In such a vibrant environment, it is sadly ironic to have to report that only one of our three Centres, Bournemouth, continues to hold a successful series of meetings that are well supported by a wide range of its own membership, visitors from adjacent Centres and some non-members. Congratulations are due to the members and officials of the Bournemouth Centre for their continuing successes.

During my 18 months’ tenure of the office of Regional Councillor, the Portsmouth Centre has remained dormant and the Southampton Centre has become so. Despite, in both cases, a number of efforts by former committee members and others in both those areas to reconvene quorate meetings, it has not proved possible. Indisputably, one of the impediments to the revivification of the two dormant areas is the very high commitment our members make to the multitude of musical events in which they are asked to engage.

Even as I write this inevitably short report, I am well aware that the number of dormant Centres across our Regions is considerable, with understandably dispiriting effects upon some of our members and colleagues. However, we are not alone amongst many national professional bodies, societies and organisations that are finding times challenging, and in the South we are not unaccustomed to facing and meeting challenges in adventurous ways. I have been careful to keep in touch with individuals across the region and am reassured by their high levels of commitment especially to music-making in all its forms. Given the many and often increasingly frenetic demands upon the time of individuals and communities as a whole, we should not be surprised that it is difficult to recruit new committee members and officials to undertake the extra levels of personal commitment that such roles demand.

However, undaunted, I and other ISM colleagues and friends in the region, confidently supported by staff at Head Office, are planning further initiatives in the New Year 2008 that may help to revitalise our dormant Centres, led by Regional meetings and activities for which there is an identifiable demand.

Pupils’ Concerts still remain the most popular events in this Region. There are also some problems at present with getting sufficient members interested in serving on the Centre committees and taking office.

Jane Rigby has stepped down as secretary for Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Centre, as have several of the committee members. At the recent Annual Centre Meeting a completely new committee was elected. This Centre held a Rebecca Ledgard Children’s Workshop which was well attended by lots of children who thoroughly enjoyed the day. There was also a concert given by Elizabeth Watts, in which she gave a recital of songs by Purcell, Michael Head, Britten, Thea Musgrave and Geoffrey Bush, which was enjoyed by those able to attend. Another Vocal Workshop/Masterclass with Jane Highfield, held in conjunction with the University of Warwick music department, also proved exciting.

The Staffordshire Centre, despite having a very small committee, have been able to put on several interesting events. A talk by Paul Harris was very well attended, as was Lucinda Mackworth-Young’s workshop. The annual Pupils’ Concert attracted several more teachers with a wide variety of performers. Carol Woods has stood down, as she has been secretary for many years, and we hope a new secretary will be found at the ACM to be held fairly soon. A coffee morning was also held recently, and although it was not very well attended, those who did come commented that they appreciated the social aspect and being able to chat about problems with other teachers. Another coffee morning is planned for 7 January 2008, and the annual dinner will be held on 18 January.

The Birmingham Centre has had a complete new change of officers and committee. Sarah Daniels took over as secretary and Andrew Gough was elected as the new chairman at the ACM. This was followed by a concert in celebration of the Centre’s composer members, including Andrew Downes and Kerry Milan, who were the outgoing chairman and secretary. Unfortunately, the Annual Dinner to be held in March had to be cancelled due to lack of support which was a great pity. The Senior and Junior Pupils’ Concerts were well attended and also a Late Starters Concert held at the home of Katherine Hey. A buffet lunch is planned after the ACM to be held in November, followed by a recital by Carl Hickman, who has been an ISM member for 50 years, and some of the senior students who performed at the previous concert.

These Centres all have members who are dedicated and willingly give their time to benefit others in their area. Please do try to support your local Centre’s events: I am sure you will find much to interest you.

The Lea Valley Centre is thriving. Many of its events involve music-making: on one occasion Music in Harmony; on another, Madrigal Singing. Two concerts were needed for all the members’ pupils wishing to perform in June 2006. Adult pupils gave recitals in May 2006 and April 2007, and there was an Advanced Pupils’ Concert in November 2006. At the intriguingly-titled Writes and Wrongs in Music Theory, David Patrick discussed the ABRSM theory examinations. Many Lea Valley events involve supper parties and social gatherings, usually with informal music-making. Events involving pupils are well supported, but others less so. Committee members work hard for these occasions, which often take place in their homes. Special thanks go to secretary Anne Allan, who is stepping down, and to chairman Shirley Woods.

