“Friday Night is Music Night”! Since I was a teenager I’ve been associated with a local orchestra. I generally played third flute and piccolo and this suited me well as I only had to attend a few rehearsals per term, which meant I could still go out with my friends on a Friday night after work 🍹 Times have changed, in these post-COVID days my work social group and I are rarely in London on a Friday and I can commit to more rehearsals. I now play second flute, however today I deputised for the first flute as she couldn’t attend.
I feel very privileged that I had the chance to learn the flute. Times were tough financially for my parents when I was growing up but somehow they managed to scrape enough together to pay for weekly lessons. By the time I was sixteen I had passed my Grade 8 exam with distinction and was awarded a music scholarship to do my A-levels at a boarding school. Those two years were the best school years of my life and I am indebted to both my original teacher and the school for all the opportunities they gave me.
Our concert on 9 March features women composers only, as it takes place the day after International Women’s Day. This evening we were rehearsing Alice Mary Smith’s Symphony No.2 in A Minor. Born in 1839, at the age of 18 she became the first known British woman to compose a symphony, and two of her sacred anthems were used in the liturgies of the Church of England – also a first.
The other two pieces, one by Smith and the other by Imogen Holst (Gustav Holst’s daughter – he composed The Planets Suite) have never been published or recorded so it will be a noteworthy concert to perform in. I’ll advertise the details closer to the time, do come along if you’re free!
Elizabeth Mooney 
How lovely that you had a couple of enjoyable years at a boarding school, doing something you loved x
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