in the October Newsletter.  His programme was very varied, covering such

   diverse tunes as, “Tea for Two”, “Stranger in Paradise” and “April in Paris”, along with a collection of

   “Classics” and  “Old Standards”.  Dave sang “Amore” and accompanied himself on a “Controller

   Keyboard”,  which was quite different and very entertaining. His performance of both “Schindler’s List”

   and “Nessum Dorma” were outstanding. The audience enjoyed the “Sing-a-long” medley containing

   “old favourites” such as “Magic Moments”. Dave finished off a great concert with his own arrangement

   called “Armistice” and received well-earned applause from a very appreciative audience.

   Members Playing Night

Members Playing Night is on Wednesday 4^th November 2009, and will be held in the small canteen at the far end of the main school corridor. If you would like to bring your keyboard or organ along, you can play any type of music you like during the first half of the evening, and again after the break. Time allowed for playing will depend on how many members wish to play. If you intend to play, please phone our Concert Secretary, Nicola Penny on 01592 206982, who will co-ordinate the arrangements.

   Demonstration Concert in Kingdom Centre

Our Demonstration Concert in the Kingdom Shopping Centre, Glenrothes, will be held on Tuesday the 17^th November 2009, in the area known as the Unicorn Square, which is situated roughly in the middle of the main shopping mall. Professional organist Tony Stace, will be playing for us in 20 minute intervals from 11 am until 3 pm. We hope to bring our society to the notice of the passing shopper’s, by handing out leaflets giving details of our concert dates, with a view to encouraging people to come along to one of  our concerts. If you happen to be in the area that day, come along and say hello.

November Concert     

We look forward to our next concert, on Wednesday 18^th November 2009, which brings us a welcome return visit from Tony Stace. Like many other professional organists, who showed an interest in music at an early age, Tony started playing on his father’s T500 Hammond organ when he was 9 years old. His father taught him all he knew and within a year he went on to receive private tuition. When he was 13, his father bought him an ELKA E49 and they enjoyed it so much that they often stayed up till 2-3 in the morning playing – his mum wasn’t impressed with that, of course. At 14 he started entering various competitions and after winning a local Yamaha competition, he also came second in a National competition at the Library Theatre, Solihull, playing a Yamaha HS8 and won £125, which at that age was like winning the lottery. With further success at competitions, including the Wersi European Finals at Frankfurt, he got in touch with Grant Neal who allowed him to start off an evening concert for 25 minutes at Caister, near Yarmouth. It was then that his career really kicked off, but he was working at his father’s Bill Posting Company at the time and playing at concerts in the evening was eventually too much. As it was starting to affect his hands, his father persuaded him to try playing full time. At 22 he was asked by Grant Neal if he would like to play on the Blackpool Wurlitzer which was an amazing experience for him and later that year (1997), was asked to play at the Swiss Organ Festival in Lenk. Since those early years, his career has gone from strength to strength and he received the Trophy for Keyboard/Organist of the Year 2003-4, which is a two year award and received it again, for 2005-6.

You will enjoy his wide repertoire of music and his very friendly personality.

             October 2009

                                                                       Newsletter

September Concert

On Wednesday 16 September we welcomed back Pete Shaw from Wales. Pete was performing on a Tyros 2

   (with foot pedals) and a Ketron keyboard, all of which produced a stirring sound. He is a likeable and a very

   talented musician who entertained us with jazz, latin, big band, film themes, marches and popular classics.

His tributes to both Oscar Petersen and Stephane Grappelli were outstanding and he interspersed his

instrumental pieces with several vocals, which were much appreciated by a responsive audience. In all, it

   was an excellent start to our concert season and we look forward to having Pete back in the future, hoping he

will bring the same fine weather with him!

  Membership Cards and Complimentary Tickets

There were a few teething problems with the new system on our first concert night but with a little fine tuning of the system it should be ok.  We introduced the Membership Card Monitoring System as we considered it necessary to have accurate attendance records in order that we can report back to Fife Council on how many people benefited from the Grant that we received from the Council.

The checking of Complimentary Tickets has been set up to monitor the effectiveness of our complimentary ticket system.

The correct figure for attendance at our first concert was 132 members and visitors, 23 of them being new members, so that was a good start to our new season.

Demonstration Concert in Kingdom Centre

In an effort to increase our membership, the committee have been working towards holding a demonstration concert in the Kingdom Shopping Centre, Glenrothes. We applied, and have been awarded, a Culture Grant from Fife Council towards the cost of staging it and we have had meetings with the Kingdom Centre Management regarding our plans, and they have been very helpful. As a result, we can now confirm that this concert will take place on Tuesday 17^th November 2009 in the Unicorn Square and that Tony Stace has kindly agreed to play there for us from 11 am until 3pm at 20 minute intervals. Hopefully, people will stop and listen for a short while and we will hand out leaflets with details of our concerts this season. Tony will also be playing for us the following evening, 18^th November 2009 at our concert at Glenwood High School.

