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GRAHAM HORNER – CONTRABASSOON Graham first joined the orchestra in 1956 when he played the bass drum in a concert in the Guildhall featuring Smetana’s Vltava at the behest of John McMilne, who was Head of Music at Bishop’s Wordsworth’s School and the conductor of the orchestra at that time. It was John McMilne who also suggested that Graham learn to play the bassoon as having waited until the second term of his first year at BWS to ask to learn a wind instrument; all the flutes, oboes and clarinets had been taken up. He was lucky in that one of the other music teachers at Bishop’s Wordsworth’s School was an Andrew Lockett, an excellent bassoonist who encouraged Graham to study hard and helped him join the National Youth Orchestra for a brief period. It was also Andrew who encouraged Graham to join the orchestra as his understudy in 1958 since when he has sat at the back of the wind section, apart from a period in the 1960’s when he played bass guitar in a semi-pro rock band. Following the untimely death of Peggy Gigg, in 1984 he stepped up to the first bassoon post with Pat Ovens (whom many will remember as the gentile bursar of the Cathedral School) as second bassoon. Pat had hand built his own Contrabassoon (a rare achievement) and as Graham had tackled this instrument in the National Youth Orchestra, he often badgered Pat for “a blow”. Sadly Pat died in 1994, since when Graham has had the contra on long-term loan from Pat’s widow and thoroughly enjoys playing it. Having extended the orchestra’s repertoire over the last few years, David Halls has given Graham the opportunity of regularly playing this fine instrument and Graham says much to the amusement of many of his colleagues, “holding down the bottom note of a full symphony orchestra is a very rewarding experience”! He says that the love and support of his wife, Cynthia, has enabled him to enjoy his musical life to the full and one of his proudest moments was when their two daughters, Kim and Natalie, came to play oboe and clarinet with him in the orchestra’s last concert. Graham has worked in the Aerospace and Defence Industry all his life and now runs a company specialising in high precision servo systems. |
