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The Leicester Music Society, 1871 (Walsall New Art Gallery)
Leicester Music Society 78th Year
NEXT MEETING - Such Sweet Thunder
Two years ago, in his talk on the jazz greats, Roger Wheeler mentioned Duke Ellington's remarkable Such Sweet Thunder album, a suite of pieces inspired by Shakespeare. John Florance also mentioned the work last May in his talk on music inspired by the Bard.
This January Dr Stuart Emmerson will set out to explore the suite in depth, revealing the meaning of each of its movements, and also an intriguing connection with Elgar's Enigma Variations.
Please come along to support LMS member Stuart in what promises to be a fascinating debut presentation to our Society!
Tuesday 13th January, 7.30pm in the Keene Room, Christchurch on Clarendon Park Road.
REMAINING SEASON 2025–2026
| Date | Speaker | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Jan | Stuart Emmerson | Such Sweet Thunder: Duke Ellington's Shakespeare Suite |
| 10 Feb | Ron Mitchell | Minimalism: a genre explained |
| 10 Mar | Robert Calow | Fountains and Pines: music of Ottorino Respighi |
| 14 Apr | Sam Dobson | Sir Malcolm Sargent: the Leicester connection |
| 12 May | John Malpass | Sergei Rachmaninoff: his life and music |
| 9 Jun | "Love It or Loathe It" and AGM |
OUR VENUE
We meet in the comfortable Keene Room of Christchurch Baptist-Methodist Church on Clarendon Park Road. See the Church's web site for a location map and directions.
About Us
We are a friendly group of people keen to learn more about music from composers, performers and others with expert musical knowledge.
Our entertaining and informative illustrated talks are usually held on the evenings of the second Tuesday of each month from October through to June.
Our final meeting of the season is usually the Annual Music Quiz after business is taken care of in the AGM. However in 2026 in place of the quiz we are introducing 'Love it or Loathe it', asking members to introduce a short piece that they either 'love' or 'loathe', and to explain why.
Membership is open to anyone interested in learning more about music. Just turn up to any meeting and we will make you very welcome.
See our About page for information on where and when we meet and our charges. Go to our Programme page for the topic of each meeting in the current season.
Notable speakers in the past have included the composers John Rutter, Will Todd, George Lloyd and Geoffrey Bush; former Director of the BBC Proms Robert Ponsonby; eminent oboist Lady Evelyn Barbirolli; Denis Matthews, noted pianist and Professor of Music; Annetta Hoffnung, widow of the much-missed Gerard; distinguished conductor Norman Del Mar CBE; Peter Cropper, late leader of the Lindsay String Quartet.
Famous critic and broadcaster Edward Greenfield, and the 'doyen of opera critics' John Steane used to visit us nearly every year; both now sadly deceased.
Distinguished choral conductor Donald Hunt, another regular speaker since 2004, died on 4th August 2018 at the age of 88.
Other popular regular speakers include Stephen Varcoe and the late Malcolm Goldring..
In 2024 we welcomed for the first time music scholar and author Nigel Simeone, whom regular listeners to Radio 3's 'Record Review' will recognise from his frequent appearances on the programme. He returned in 2025 to speak about the musical relationship between Sir Adrian Boult and Sir Edward Elgar.
Our Society was formerly known as The Leicester Recorded Music Society. We changed the name in 2016 to reflect the changing nature of the ways in which people now encounter music, and also a broader interest in musical performance as well as musical appreciation.
We are a member of the Federation of Recorded Music Societies (FRMS). If you don't live in Leicester click on this map to find a music society near you.
