I am delighted to present the Annual Review of activities for our 2008/2009 season.

Our Music Club Awards Scheme auditions took place in early October 2008. 13 chamber ensembles were chosen for audition following applications from over 30 groups. For the third season running we decided to increase spending on the Scheme by a further 20% to an all time high (2007 - 25%). The number of concerts awarded was a record for the Trust at 33 for the 2009/10 season. The principal Award Winners chosen were the Bozza Trio (oboe, clarinet & bassoon), Dyad (percussion duo), Finzi Quartet (string quartet), Higham/Lane Duo (cello & piano), Hoot (flute & harp duo) and Liquid Architecture (mixed octet). A full list of forthcoming concerts can be seen here.

The Music Club Awards Scheme concerts given by our 2007 Award Winners got under way in November 2008 and were completed in March 2009. All four 2007 Award Winners, the Barbirolli Quartet, the Rhodes Trio, Illuminati and Zephirus were much enjoyed in Music Clubs from Dumfries in the Borders, Nairn and Thurso in the North, to Skye and Arran in the Western Isles.

The 2009 Blair Atholl Showcase took place from the 3 to 11 May at Lude House, Blair Atholl. 17 wonderful young musicians attended this year’s event. Financing the event becomes ever tougher and for the second year running we received a generous 11th hour donation from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation which helped to minimise our losses on the event. In spite of the difficulty of raising sufficient funding this year, our audience numbers were up on the previous year and on the Saturday evening we were greeted with a full house at Lude. 5 Schools Workshops took place under our Education Outreach Programme in schools in Blair Atholl, Logierait and Butterstone.

The 2010 Blair Atholl Showcase will take place at Lude in Blair Atholl from 1st to 9th May.

Fundraising in 2008/089 was predictably tricky given the uncertainty in the recessionary financial climate. That said, we were extremely grateful to three major charities for their support: the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, The PF Charitable Trust and the Samuel Gardener Memorial Trust. Individual donations were down on the previous year. We are extremely grateful to all who have supported the Trust over the past year.

In the present financial climate we predict that it will remain hard to attract enough funding to support our core activities but it is hoped that our key, loyal supporters will continue to see the value in supporting our important work.

It is hoped that a loss on the financial year of some £15,000 can be recouped in the current financial year.

Our 2009 Auditions for the Music Club Awards Scheme took place on 7th October 2009 in London. We are delighted to announce that the Idomeneo and Piatti String Quartets, the Nephele Flute Quartet (flute & strings) and the Klouda/Middleton cello & piano Duo have been awarded 20 concerts between then for the 2009/2010 season.


Jonathan Tunnell artistic director