October Concert          

Our next Concert on 14^th Oct. is a return visit from Dave Smith who is one of the most highly respected organists on the organ playing circuit. Like many other professional artistes who have played for us, Dave started playing piano at a very early age and at 7 years old entered his first competition which was organized by the silver haired star-maker Carrol Levis. Encouraged by his father to take classical music lessons, he eventually sat the entire eight grades of the Associated Board Piano Examinations and passed all of them with distinction. On leaving school at 16 he joined Swan’s, the biggest of all the Manchester Organ and Piano dealers as an organ technician. He was allowed to take a break for two summers to be personal pianist and musical director for showman, Peter Webster at the Central Pier in Blackpool and in the Theatre on the Pier. This experience led him to become musical director in many cabaret clubs in and around Manchester and also a meeting with Eric Delaney who invited him to be keyboardist and musical director. Two years later he formed his own band, namely The Dave Smith Sound and played all around the North West.

In 1974, he was appointed manager of a local music shop, E.D. Brown Organs of Bolton, at the same time performing at many organ societies and making several recordings. Dave eventually joined the Lowry Organ Co. as Artist for the European Operations, playing at venues and trade fairs all over Europe and USA.

In 1979, he was promoted to Marketing/Special Artist and in 1983 was made Keyboard Marketing Manager for Lowry in Europe. Following a spell in Chicago, as Director of Product Planning and Development, Dave was asked by the President of the Roland Corporation, in Japan, to form a Research and Development Department for Roland’s keyboard products, concentrating on the new Roland Atelier Range of organs.

He has now returned to the showbiz scene and is Musical Director to the very successful three tenors - “Tenorissimo” and other organisations. With a background like that, you don’t want to miss this concert.    

New Season 2009

While we have all been waiting on the scorching summer that we were promised, the many weeks of rainy mixed weather have rolled in and here we are already, heading towards the start of another season of concerts. Once again, our concert secretary, Nicola Penny has managed to book a very good choice of artistes to entertain us during the coming months. We have a return visit of some well known names we have enjoyed in the past, as well as some who are paying us a first visit. As you will see from the enclosed programme, the first concert is on Wednesday 16^th September 2009 at 7.15pm and is held in the usual venue, Glenwood High School, South Parks Road, Glenrothes.

To start our season off, we have a welcome return visit from Pete Shaw, who is one of the most versatile player/performers around. A very talented and experienced musician, he is one of the country’s top players and will be entertaining us on his Ketron Keyboards. Pete is well respected in the organ/keyboard business with which he has been associated for over 28 years .He is based in North Wales where his studio is equipped with Ketron/Korg and Yamaha Keyboards. Demand is high for his quality tracks and arrangements, both by fellow musicians and artistes alike. Do come along and enjoy listening to Pete, who is a very professional artiste and we are sure you will not be disappointed.

Subscriptions

If you have already paid your subscription for season 2009/2010, your receipt will either be enclosed or will be available to collect on the first concert night. For those who have not paid yet, a subscription form is enclosed just to remind you. Subscription is £10 per member and if you can send it in to the Treasurer, Margaret Foster, 32, Cedar Drive, Glenrothes, KY7 5TL, this will save congestion on the first  night.

Entry to concerts for members is still only £3 which is very good value these days. Non members pay £6.

We have introduced Membership Cards for each individual member for the new season and each member has a membership number. Please bring your Membership Card with you, to be shown as you pay your concert entry fee. If you forget, we will not stop you attending the concert, but it helps us to identify anyone who is not a fully paid up member.

Complimentary Tickets

Each member has been given two white complimentary tickets which are numbered on the back, while committee member’s tickets are coloured. If, you give one to a non member or visitor to attend a concert, - write your name, and also, the non member or visitors name on the back of the ticket where it says “Issued By”, and “Used By”. If the non member or visitor eventually joins the society, you will be issued with two free members passes to the 2009/2010 season, when they pay their membership and hand in a New Member’s voucher.

.

Web Site  

Our Web Site address is www.feos.org.uk/ and you can view any information about the society from committee members to concert dates, also comments and items for sale. If you wish to add a comment on concerts or the society in general, or to advertise an instrument for sale as well as anything you are looking for contact George Taylor at info@feos.org.uk

Annual General Meeting

The Annual general Meeting was held on 13^th May 2009 at Glenwood High School.

The Chairman thanked the 27 members including committee, for attending and said that as this was above the minimum quorum of 15, the meeting could go ahead.

A copy of the AGM Report is included with this newsletter and you will see that the Society actually ran at a slight loss during the past season. However, we did receive a grant from Fife Council of £942 towards the cost of artistes fees for season 2009/2010 which will be a great help to us financially. With this in mind, it was agreed that we keep our annual subscription at £10 and the entry fee to concerts at £3 for next season.

