Article published in Manchester Evening News 27th January 2017

THIRTY years ago a Saturday morning ‘coffee concert’ series started in Didsbury, Manchester, to give students from the Royal Northern College of Music the chance to perform ‘out of school’.

Emmanuel Church, Barlow Moor Road, was chosen, with support from the then rector, the Rev David Hallatt, and Bryan Fox of the RNCM (who’s still in charge) set things in motion. They’re still going, over 600 concerts later.

To celebrate, there’ll be a special event on January 31 – this time in the music college concert hall – with some of the most notable of those who have appeared in Didsbury. They include guitar maestro Craig Ogden, international piano soloist Alexandra Dariescu, the Navarra String Quartet, and world music ensemble Kabantu – known as Project Jam Sandwich in their earlier life.

‘We started, on a brilliantly sunny January day, with the fastest Arrival Of The Queen Of Sheba I’ve ever heard, played by four saxophones,’ says Bryan. ‘They’re now the Apollo Saxophone Quartet.’

Concerts are fortnightly, with just over 20 each year – and the coffee is top quality, like the music. ‘We began with the sort anyone can get over the counter, but we weren’t happy with that,’ Bryan remembers. ‘So we went to The Cheese Hamlet, a local delicatessen, and spent the summer devising our own blend. We’ve served it ever since.

‘We have an amazing team of volunteers, some of whom have been giving up their Saturday mornings for years. They serve fresh croissants and biscuits, and some of our regulars come well before the concert start time of 11am. There’s a 20-minute interval, and we’re usually through by 1pm.’

Bryan says the church’s acoustic is wonderful for anything from a solo guitar to a 15-piece cello ensemble (and they’ve had both), and particularly the sound of a string quartet. Other young players who appeared and are big names today are pianist Steven Osborne, cellist Alice Neary and conductor Garry Walker (then a cellist).

So what’s been special about the Didsbury concerts?

‘Our students at the RNCM are constantly under the microscope, whether it’s their mentors or themselves,’ says Bryan. ‘Sometimes it prevents them from being uninhibited – but being in a different place, with a welcoming atmosphere, can make a remarkable difference to their music. You only have to look at the visitors’ book we’ve kept since day one: they often just say how much they enjoyed it.’