The Reading Centre has had some memorable meetings. In 2006, Paul Harris reached a large and appreciative audience with How to Improve Sight-Reading; the first Young Musicians Concert, at Newbury’s Majendie Hall, had an audience of about 60 for the consistently excellent players; the summer outing to the Watermill Theatre enjoyed Hobson’s Choice; Anthony Williams amused his audience at the ACM with a talk on how NOT to teach!; and there was a Pupils’ Concert in Reading and a piano masterclass with Paul Roberts. The past year has been equally busy. In February, Nigel Wilkinson talked about the new ABRSM piano syllabus, but attendance was disappointing; in March a repeat of the previous year’s Young Musicians’ Concert proved enjoyable but not up to the same standard; a pub lunch in July attracted 15 members for good food and sunshine; and the ACM in October, preceded by lunch at Anne Nunn’s home, heard Colin Bradbury talk about Conductors Great and Small, with recorded excerpts and fascinating reminiscences. Thanks go to Teresa Ardagh-Walter and Anne Nunn for running the Centre so successfully.

The St Albans Centre has struggled to get members to events: Pupils’ Concerts have often been supported solely by committee members plus the performers’ families. Nonetheless, the summer dinner at Benslow in June 2006 was a joyous affair, culminating in Songs for a Summer Evening performed by Beryl Foster and Shirley Woods. October’s ACM was to be followed by a ‘bring and sing’ Brahms Requiem. Unfortunately, only enough to sing four- part madrigals turned up! Susan Sims had been secretary and treasurer for several years and felt she could no longer do both jobs. I pay tribute to Sue for her hard work, and also to Alan Vening, who recently retired as chairman. A Friday night social evening last February in Hatfield proved popular: there was no music, but plenty of socialising and a buffet supper with wine. New faces and new ideas emerged: members with young families commented that it is easier to come out on a weekday evening than a weekend afternoon. Having become secretary, I hope to have an ACM before the end of 2007 – on a weekday evening with a seasonal theme! I am confident that the St Albans Centre will rise again.

‘One of the main aims of the ISM’, as November’s MJ said, ‘must be to provide musicians with a broader context than they encounter in their daily lives’. The world is changing fast, particularly with the internet, but we in the ISM still have a significant local role to play. Through our unique networking system, we offer events reflecting changing ideas and raising awareness of issues affecting our musical lives. I am confident that the three Home Counties Centres will continue to thrive, and I thank all the committee members for their dedication and hard work.

The three Centres in the North West Region are Lancaster, Liverpool and Manchester. They have very different backgrounds, and membership numbers are about 100 in each of Lancaster and Liverpool and near 170 in Manchester. The widespread Lancaster combines rural and isolated areas as well as urban centres such as Blackburn, Lancaster and Kendal. The other two Centres are city bred with the competition of big events easily reachable for individuals. The theme common to all three Centres, however, is a crying need for support and response from their members to ISM events. The one event which does draw interest is Pupils’ Concerts.

Talking with Lancaster chairman Frances Prince and secretary John Perrin, I sympathised with their difficulties in finding suitable venues – good halls with reasonable pianos are rare in the area and £350 hire fees are not viable. After some difficulty, a new secretary has come forward to replace John after his six-year term. The chairman is frank in expressing her misgivings about the viability of the Centre, but I am glad to report that she has agreed to continue for another term. She has also taken the decision, ‘in the interests of maintaining standards’, to hold one event annually, making it a Pupils’ Concert. The spread of the Centre over rural distances, plus the demand on local teachers and musicians for local events, creates its own loyalty priorities. Nevertheless it is good to know that the ISM flag will be determinedly flown in Lancaster.

Liverpool is an energetic and enthusiastic Centre which has had six committee meetings and four events since their ACM last February! I shared their disappointment at the poor quality of the speeches offered by their guest speakers, representing the City of Culture Planning Committee, addressing their annual dinner guests last March. We were offered no concrete information on celebration events for 2008. In the light of further enquiries, the Centre has decided not to host a Centre event as part of the City celebrations. The charge of a side room in the newly refurbished St George’s Hall at £1,000 plus was hardly encouraging. An innovative event during the year was a ‘house concert’ for beginners: performers included five adult student beginners. It proved very positive for the performers as well as the teachers. Liverpool seems to have created a positive ISM community in that large city.

In Manchester, from the 2006 ACM in September 2006 with a wine tasting, to our 2007 ACM in October with our Young Musicians’ Platform competition prizewinners’ concert, it has been a busy year. On the whole, events such as our annual dinner with guest speaker Jonathan Vaughan, director of the NYO, and finally our YMP competition, have been successful. However, their success is very much dependent on committee members giving much personal time and energy to organisational demands and personally using their own methods of persuasion for attendance! We do, however, open our events to guests and non-members, especially in the YMP event, which this year attracted 43 entries and was supported during its day by a good and encouraging audience – hopefully reaping new members. We welcome all new members and look forward to their suggestions in meeting the challenges of 2008.

