An appreciation of HRH The Duchess of Kent, by former Making Music Chief Executive Russell Jones.
It seems hard to believe now, but in the late 1980s the standing of leisure-time music-making in the UK was not as highly regarded as it should have been. At best it was thought of as 'second rate' — despite the enormous contribution singers, instrumentalists and music club administrators offered their communities.
The National Federation of Music Societies (NFMS), as Making Music was known back then, undertook a deliberate policy of recapturing the true meaning of the word amateur and championing the extraordinary work societies were undertaking. This work received a great boost when composer Peter Maxwell Davies accepted the NFMS's invitation to become President in succession to Sir David Willcocks. Max was of course a huge advocate for leisure-time music and had written for all sorts of community groups.
In 1992, the NFMS's leadership then focused on the vacant position of Patron and thought was given to finding someone who would be truly supportive of the cause. There is nothing as powerful as an idea whose time has come and the obvious candidate was HRH The Duchess of Kent. The Duchess was not only a huge music fan, but also a NFMS choral society member, no less than The Bach Choir. She was a regular attendee at Monday rehearsals in Westminster.
Like all her patronages, The Duchess threw herself into supporting our work and her first engagement as Patron, in October 1993, was to attend 'A Concert for Alfreda' promoted at the Wigmore Hall in London by the NFMS to celebrate the life and work of the contralto Alfreda Hodgson. Alfreda had sung with hundreds of choral societies throughout her career, which was cut tragically short by cancer.
Writing in the program The Duchess said, 'The National Federation of Music Societies' commitment to the promotion of live music and the work of young artists is well known and I am delighted that my first engagement as Patron expresses the Federation's important work'.
At that Wigmore Hall evening, I had a moment of panic when I was told The Duchess' car was pulling up fifteen minutes early! The foyer was still full of people and the line-up of those due to be presented to her was not in place. As I greeted her at the door she could obviously see the chaos going on behind me. The consummate professional that she was, she proceeded to engage me in conversation and questions about the Federation and the evening ahead for a good five minutes whilst order was established. I had my back to all this running around and couldn't tell when it was safe to take her in but she could and when she saw all was well she said 'I think we can go in now'.
Another cause close to The Duchess' heart was the Cancer Relief Macmillan Fund with which the Federation teamed up for Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 1995. One of the highlights of the year was a concert given by Spanish tenor José Carreras in aid of the NFMS and his own Leukaemia Foundation. During the concert a car was raffled and the lucky winner received the keys from Carreras and the Duchess at the end of the concert. Carreras gave the lady winner a huge hug and. not to be outdone. The Duchess came forward and said 'Don't I get a hug too?'.
Her message on that night was also spot on: 'For any of us to reach our Diamond Jubilee is a significant milestone in our lives. Throughout its sixty years the National Federation of Music Societies has strived to serve amateur musicians and maintain a strong and dynamic relationship with professional musicians for the benefit of music throughout the United Kingdom'.
She was a delightful lady, a great supporter and I think she truly loved being our Patron as she could relate so personally to the work we did. We were lucky to have her and her patronage helped the cause of advancing the status of leisure-time music-making which Making Music continues to do so well some thirty years later.
Russell Jones was Chief Executive of the National Federation of Music Societies from 1987-1997. He now manages Orchestra Lumos, a symphony orchestra in the United States.