As the Chairman, Bob McInnes was resigning, the secretary George Gibb was proposed, and he accepted the post of Chairman while also continuing as secretary. Jack Graham was proposed as Vice Chairman which he accepted while continuing to do Publicity. The committee remains the same otherwise with Bob McInnes and George Taylor staying on as committee members. The committee work well together, helping each other out with the many different tasks that have to be undertaken to keep the society running.

At present, we have 11 committee members, if anyone feels that they could contribute to the running of the society and would like to join the committee, they would be most welcome at any time.

It was agreed at the AGM to introduce membership cards and new complimentary tickets. An incentive scheme will also be introduced to try to encourage more new members, see AGM report.

Members Playing Night

We had a good Members Playing Night on 3^rd June 2009, even though only 22 members turned up.

Eric George played on his Yamaha tyros 3 keyboard, Jonathan Murphy on his Kawia X 20, Jack Graham on his Yamaha Tyros 2, George Shaw on his Korg PA 2. Robert Watson, Drew Hutchison and Nicola Penny on the Yamaha Electone EL 90 with Yamaha PSR 8000 connected. The players entertained us to a wide selection of music and styles with many well known songs such as “Kisses for Me”, “And I Love You So”, “Three Coins in the Fountain”, “Ye Banks and Braes o’ Bonnie Doon”, the theme from “Maigret”, “Delilah”, “Land of Hope and Glory”, “My Foolish Heart”, “Just the Way You Are”, and “You Raise me Up”. Although only a small number of members attend Members Playing Night, it is a very enjoyable informal evening giving members the chance to have a good chat with each other and discuss keyboards etc.

Subscriptions

Enclosed with this newsletter is a subscription form for next season, if you can pay your subscription before our first concert on Wednesday 16^th September 2009, this will save a lot of work on the first night. Subscription is £10 and you can send it to the Treasurer, Margaret Foster, 32, Cedar Drive, Glenrothes, KY7 5TL, Telephone 01592 745146. You can, if you wish, pay everything up front ie., £10 subscription plus entry fee to all 8 concerts which would be £10 + (8 x £3) = total £34. If you have already paid, please ignore the subscription form. Receipts for those who have paid will be sent out with the August newsletter.

Once again, the Society has booked top class organists for next season and we hope to see as many members as possible back again for some great nights of entertainment.

Web Site

   Our website address for information is www.feos.org.uk/   To comment about concerts, sell a musical instrument or find sheet music etc., anything at all,  send details to George Taylor, at info@feos.org.uk

   Concert in The Mall

The Society can to apply to Fife Council for a Project Grant which is available to various groups and organisations. We intend to do this to enable us to book an organist to play in the Glenrothes Shopping Mall, in November 2009, during the daytime for a few hours to try and get more people interested in the Society.

April Concert 2009

Our last concert for this season gave us a big surprise, as not only did we have Richard Bower to play for us, we also had Ian Griffin. Richard, who we had booked to entertain us, had been playing the previous evening in Edinburgh with organist, Ian Griffin, his musical partner, as the duo “Keyklix” Our concert secretary, Nicola Penny, who had been at their Edinburgh concert along with a few other members, got chatting to them and managed to persuade Ian Griffin to come along to our concert and play alongside Richard as Keyklix. As we all heard, they are very professional, even though they never get a chance to rehearse together because they stay so far apart. When they first met, they discovered that, when playing together, they just seemed to “Klick” and were able to compliment what each other was playing, whether it was the melody or the accompaniment. Richard, who comes from Lancashire,  played on a Yamaha Tyros 3 (Digital Work Station) and separate Yamaha piano keyboard, while Ian, who comes from Wales and did most of the talking, played on a Ketron XD9 (Advanced Live Performer) and a Ketron SD5 keyboard. They gave a great performance, beginning with “Begin the Beguine”, then “Is This the Way to Amarillo” followed by the Andy Williams favourite “Solitaire”. A touch of Country and Western, was next, then “You were always on my Mind”, “The Lady is a Tramp” and also some Latin American music. As it was 20 years to the day since the Hillsborough football disaster, they played “You’ll Never Walk Alone” as a tribute to the 95 football fans who lost their lives that day. The second half consisted of requests they had asked for from our audience and we certainly gave them quite a selection. They then played the requests non stop for the whole of the second half, which is quite something and was very entertaining. We have had an excellent choice of organists playing for us this season, all very professional, even the two newcomers, Mark Thomson and Ian House were very talented and were well received. We feel that we have given excellent value for money and hope that with your continued support we will have as good a season next year.

.

Annual General Meeting

Our Annual General Meeting will be held on Wednesday 13^th May 2009 and a copy of the agenda along with a copy of the Chairman’s Report is also enclosed. In previous years the turnout of members to our AGM has been rather poor except for last year when we had 25 including the committee attended. As our constitution states that we require a minimum attendance of 15 members before an AGM can commence, we hope for a reasonable turnout to ensure the continued running of the society. This is when you can contribute to any new proposals and air your views and suggestions on any aspect of how the society is organised and run. Our Chairman, Bob McInnes has indicated that he wants to step down from his position, which he has held for many years, although still wishes to remain on the committee. Also, Mary Cook resigned from the committee recently due to family commitments and therefore we need to try and elect a replacement member. However, please do not stay away from attending the AGM for fear of being coerced on to the committee as there is never any pressure on anyone to do so. You can contact the Secretary, George Gibb, Telephone 01592 264820, or email www.georgegibb@blueyonder.co.uk  anytime if you require further information.

