| Biography | Benslow Musics origins stretch back to 1929, when a Hitchin musician, Mary Ibberson (1892-1979), seeing the need for teaching centres for beginners and for those who wanted to continue their musical enjoyment after their school years, created the first branch of Rural Music Schools' Association.
The RMSA rapidly expanded into an organisation of some twenty centres scattered throughout England, all devoted to making available good music teaching in country towns and villages, but its headquarters stayed in Hitchin, first in the centre of the town and then at our current headquarters, in a large Victorian house called Little Benslow Hills. The house had been left to the RMSA by Esther Seebohm (1861 1951), like Ibberson a Quaker. Seebohms family had lived in it since acquiring it from the Ransom family who originally built it. The terms of Seebohms will stipulated that the house should be used in perpetuity for the support of music-making., and our charitable objectives remain that we should continue to promote music education for social benefit through the study and practice of music, especially in its social and co-operative forms, amongst students of all ages.
From the RMSAs beginnings in 1929 until her retirement in 1962, Ibberson dedicated her life to the RMSA. She was succeeded as the RMSAs Director by Helen Wright. Wrights successors included Jean Salder in 1969, Geoffrey Brand in 1975, and Norman Hearn in 1979.
During this era, however, provision of music tuition by local authorities burgeoned, rendering the need for the RMSAs activities more and more redundant. One by one RMSA centres closed down, and despite expansion which included the building of the Peter Morrison Recital Hall in 1976, the Hitchin centre found itself in difficulties. In 1978 the Trustees sought to sell off the site for development, but a group of mainly local members formed an action group which ousted the old council and formed a new one.
Michael Proctor had succeeded Hearn as Director in 1983. By now it was clear that our future lay in providing for the needs of hobby musicians from near and far. More improvements to our facilities were required, and more funding needed. So in 1986 the Trustees opted to change the organisation's name to Benslow Music Trust and to open membership to anyone willing to pay the subscription. ( Prior to this, membership had been by invitation only.) In due course, under Keith Stents Directorship which had begun in 1993, a professional management team was put into place. Before this the Trust had been run entirely on a voluntary basis. The programme of courses and other activities expanded greatly, and in 2000 we opened the architecturally arresting new Waldeck Wing, consisting of a small recital hall, four practice rooms and several new bedrooms, to accommodate this increased activity. Funding came from donations and from a £1.1m Lottery Grant. Helen Marshall had succeeded Stent in 1998, and in 2001 the Trust appointed Philip Meaden to the newly created post of Chief Executive. |