The Music Circle at Kilmardinny was started by Robin Barr in the 1969/70
winter with three trial concerts entitled Kilmardinny Evenings.
Before the staging was built for a theatre at Kilmardinny, the main room
was a 19th century salon, well proportioned for music, with windows
looking out onto the gardens... a country house setting within a Glasgow
suburb.
Because of this setting, the seating was arranged around the performers,
giving informality and very good audience-performer communication. A
committee formed from the audience at the end of the trial season. Hence
the club formed at that time was named a Music Circle....some people
thought this was a bit odd, but the audiences loved it, and soon the
membership grew to a maximum seating of 120. On the opening night of the
new Music Circle we received a warm letter of support from the aging Sir
Arthur Bliss, Master of The Queen's Music.
During the 1970's, KMC promoted a kind of dual concert, teaming up a well
established performer with a young unknown. For example Leon Goossens,
Andre Tchaikowsky, Joan Dickson, John McInulty, John Hauxvell (of Friday
Night is Music Night), Raymond O'Connell, Leonard Friedman and Jack Brymer
introduced young artists such as Neil Mackie, Janis Cairns, Susan Tomes,
the Chilingirian Quartet, and Julian Lloyd Webber. The legendary Terence
Judd made his Scottish debut at Kilmardinny, but his career was cut short
before he was 21.
Every year we had a special night - Dinner with Music - and on one
occasion, a Viennese Night, followed by a dance, with the audience taking
partners for Waltzes and Polkas, led by George McIlwham and a septet from
the BBC SSO.
Then there was the night when composer Ronald Stevenson was invited to
give a lecture recital on his music.....with illustrations of bagpipe
music which rather outlasted the 30 minutes concentration spell of the
audience.
A Young Kimardinny section was also established, in 1972, with performances
for young people and performances by young people. One of those young
audience members who cut his teeth at KMC was Sandy Burnett, now better
known as BBC Radio 3 host presenter of Classical Music.
With the coming of the 1980-90s, the number of professional arts
promotions in Glasgow began to wither away the audiences of the six music
clubs which had existed around Glasgow; music societies in Eastwood,
Erskine and Glasgow city centre itself eventually gave way to the big
attractions of the Royal Concert Hall. Thanks to its strong committee,
Kilmardinny, like Milngavie has managed to beat the trend, with a full
concert season for the past 36 years.