£300,000 cash boost for Kirklees to become 'world-class music destination'

16/1/2019

An ambitious project to capitalise on the town’s rich musical heritage has been welcomed by Huddersfield Civic Society.

The project, aimed at making Kirklees a world-class destination for music, has received nearly £300,000 from the Leeds LEP’s Business Rates Pool fund.

At a HCS meeting in the town hall on September 4, members were given an outline of the plan by Chas Ball, who sits on our committee and on the council's project steering group.

The council announced its commitment to music in a 2016 report. The following year, it announced its ambition for Kirklees to become a place where everyone can hear world-class music.

It is also looking support the next generation of musicians and music professionals to build and sustain careers, by providing access to the best industry advice, career opportunities and performance routes.

The council hopes to bring together local, national and international partners to hold a year of music in 2023 to complement the plans for Leeds City of Culture, expected to take place at the same time.

Council leader Coun Shabir Pandor, said: "We recognise the value of music on a places identity as well as its economic impact. There is a strong tradition of music making in the district with local music organisations being innovative within their approach and punching above their weight individually.

"We need to build upon this to promote the area, bring communities together, and give our creative industries a boost. The recent successful bid for money from the business rates pool is the first of what we hope to be many bids that bring funding into the district to deliver on our ambition for music.”

2 Comments

Paul Vincent

29/1/2019 01:38:57 pm

I visited Huddersfield this last weekend (from Crediton, in Devon), to attend the premiere (long delayed!) of a light opera by my composer grandfather Thomas F Dunhill - written in 1937.

Involving eighteen musicians, this was splendidly organised by choir leader Clare Wheat, who is researching a Ph.D. on this opera at the University of Huddersfield. The performance took place at the St. Paul's Hall on the campus.

Thomas Dunhill studied music (composition and piano) at the Royal College of Music (1893-1900) where he was taught harmony & counterpoint by the great organist and highly influential musician, Walter Parratt (1841-1924) - & native of Huddersfield - who by coincidence had been organist at the (then) St. Paul's Church for 7 years early in his career. (His father was organist of the parish church nearby.)

A Huddersfield Music Heritage Trail leaflet (which I picked up at the railway station) includes details of the plaque commemorating Walter Parratt situated outside the Lidl store on the ring-road. Although I was pleased to see this, I was disappointed to discover that the plaque is not in its original setting - having originally been attached to the house in which he was born, which was presumably knocked down to make space for redevelopment. As a result the wording of the plaque is no longer consistent with the setting on a separate plinth.

I would like to suggest that it would be very appropriate to put up a new plaque to Walter Parratt at St. Paul's Hall, not only because of the time he was organist there, but also since the building is now dedicated to musical performance and would be of much greater interest to visitors there (than perhaps to those members of the general public passing along the ring-road or visiting Lidl!).

Walter Parratt, though a forgotten figure today, was enormously admired by English organists, but was also a key figure in the establishment of the Royal College of Music, which at that time did so much to create a new generation of composers, including such names as Gustav Holst and Vaughan Williams. He was appointed organist at St George's Chapel, Windsor, and was also Master of the Queen's Musick (sic) for 31 years - ie: chief advisor to three monarchs on musical matters.

I wonder what your Society would feel about promoting Parratt's memory thus, should suitable resources and permissions be forthcoming?

Robert Cockroft

29/1/2019 02:39:28 pm

Thank you for your interesting comments, Mr Vincent. Your suggestion about Sir Walter Parratt will be put forward for discussion at our next committee meeting.

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£300,000 cash boost for Kirklees to become 'world-class music destination'

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