  Web Site

   Our website address for information is www.feos.org.uk/   but if you wish to comment about concerts, sell a

   musical instrument or find anything at all, contact our Vice Chairman , George Taylor, at info@feos.org.uk 

   Members Playing Night

Our next Members Playing Night is on Wednesday 3^rd June 2009 and will be held as usual, in the small canteen at the far end of the main school corridor. This evening is free entry and anyone is welcome to bring their organ/keyboard along to play a few pieces of music for members to enjoy. If you are not interested in playing, do come along and support those who are, so that they feel their efforts will have been worth while.

March Concert 2009

Our March concert brought us another first visit to our society, this time it was Ian House who played for us on his Roland Atelier AT 900 organ. Ian is quite a talented musician considering he is only 19 going on 20, to use his own words. The Roland Atelier does produce a lovely sound, although on the night, Ian had set the volume perhaps a little bit loud sometimes. He made good use of the many different sounds and effects his instrument could produce, giving us “Taking a Chance on Love”, (Big Band Style), “The Toy Trumpet” (Brass Band Sound) and “Canadian Capers” (Theatre Organ Sound), to mention a few. The Roland Organ produced a lovely viola sound when he played “Cavaleria Rusticana” and his version of various ways of playing “Chopsticks” was well done. He played a wide selection of music and coped well with all the different rhythms and styles, although he tried sometimes to play too many notes on the keyboard which tended to blur the basic composition he was playing, one example being “Riverdance”.   Ian is a very likable young man, who still has many years of experience to gain on the concert circuit, but with time, that will come and we are sure he will become even more professional in his playing in future. He entertained us very well with his choice of music and we are sure that we may invite him back again in a few years time.

Fife Council Cultural Grant Scheme

The committee applied to Fife Council to see if we could be considered for a Grant towards the cost of bringing international artistes to Glenrothes and their accommodation fees for season 2009/2010. Following discussions with Fife Council, our application was accepted and at the meeting of the Fife Grants Panel on 12^th March 2009, we were awarded a grant of £942, which is great news for the society.

Annual General Meeting

Our Annual General Meeting will be held on Wednesday 13^th May 2009 and if there is anything that you feel you would like to suggest or discuss, then contact the Secretary George Gibb, Telephone 01592 264820, or email www.georgegibb@blueyonder.co.uk  so that we can put it onto our AGM agenda.

  Web Site

   Our website address for information is www.feos.org.uk/   but if you wish to comment about concerts, want

   to sell a musical instrument or are trying to find sheet music etc., anything at all, send your comment or

   details tour Vice Chairman ,George Taylor, at info@feos.org.uk  and he will transfer them to the website.

   April Concert

Our next concert is on Wednesday 15^th April 2009 and brings us a return visit from Richard Bower who is a very experienced organ/keyboard player. You may remember that last year, Richard stepped in at the last minute for our March 2008 concert when the organist Kerry Stanton had to cancel her date with us due to illness. Although it is only just over one year since he last played for us, he had already been booked to play this month as our bookings are confirmed at least a year ahead. He has, however, assured us that he will present an entirely different programme of music for us to enjoy. Richard was born on 21^st March 1966 and has played the organ since he was 10 years old. At 16 he won the Home Organist of the Year Award and on leaving school decided to follow a career in music. He has appeared on BBC Radio and TV, and in 1986 he joined forces with another young organist, Ian Griffin, to form the duo called Keyklix. Richard founded Harmony Cottage Audio, a fully digital recording service dedicated to helping young organists produce professional quality cd’s at affordable prices. In 1988 he was appointed as freelance demonstrator for Yamaha-Kemble Music (UK) and is actively involved with the development of new Yamaha instruments. It will be interesting to see what combination of Yamaha instruments he brings along for us to hear this time.

................................................................................................................................................

February Concert 2009

We had a great turnout of members and visitors to our February concert, in fact the highest number so far this season, and for those of us who did attend, we were not disappointed. On his first visit to our society, the young Mark Thomson proved how very professional he already is, as he entertained us on his Yamaha EL-90 organ. He gave us a programme filled with just about every musical style and tempo you can think of, from orchestral to Jazz, Classical to Dixie, Latin to Boogie, even Hungarian and Japanese music, to the delight of everyone in the audience. Mark used many different instrumental effects as he played familiar tunes like “Coronation Scot”, “Five Finger Boogie”, “My Way”, and “There’s No Business Like Show Business”. The” TV Themes” medley was good as it had us all trying to remember the TV programmes they related to.  Marks version of “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square” deserves a special mention as it was beautifully arranged and performed. The “Pomp and Circumstance March”, “Forgotten Dreams”, a medley of sixties music, and a selection from the musical “Les Miserables” and many others were all included. Mark brought the evening to a close with a final encore of “Nessun Dorma” from the opera by Puccini, ending a great concert which had everyone talking about how good an organist Mark Thomson was, and we are sure you would want us to have him back again in future.  

