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Guestbook

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Sally Robbins

Sorry to have missed your concert on Saturday!

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Luc and Marilyn Croene

Luc met you in Our Lady's Church in Brugge this week, and I was rather sad to have missed meeting you and your family. We hope that you enjoyed your time in Belgium.

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George Byrne

Hilary, I remember performing in the 2009 Stage Choir at the Classical Roadshow's 'Widecombe Fair'. I will never forget the warm up you taught us-'Ninety naughty nuns nibble nuts after nine'. Considering our school was catholic with a slighty forbidding headmistress. Thank for the enriching experience you gave us.

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Steven Neugarten

Hello Hilary, it was very nice meeting you this afternoon. I look forward to working with you at GSMD early next year, if not before!

Best regards

Steven Neugarten

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Stephen Weir

Dear Mr Davan Whetton,
it's been a long time since we last met.
I was recently at an LSO concert at Windsor castle and afterwards enjoyed dinner with Sir Colin Davis and Kathryn McDowell.
Yor name came up in conversation and I made a point to say hello and not least to thank you for your kind tutelage all those years ago.
Your efforts were not wasted. I enjoyed a wonderful 12 years as a musician in the Royal Marines Band, five of which were spent on the Royal Yacht Britannia travelling the world with violin and Trumpet.
I'm delighted for you that your own career has been so rewarding and successful. I hope one day our paths will cross again and I can buy you a glass of champagne!
All the best for 2011 and beyond.
Stephen Weir

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David Simmons

Hi Hilary, I was interested in seeing that Liza was considering a performance of Andy's Requiem. Has this progressed at all? I am regularly in touch with Andy Worton-Steward's sister and brother in law who are close friends of mine. I am sure they would be interested if more performances were being considered.
Happy New Year, Regards, David Simmons

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Ian Reed

Dear Hilary,
Thank you so much for a fantastic Carol Concert last night at SJSS. We enjoyed it immensely - it has really started our festivities superbly. Merry Christmas. Ian Reed

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Nick Barry

Hilary - many thanks for a great evening last night at the VSO carol concert. I thoroughly enjoyed the way you led us through the evening. The playing of the Kora reminded me of my recent time as a volunteer in Nepal when I was trying to help a traditional music group called the Gandharba. They make and play the sarangi and madal and they are in need of so much help to enable their family group to survive. I wondered if you have any ideas where I might go to see if they can be supported. Thanks again for a wonderful occassion and Merry Christmas Nick Barry

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Lev Parikian

Someone linked to your talk on conducting for Risky Business. Admirably short and concise and saying, as always, all the right stuff.
Good to see you looking so well.
All best,
Lev

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Malcolm Hawkins

Hilary To let you know that my website is now up - malcolmhawkins.com.
I actually revisited Cranleigh this summer, with Tony Sellors.
Hope to hear from you one of these days
All good wishes Malcolm

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Joe Moore

Dear Hilary, Hello. I occasionally write articles for Classic Record Collector and would like to include your Collins Classics CD among my recommended recordings. I don't actually have the CD and am missing some discographic details. I know you recorded it at All Saints' Church, Tooting. Can you tell me the month and year the recording was made? Thank you. I wish someone would re-issue it. Everything I have read confirms that it is a remarkable performance. Best wishes, Joe

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Diane McCreedy

Glad to see you're still going strong! I played flute in BSSO and you were our conductor. I would have been about 16 to 18 years old at the time and I was called Diane Lambden then. Im nearly 44 now and I still haven't forgiven you for making me walk around the orchestra, while I played my solo! I was so shy, I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me! Only joking, I can understand why you made me do it now, it was a confidence building thing. But it's taken me nearly 30 years to work it out, and yes, I've finally forgiven you for it! Keep up the good work!

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Peter Harrod

Hello Hilary,

Thank you so much for a most enjoyable concert with the LMP in Newark, Notts, last night. In response to your invitation, we would not presume to make a comment on the professional judgement of a conductor in relation to the positioning of the strings. Markus Stenz placed the Halle cellists in an unaccustomed position for Mahler 8 earlier this year. However, Mrs Enid Newport, our delightful neighbour of many years, and mother of Chris, thought that the horns should have been placed in front of the two pianos!

Peter Harrod

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Brian Cane

You asked tonight (May 1st) for comments re positioning of the strings. For the Haydn & Mozart, I found the violin sound dominated so that there was a lack of balance in the ensemble. Also, the overall orchestral sound was rather like a poor recording reminiscent of 78 days ! Perhaps some of this was due to bad acoustics in the theatre plus the fact that the orchestra was placed back on the stage behind the two pianos. The piano sounded excellent. Curiously, during the second half with the Carnival of the Animals the sound defects were nothing like so evident, if at all. The concert itself and the performances were magnificent in every way.

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Linda Lein Wilson

Dear Hilary- Not sure if you remember me but I was Arthur Laubenstein's goddaughter and I knew you when you were at Columbia in NYC. My sisters and I were just sitting around talking and happened to mention something you had said about music oh so long ago and got to reminiscing about you. Glad to see you are doing such great things. Did you ever have the 7 daughters you wanted to stand around and fan you all day long??? You always made us laugh. Thinking fondly of you- Linda, Noel and Leslie (Lein)

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George Fantuel

I enjoyed your site very much.

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Hugh Burkitt

Dear Hilary,

This is a slightly delayed fan letter to say how much I enjoyed the Christmas concert on the 3 December at St Martin-in-the-Fields when you were conducting the City of London Choir.

I thought that the music choice was excellent, it was charmingly introduced and I thought the choir were superbly well drilled.

I also very much enjoyed joining in with the hymns and carols sung by the congregation from the front row.

However, my real reason for writing is to say that we last met about 50 years ago when your father, Eric, was still alive and was great friends with my father, William Burkitt.

I was very sorry that I was not able to chat to you after the concert, but I look forward to your next choral concert and not only to listening, but perhaps having a brief nostalgic chat about life in Putney in the far off 1950's.

Kind regards,
Hugh
Hugh Burkitt
Chief Executive
The Marketing Society
Tel: 020 8973 1700 1 Park Road T

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Graham Gaffney

We met yesterday on the train en route to London from Norfolk and put the world to rights! I'd like to thank you for a welcome distraction from what was a difficult journey for me. Val, my partner, remembers attending many of your performances in Milton Keynes which is how I know who you are.

regards

Graham, a fellow music professional

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Mary McInnis

Thank you so much for coming to Bremerton Washington to conduct the Brahms German Requiem. It has been on my bucket list for years, and I'm so glad I had a chance to do it under your direction. Having worked for Seattle Opera for a number of years (several years ago in publicity) I was able to meet many conductors. You are among the very few (one) under whose baton I experienced the sheer joy of music. My humble thanks to you.

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The Recovery Driver

Even only having heard a very small amount it still sounded very good, wish I could have hung about to hear the rest

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