It's very hard to adjust to the enforced way of living at the moment but the worst thing we could be doing with all this extra time is to be squandering it. In the film 'Groundhog Day', Bill Murray's character gets snowed in in a small town and wakes up in the same day every day.... he tries everything to break out of it but nothing makes any difference and eventually he starts to realise that actually there are benefits to the predicament he finds himself in... he starts to help people, saves lives and learns new skills, so that when he eventually does wake up out of it he is a better person, can ice sculpt, speak French and play the piano amongst other things!
Obviously, it's hardly likely that when we do emerge from lockdown we will be experts at ice sculpture (certainly here in Yorkshire unless another 'Beast from the East' moves in to add to the pot), but, we are in the business of music, and music can help people, it can save lives and it is a constant source of inspiration and new discovery. Singing and music will forever bond and be a release for all emotions, from the deepest grief to the most ecstatic joy.
So, as the the title says, time and tide wait for no man, and we don't want to emerge from all of this wishing there were all kinds of things we could've done but didn't! There are a few of our ideas in the melting pot at the bottom of this piece and we'd very much appreciate your feedback!
Tim Knight is first and foremost a composer and is delighted to have more time to dedicate to writing. He has made this piece for Oboe and Piano available on Freescores... as he says.... "Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, so says the song, and Composers got to compose, what started out as a blank piece of manuscript paper and a daydream about a cottage I once had in the Yorkshire dales ended up being this short Oboe and piano piece, not making any great claims for it but its quite pretty and if it passes a few minutes of your time enjoying it, then its work will be done!"
We are also keenly supporting other Northern composers and continuing to make as much of our music available and accessible as PDF downloads. Our latest release out today is a set of two organ pieces by fellow Yorkshire composer, Giles Taylor, which follows on from the success of Giles' first addition to the catalogue, 'Carillon'. 'Prelude and Contemplation' is available as printed copy and for a limited time on offer as a PDF download. Also recently released as printed copies and digital downloads are the beautiful Prayer of St Teresa of Avila, with very apt words for the current climate, and a commission piece, 'Carn Ingli Suite' which is a set of four pieces written for a lady who wanted to rekindle her love of piano playing and capture the Welsh hills and countryside as her inspiration.
If there are any pieces in the catalogue that you would like to be made available as PDF downloads please get in touch and we will hopefully be able to oblige!
So, some of the ideas in our melting pot which we would welcome your feedback are:
a 'Musicians Club' - a members area on the website for musicians to get special offers on new releases and other benefits;
'live' posts and blogs on tips and advice on all things musical - please get in touch with ideas for subject matter;
online courses for music appreciation, music theory, composition and mentoring tailored to meet your individual requirements - please get in touch if you would like to discuss further;
a 'Musical Swapshop' - swapping like for like music, eg, Sacred for sacred; SATB for SATB; organ music for organ music etc - this is still in its planning stages but please let us know if you would be interested;
our 'free music for a recording project' is ongoing - please get in touch if you think you can provide us with quality mp3 or mp4 recordings, preferably accompanied by a video suitable for sharing on our Youtube channel.
Please do get in touch with anything you would like to see us improve in terms of our website, catalogue and services ...