John Walker - Chairman
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I’ve been a member of Whitstable Music Society for over 25 years. My daughter Jenny was a pupil of the international pianist Roland Smith who has given two memorable concerts for Whitstable Music Society.
Jenny was preparing for The Hastings Piano Competition and we asked our neighbours round for a “trial run”. Seeing we were a musical family they said “you must come to The Whitstable Music Society!” so we did, and this was the start of a 25 year association. After a couple of seasons I was asked to join the committee and served as Treasurer and also took responsibility for corporate sponsorship. |
A few years later the then Honorary Secretary (now Hon President) John Wilkinson and Chairman Max Tullberg both stood down and I was asked to take over as Chairman with the support of Sara Wheeler as Hon Secretary. I said I would do it for five years. Max said he thought I should do it for 10 years. Twenty years later both Sara and I are still here and having a wonderful time.
During my time as Chairman I have focused very much on the quality of the musicians and on the repertoire and I think in large part this has been the secret of our success. Gill Smyth soon joined us as Vice Chairman and has been a great influence on the ongoing success of the society. The current committee are all very active and work well together and it’s largely due to this teamwork that we are looking forward to our 50th Anniversary in 2024/25.
During my time as Chairman I have focused very much on the quality of the musicians and on the repertoire and I think in large part this has been the secret of our success. Gill Smyth soon joined us as Vice Chairman and has been a great influence on the ongoing success of the society. The current committee are all very active and work well together and it’s largely due to this teamwork that we are looking forward to our 50th Anniversary in 2024/25.