Members Loyalty Scheme

We are considering a Members Loyalty Scheme, starting in September 2009, whereby if you attend six concerts after the first one you would get free entry to the last concert.

Also, for next season, as you already get two complimentary tickets with each years membership, we would like to offer you, two free Members Passes to concerts for the 2009/2010 Season, if you invite a visitor using your free Members Complimentary Tickets, and they join the society! When they pay their membership and hand in a “New Members Voucher”, you will be issued with two complimentary “Members Passes” for use this season. All those proposals will be discussed at our Annual General Meeting.    

Annual General Meeting

Our Annual General Meeting will be held on Wednesday 13^th May 2009 and if there is anything that you feel you would like to suggest or discuss, then contact the Secretary George Gibb, Telephone 01592 264820, or email www.georgegibb@blueyonder.co.uk  so that we can put it onto our AGM agenda.

Web Site

   While our website address is www.feos.org.uk/  if you wish to comment about concerts, want to sell a

    musical instrument or are trying to find sheet music etc., anything at all, send your comment or details to

 our Vice Chairman ,George Taylor, at info@feos.org.uk  and he will transfer them to the website.

 March Concert

Our next concert is on Wednesday 18^tth March 2009 and brings us another first visit to our society of a  young organist who is rapidly making a name for himself on the electronic keyboard scene. Coming from a very musical family, Ian House started to learn keyboard when he was 7, after seeing his sister playing piano. After progressing to grade 5, he started to lose interest and when his teacher suggested he might like to try the electronic organ, he took to it like a duck to water. Starting with a Yamaha HS8 Electone he continued taking his grades and became interested in theatre organs. Having had a small amount of time on a local instrument he eventually entered the American Theatre Organ Society (ATOS)’s young organist of the year competition in Woking, playing on a fantastic Wurlitzer pipe organ and won the competition in 2003. Later on, having decided to focus more on electronic instruments and preparing for his grade 8 exam, Ian visited Swift Music and bought a Yamaha EL 90.While he was there, Nick and Margaret Swift took an interest in him and offered him a job as sales assistant. Working there introduced him to the music retail business and the organ circuit, and with constant support and training from the Swifts, his music really progressed. Now at age 19, Ian has achieved his performance diploma from the London College of Music. He now plays on Roland Atelier organs and assists Roland with the development and on-going promotion of the instruments. Let’s give Ian House a warm welcome on his first visit to Fife Electronic Organ Society. 

January Concert 2009

Our first concert of 2009 gave us a welcome return visit from Chris Stanbury, a fine young man who is now a top class professional organist. This was his fourth visit to our society and you can see why we asked him to come and play for us again as he gave a superb musical performance on his Yamaha Stagea ELS- 01c organ, a very new and modern looking instrument, one of only six in Britain. Chris played a wide variety of musical styles, some with very intricate arrangements and instrumental sounds which demonstrated the work he had put into his programme. His orchestral and big band arrangements were perfect as were the jazz and classical pieces, while his version of Bohemian Rhapsody had everything in it. We enjoyed music by Strauss, Glen Millar, Ted Heath, Burt Bacharach, and songs made famous by Bill Haley, Nat King Cole, Matt Munro and Dusty Springfield.  “Tico Tico” and “The Flight of the Bumble Bee” played together was well done and “The Root Beer Rag”, Rhapsody in Blue” “Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head” were all memorable tunes we all enjoyed. With a final encore of “Land of Hope and Glory”, Chris certainly gave us a superb concert and proved what a truly professional artiste he is, one we are sure we would all like to hear again sometime in the future.

Dinner Dance

Tickets are still available for our Annual Dinner Dance on 13^th March 2009 at the Victoria Hotel Kirkcaldy, and cost £17.50.  They can be obtained on concert nights, or direct from the Treasurer, Margaret Foster, 32, Cedar drive, Glenrothes, KY7 5TL, Telephone 01592 745146.

Annul General Meeting

Looking a bit farther ahead, may we remind you that our Annual General Meeting will be held on Wednesday 13^th May 2009 and if there is anything that you feel you would like to suggest or discuss, then contact the Secretary George Gibb, Telephone 01592 264820, or email www.georgegibb@blueyonder.co.uk

February Concert

The next concert on Wednesday 18^th February 2009 brings us the first visit to our society of an up and coming young organist, Mark Thompson, who won the Young Theatre Organist of the Year in 2002. Mark has been playing electronic organ since the age of seven, and at nine years old joined the Technics Academy gaining various grades, also entering local competitions, finally managing to reach the area finals in 1999. He was later taught by Chiho Sunamoto at the Yamaha School of Music and eventually began playing concerts at the age of fifteen. At present, Mark now travels around the country playing the Yamaha EL-90 and also plays two nights a week in a band called “Wallstreet”. He also does work as a rehearsal pianist for five operatic societies as well as in the orchestra for their annual shows. Having recently begun work as musical director for two musical theatre companies, he must be worth listening to, so do come and support him on his first visit to our society. If you can, please invite some friends along as well to enjoy evening.

