OK – so it is the first week of 2024. Have you set yourself any muscial goals for the upcoming year?
If not, how about ‘adopting’ a young composer? This need not be a major investment – indeed you could stake a claim to a ‘composer of your own’ for as little as £10 a month! How come?
From time immemorial composers have needed patrons of some kind (the church, the rich, music lovers) to provide them with an income, especially when they are starting out. And nothing has changed. Indeed with the advent of streaming and AI and in the aftermath of the pandemic, they could be said to need patrons more than ever.
Step in Music Patron
An off shoot of Sound and Music, a charity supporting new music of all sorts – Music Patron has come up with a new way of you and I being able to do just that.
They have set up a roster of nine composers from which ‘Patrons’ can choose one to support with a monthly donation. This can be as small as £10 – or as big as you choose – all of the money going directly to the composer. In return patrons can, if they like the idea, become actively involved with their composers, receiving monthly updates on
So who are their composers?
They come in all ages and include performance artists, opera composers, painters, electronic musicians. A composer, for Music Patron is ‘anyone who creates new work using sound or music; whether they perform it themselves or write for others, and whether they work with software, with notes on paper, through improvisation, or in other ways’. You can find details of the current nine (in due course they hope to increase this number into the hundreds) on the site where each one introduces themselves and plays a little of their music.
Who to choose?
If you really like the idea but cannot decide which composer to support, Music Patron will choose a composer for you – or they have a fun quiz which you can take which will hopefully pinpoint the best match for you. Introduced by this adventurous kitten who will surely help you make your choice!
And – if that relationship or composer doesn’t actually work for you, you can change composer at any point, or even pull out of the scheme altogether with no hard feelings!
Even if you decide this is not for you, have a browse of the excellent Music Patron site – or maybe suggest the idea to some other music loving friend.
Upcoming concerts
Saturday 20th January
The Carnival of Animals – 3.30pm at St Michael’s Church, Highgate
Book here.
Sunday 21st January – Highgate Society Lunchtime concert
The Lior Solomons Wise trio.
12 noon – 21st January – £15 to include the Bucks Fizz! Book here.
Sunday 21st January – Hampstead Lane 6.30pm
Emma Kirkby and Jakob Lindberg will be playing and singing songs and solos by John Dowland at Hampstead Lane.
We are sold out for this concert but if you would like to put yourself on the waiting list you can do so here.
Friday 8th March
Madeleine Mitchell and the London Chamber Ensemble – the programme to include Charles Wood’s Quartet no 6 and the wonderful Debussy String quartet. Book here.
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