Since my last report in May 2006, the West London Region (which consists of the single West London Centre) has successfully run a number of varied events. In June, Charlotte Ellis, our chairman at the time, organised a visit to the Dolmetsch family home in Haslemere for a talk and recital on recorders, viols, cello and harpsichord, preceded by a picnic lunch. This was our main summer event, though Wendy Plowright had hosted a garden party and buffet supper the previous week. We have unfortunately recently lost Wendy from our committee; we all enjoyed a ‘farewell barbecue’ in her garden on a summery afternoon at the end of September.

At the 2006 ACM, Charlotte stood down as Centre chairman and Ivor Flint took over. We were pleased to welcome our Centre member Colin Bradbury, ISM President for 2006-07, on this occasion, and Mary Bruce gave a short Schumann recital. Our later autumn event took place in Rosalind Leney’s lovely studio in Bedford Park, where Paul Harris inspired a large audience on the subject of sight-reading. Winter events this year consisted of Pupils’ Concerts. The first was for adults, and was held in Charlotte Ellis’s studio; this was an enjoyable evening, with the music followed by refreshments and wine provided by the committee. The March concert for children and teenagers took place in a new venue, St Helen’s in North Kensington. This hall proved to be entirely satisfactory and we plan to return next time. We continue to need young non-pianists!

Our July trip to Finchcocks in Kent was described with enthusiasm by Ivor Flint in the September issue of Music Journal, and we may well visit it again next summer, in order that more young people may experience this most distinctive museum. Charlotte Ellis again hosted the ACM, and we are all grateful for the frequent loan of her studio. This year she has the distinction of being Warden of the Private Teachers’ Section, and in this capacity ran a well-attended seminar at the end of September.

The committee has shrunk slightly since Wendy’s resignation and, very sadly, the death in May of Trevor Williams. He was an active and positive committee member whose friendly presence we miss. We were therefore especially pleased to welcome two new members on to our committee at the ACM, both of whom hail from somewhat under-represented areas of the West London Region, ie, Harrow and Ruislip. This may well mean that we can extend our range of activities into a wider area.

It is pleasing to report that both South West Centres are active and thriving. The Devon & Cornwall Centre counters its geographical spread – from Sidmouth in the east to Penzance in the west, 120 miles apart – by localising some of its activities, with Teachers’ Forums centred on Truro and Crediton. Truro has been going successfully for some years, initiated inspiringly by Polly Sharpe and with responsibilities now being shared more widely. Margaret Chave’s perseverance in establishing a similar forum in Crediton is gradually paying off, with a third event scheduled for January 2008.

Devon & Cornwall’s main Centre-wide event is the ACM and lunch, plus guest speaker and music. This is always well supported, and took place in Launceston (2005), Ashburton (2006, hosted by Centre Secretary Sheila Harman) and Truro (2007, hosted by Linda Hardwick).

The Bristol Centre puts on a wealth of events: traditionally a Pupils’ Concert in February and a St Cecilia’s Day concert in (when else?) November, as well as more unusual events such as an Organ Crawl round three of the city’s more notable church organs (May 2006). Bristol’s annual flagship event is the Summer Lunch Party, distinguished by striking venues and the catering skills of committee member Margaret Thomas. The 2007 Summer Lunch Party was held at the exceptionally interesting Concrete House, a pioneering example of 1930s modernism, hosted by Vanessa and Brian Stevenson. Between showers, we gathered on the lawn while Mrs Stevenson talked about the building and its architectural significance.

Both committees, I believe, have managed to stay active by a combination of judicious leadership (Jonathan Price chairing at Bristol, Trudy Bailey in Devon & Cornwall) and division of labour – for instance, Bristol has an events secretary and a minutes/agendas secretary, and Devon & Cornwall has a separate publicity officer who sends reports to MJ. Also – thinking about event-organisation – both Centres have successfully collaborated with other organisations (‘partners’, in current parlance), such as EPTA or ESTA, sharing workload, financial risk, contacts and know-how, and widening the participant-base.

Both committees welcomed new members at their recent ACMs: Susan Steele in Devon & Cornwall and Susan Grundy in Bristol.

A notable event for the Region was the ISM’s annual conference coming to Torquay in April 2007. The Devon & Cornwall committee organised some appropriately sunny weather, and we were pleased to welcome members to this beautiful part of the country.