December Concert 2008

The international organist, Chiho Sunamoto came along to entertain us for our last concert of 2008 on 3^rd December despite some very doubtful weather which had the committee worried as to whether she would make it to Glenwood High School.  But, make it she did, and played for us on her Yamaha Electone EL 900m Organ and Yamaha Tyros 3 Digital Work Station. A good turnout of members and visitors braved the very cold weather to hear Chiho play a wide selection of music, some of which she accompanied vocally with her excellent singing voice. Opening the concert with a selection of Christmas songs like “One Horse Open Sleigh” and “Jingle Bells”, Chiho followed this with the topical  “Mama Mia” by “Abba” and then “All That Jazz” from the musical” Chicago”, which was very good.

Film themes played, included “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Out of Africa”. The second part of the evening started with more Christmas carols and then we had music by “Queen”, “Glen Millar”, “Barry Manilow” and “Gershwin”.  The concert was brought to a close with an excellent version of  “Highland Cathedral”. Chiho gave us a very enjoyable evening’s entertainment with some quite complicated arrangements to accompany her music which was much appreciated by everyone who attended.    

  Subscriptions

Although all subscriptions were due to be paid by 31^st December 2008, the committee have decided that any members who have not renewed so far this season are invited to come along and join us again for the second half of our season for a reduced subscription fee of £5.00, to see if we can encourage more members to come back to our concerts. This would start from our next concert on 14^th January 2009.

   Dinner Dance

Tickets are now available for our Annual Dinner Dance in the Victoria Hotel Kirkcaldy on 13^th March 2009. Tickets cost £17.50 and there is an excellent menu which can be seen on concert nights. Tickets are available each concert night and also from Treasurer Margaret Foster, Tel. 01592 745146. 

  Website

We are always looking for more information for our website, including photographs of interest, comments on concerts, organs, keyboards, anything at all, also items for sale or wanted. Contact our website co-ordinator, George Taylor on www.feos.org.uk/

  January Concert

The first concert of 2009 is on the 14th January, and brings us a return visit by Chris Stanbury, who will be playing on his Yamaha Stagea Organ. Chris’s first visit to our society was, as a teenage student, he played a short introductory piece before the main artistes took over, at our millennium concert in the Rothes Halls.  Since then, when he has played for us on previous occasions, we have witnessed how he has progressed to become a top class professional organist. Chris puts great effort into his arrangements and his left hand skill really has to be seen as well as heard, as we hope our cameras will show. Try not to miss this concert as his choice and variety of music covers all tastes in music and is sure to please everyone. Come and be entertained and enjoy the company, also, bring a friend along as well if you can.  

November Newsletter 2008   

Members Playing Night

The first Members Playing Night of this season was a very enjoyable and informal evening for the twenty members who came along on the 5^th November.  Six members brought their keyboards along which allowed us to hear, and also see close up, instruments such as a  Yamaha Tyros 2,  a Technics KN 6000,  a Yamaha Portable Grand DGX 620,  a Kawai X20  and a Roland VA-7. Standard of playing was very good and members enjoyed a wide selection of music, styles and effects.

   November Concert

International Organist, Chris Powell was the guest artiste for our November concert and he certainly gave us a very professional show. He played for us on what he called his “Brand New” Roland AT900C instrument which enabled him to bring a huge selection of sounds and voice effects into his music. He entertained us with music in many styles and tempos that suited all tastes, from Brass Band to Pipe Music, Country and Western to Light Opera,  Bosanova to Quickstep. We had music made famous by The Carpenters,   Johnny Cash,   James Last,  Cliff Richard,  The Shadows, and Bobby Darin, with songs like  “On Top of the World”,  “Ring of Fire”,  “Elizabethan Serenade”,  “Summer Holiday”,  “Wonderful Life” and  “Things”, to name only a few.  His rendition of the Shadows tune “Foot Tapper” had very authentic guitar sound and his Blackpool Tower “Wurlitzer Organ” selection was also realistic. Ending the concert with a selection of seafaring songs and then some wartime favourites, his final encore gave us “The Radetzky March” by Johann Strauss.  Although Chris has entertained us many times before he is always guaranteed to give a great performance and his fingering speed was absolutely stunning to watch on some of the pieces he played, which was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone present.

   Dinner Dance

Tickets for our Annual Dinner Dance on 13^th March 2009 at Victoria Hotel Kirkcaldy are now available on concert nights at Glenwood High School where you can also see the excellent menu.  Price of tickets is £17.50, and they are also available from Treasurer Margaret Foster, Tel. 01592 745146.

   Subscriptions

If you have not paid your subscription yet for this season, we would ask if you could please do so by 31^st December 2008, otherwise this will be the last newsletter that you will receive  

   December Concert

Our next concert is on 3^rd December 2008 and brings us a welcome return visit from Chiho Sunamoto, who has recently been described as the Vanessa May of the keyboard world. Originally from Matsuyama in the South of Japan, Chiho began learning piano at the age of three and progressed at the age of nine to the local Yamaha Music School to learn the art of organ playing. She studied opera singing, piano and classical organ at St. Katerina University and became one of the youngest people to pass Yamaha’s top exam, Grade 3 Music Diploma. After leaving university, Chiho toured as an overseas demonstrator for Yamaha, performing in 37 countries and eventually settled in the North East of England where she teaches piano and organ. She is the only female in Europe to hold Yamaha top exam passes in Piano, Organ and Music Fundamentals. Chiho also sings and has a lovely smile and sunny personality which guarantees anyone attending one of her performances to have a most enjoyable time.

October Concert 2008

Our October Concert was presented by Andrew Nix, a very relaxed and professional organist who entertained us with his choice of music and Yorkshire humour. He brought along his Roland Atelier Organ, AT-900c, which had excellent sound quality and a host of special effects. Although he started his programme with “The High School Cadets” March, he played many slower tunes such as “The Wind Beneath My Wings”, “Moon River”, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” and also “True Love”, from “High Society”. A selection from the musical “Les Miserables” and a few Irving Berlin songs completed the first half.  “March of the Cobblers” got us off to a good start for the second half and this was followed by the Bette Midler song “The Rose”, and then “The Music Box Dancer”. A trumpet solo with backing gave us “Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom Time” and “Oh My Papa”, followed by “Fly Me To The Moon” in Bosanova Tempo. The evening was rounded off with a selection of “Irish” music and also a few songs made famous by “The Beatles”, such as “Can’t Buy Me Love”, All My Loving” and “Yesterday”. With the various sound and voice effects Andrew brought into his music, he certainly gave us first class entertainment which was much appreciated by those of us who attended the concert.

Members Playing Night

Our next meeting is Members Playing Night on 5^th November 2008, a little earlier this season due to how the concert bookings had to be arranged. This evening will be held in the small canteen at the far end of the main school corridor as normal. If you wish to play, bring your keyboard along if you can manage it, if not join us to hear how good some of our members are. Nicola Penny will be co-ordinating the evening so give her a phone or leave a message on 01592 206982 to let her know you intend to play.  

Concert Attendances

Attendance at the last two concerts have been have been rather low which is a worry for the committee and can be disappointing for the artiste who is playing. We must try and encourage more people to come along to our concerts.  If you did not receive complimentary tickets along with your subscription receipt as you should have done, let us know at the next meeting/concert or phone the Treasurer Margaret Foster on 01592 745146, as we ran short of tickets at the time of sending them out. Remember you can e-mail your comments or views to our web site www.feos.org.uk/ or speak to any committee member.

   November Concert Date

The next Concert is on 19th November 2008 and brings us a visit from Chris Powell who can be described as an international ambassador in the field of electronic and theatre organ music, having played in numerous countries around the world. He grew up in Lancashire and pursued his love of music with piano and organ studies culminating with a string of engagements for local concerts and dances from the age of 14, and by the time he was 18 had successfully joined a team of organists playing for dances at the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool. Since then Chris has widened his talents to include work as a demonstrator for several manufacturers including Farfisa, Orla and more recently Roland with whom he is now associated on a freelance basis as a demonstrator. We look forward to his visit when he will be performing on the new Roland AT-900C which is a top class instrument.

 SEPTEMBER CONCERT 2008                                  

The first concert of our new season brought us a welcome return visit from The Longhawn Trio who travelled up from York to play for us after visiting Dumfries Organ Society and then moving on to Stirling Organ Society the following evening.  The three brothers, David aged 23, Richard 19 and Martin 18, gave us a most enjoyable concert with a good variety of music styles, with perhaps more prominence on piano sounds rather than organ and other sound effects. The four instruments that they played on were a Yamaha Electone EL900 Organ, a Yamaha 9000 Professional  Work Station,  a Roland RD-150 Piano  and a Yamaha PSR 8000 Keyboard  while Richard also played Alto and Tenor Saxophone. The oldest brother David, had a good rapport with the audience in his usual lively style and their selection of music covered many well known favourites starting with  “In the Mood,  “ Music to Watch the Girls By”,  “Careless Whisper”,  “Lets Face the Music and Dance”,  “Dixieland Medley” and “Elvis Pressley Medley”. After the interval we had music from “The War of the Worlds”, also the Ted Heath Band number “The Swinging Shepherd Blues”, and then in the style of The James Last Band “Games that Lovers Play”. The Dave Brubeck number “Take Five” followed, along with some Country Music, the Tom Jones favourite “It’s Not Unusual to be Loved by Anyone”,  “Tangerine”,  “This Old House”, “Goody Two Shoes”, concluding with a selection from “Snowhite and the Seven Dwarfs. It was a rather low turnout of members for this concert which was a bit disappointing for us and our visitors, but those who were there did enjoy a very good evening and we even had more comfortable seating which made it so much  better.

Your Committee

Two of our members have agree to be co-opted onto the committee and they are Mrs. Mari Black and Mr. Bill Matthews. We welcome them on board and hope that they will enjoy helping with the work of the society and prove to be valuable additions to our team which is now a committee of twelve members.

Please make good use of your complimentary tickets to bring more people to our concerts as we really need to increase our membership which is not as high as it used to be.

Web Site

Remember our Web Site address is www.feos.org.uk/  and you can use it anytime to send comments about concerts or the society, also you can enter details of musical instruments for sale or details of anything you are looking for. You will also find our monthly newsletter on the site plus details of visiting artistes etc.

   October Concert          

   Our next concert is on October15th when we will be entertained by Andrew Nix, who has established himself on the organ circuit not only as a musician but also an entertainer. His varied musical repertoire and Yorkshire humour has made him one of the countries favourite performers. He became interested in organs at the age of ten, eventually going for lessons and although he was taught by two teachers (one being classical) he soon developed his own style. Shortly after leaving school he was offered three nights a week playing in a local club accompanying various artistes and played for dancing. This proved to be excellent training and at 17 years old was appointed organist and musical director for a theatre group performing at Butlins. After a further three seasons with Butlins and one with Haven Holidays           , Andrew became fully freelance as he was increasingly in demand for concerts and dances nation-wide on both Theatre and Electronic Organs. In May 2000 Andrew started performing on a Roland Atelier and now currently tours with the fantastic AT80-SL as one of Roland UK’s (freelance) artistes. Andrew fell in love with the richness of the Atelier producing crystal clear sounds perfect for his wide range of styles. Try not to miss this concert as you will be enthralled by the range of sounds which are an asset to Andrews programme, all played in a refreshing style and presented with his own brand of light hearted humour.

                                  August                                    Newsletter 2008

New Season

We are fast approaching the start of our new season which starts on Wednesday 17^th September 2008, and we would like to welcome everyone back again to enjoy the concerts we have arranged. The committee are looking forward to meeting you all again, especially any new members, who have recently joined the society. Our Booking Secretary has, as always, booked an excellent choice of various artistes to come and entertain us on a variety of organs and keyboards. Concerts are still held in Glenwood High School main hall and commence at 7.15pm.

First Concert Night

Our first concert on Wednesday 17th September brings us a welcome return visit from The Longhawn Trio who gave us a very entertaining programme two years ago. They are three very talented brothers who hail from York and all share a keen interest in music. David, who will be 23 years of age now, plays organ/keyboard/piano also violin/viola and electric/acoustic guitar. He enjoys arranging music and has won many competitions up and down the country as well as gaining success in electronic organ examinations.    Last time we saw him he was a little hyper when he was announcing each piece of music, maybe he was just a bit nervous in front of our large audience. Hopefully he will be more experienced now at talking in front of an audience. His playing certainly showed no lack of experience with some of the more difficult pieces he chose to play. His younger brothers, Richard, 19 and Martin, 18 are very talented also on organ and keyboards, Richard sometimes plays the saxophone either solo or to accompany his brothers on keyboard and piano. He has also achieved merit in piano and saxophone exams. Martin, the youngest enjoys playing all styles of music and has also achieved success in piano, organ and music theory exams as well as winning several trophies for his playing. Last time the three of them played on four different organ/keyboard/piano instruments and our cameraman, George Taylor, did not know which one to focus on, and so, instead of static camera set-up, decided to man the camera and follow the action as it happened which has been a great success at every one of our concerts since.  We are sure The Longhawn Trio will give us a great concert to start off our new season.

Subscriptions                                        

   Subscriptions are now due and for those of you who have not yet paid, a subscription form is enclosed. If you have already paid, please ignore this. Subscription this season is £10.00 per person and admission to concerts is £3.00 which is still very good value taken over the whole season. Please send your subscription to our Treasurer, Margaret Foster, 32 Cedar Drive, Glenrothes, Fife, KY7 5TL (Tel. 01592 745146) as this saves a last minute rush on the first concert night. If you have paid and have not received your receipt and complimentary tickets, they should be available to collect on the concert night

This newsletter has also been emailed to those of you who gave us your email address. When you receive it click on “attachment” or the paperclip symbol to view it. If you have not received it by email please inform the secretary George Gibb, Tel .01592 264820, or email georgegibb@blueyonder.co.uk   If this is successful we will send newsletters etc. by email instead of posting them, to those who gave their email address.