Good Evening Mr Chairman and Members of the Forum

I'm Peter Harrison - Grayshott Concerts' Director of Marketing.

I've asked to talk to you tonight, for THREE reasons.

Firstly to tell you how, in less than four years, Grayshott Concerts has become a significant community success story.

Secondly, to acknowledge the part that you, as Councillors, and your Officers, have played in that success,

And thirdly, to tell you a little about our plans for the future.

Grayshott Concerts began as a one-off event in 2004 to raise money for St Luke's Church in Grayshott.

We'd never done anything like it before, but we brought together a Choir, an Orchestra, Organist and Conductor; and with the support of our local community and members of the Buy-In-Grayshott Campaign, we managed to achieve a sell-out performance and raised over three and a half thousand pounds for St Luke's.

"Phew! Thank goodness it's all over!" we said.

But the village said: "So when's the next one'"

And that's when Grayshott Concerts really began to take off.

Since then we've staged another seven concerts (two a year), with
Chamber Music;
The Hampshire County Youth Choir;
Madrigals;
Orchestral music from Baroque to Modern;
Mozart's Requiem, in full;
Open-air Opera, 'The Barber of Seville';
A dramatic modern choral work, 'The Armed Man' with 'BBC Young Musician of the Year' as Soloist.

We've even commissioned a new work, which had its world premiere performance, in St Luke's Grayshott, last November.

All these events sold out in advance - at prices comparable to those you'd find in larger towns and cities. And all either broke even or made a small profit.

We take a lot of care to find out what our audiences like, and what it is, that keeps them wanting more. So we do questionnaires, have phone surveys, make personal contacts, all to ensure that we stage what our local audiences most enjoy.
It's pretty "middle-of-the-road" really, like ClassicFm; so it's Handel, Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi – pieces with recognisable 'hummalong' tunes.

So we're neither elitist – nor populist. We just provide what people want.

We're one of the only local music groups whose tickets sell out weeks in advance – for every event. So we must be doing something right.

Our aim is to bring top rank performers to Grayshott. So we use the best chamber choir we can find in the region, a London Orchestra, nationally known soloists. We stage the very best that our modest income can afford.

And this policy is paying off handsomely, many times over in terms of support, not just from Grayshott people, but from a growing area. Bordon, Whitehill, Liphook, Lindford, Headley, Headley Down, – all the areas which this Forum represents.

Many of our audience simply wouldn't – indeed some (including the disabled) couldn't – travel further afield to Guildford, Basingstoke, Winchester, nor London.

It would just be too much hassle. Public transport is unsuitable or non-existent. There are traffic jams, parking problems, delays, and extra costs all round.

No! Our audiences tell us they want "beautiful music - on their doorstep".

And that is precisely what Grayshott Concerts provides.
We know of no other village doing anything similar.

And your Council's support has been astonishing.

Last year, you'll recall, you awarded us a grant of £2,000 towards the cost of bringing high profile performers into the village.



But the effect of that generosity has gone far beyond what we, (perhaps even you yourselves) could ever have realised. It's no exaggeration to say that a whole new spirit of enjoyment and well-being is developing in Grayshott. It's tangible. And our audiences tell us about it!

But it's even more than that. You've helped us to become independently constituted and to begin to stand on our own feet.

You've put us in touch with other supportive organisations and you've helped us to bridge the gaps between our aspirations and our limited income.
You've not only given us the confidence to bring greater talent to our eager audiences, but the financial resources to do it.
As all our seats get filled up every time, the only other way to increase income would have been to raise prices.
But we have always wanted to keep our concerts accessible to all, by keeping prices as low as possible.
Your Grant has enabled us to do that.

Also, we believe that your financial support has been vital for our forward planning and ultimately therefore, for our success.

You've also encouraged us to find additional ways of generating revenue for ourselves; from local business sponsorship, profits from programme advertising, sales of refreshments - and so on.

Hopefully, we've shown our appreciation by building a high profile brand for Grayshott Concerts, creating one more 'feel-good' factor in our community, and by cultivating growing loyalty from our audiences.

Mr Chairman, we're very grateful, for your Council's support.
Which, incidentally, is also enabling us to plan confidently for the future. So this year we're upping our events from two per year to four.
So on 16th February this year, Grayshott Concerts new Chamber Choir "Excelsis" will make its debut performance with Vivaldi's "Gloria" featuring two exceptionally talented guest soloists.

Soprano Judith Howarth, who will be taking a break from her role as Madame Butterfly with English National Opera at London's Coliseum, has an international reputation and so does our Mezzo-soprano soloist Yvonne Fontane.

It's a great coup for the district to have such distinguished performers in our midst.
Unsurprisingly, most of the tickets have already been sold.

On 12th April, we're staging a performance of Bruch's Violin Concerto No.1, probably the most popular Concerto of all time. This too is attracting lots of attention.

In September, a concert of well-known French choral works is planned, and on 1st November, we have managed to persuade the 20-year-old international Violin virtuoso Chloe Hanslip (born locally) to come to Grayshott with the famous London Mozart Players for a programme including Vivaldi's Four Seasons.

Chloe will be our most celebrated soloist to appear with us so far and is sure to be a huge attraction.
And to enable our regular audiences to have priority booking for these events, we have recently launched 'Friends of Grayshott Concerts' whose 55 members will, this year alone, contribute an additional £1,500 to help to finance our high profile performers.

And we've already secured £3,000 of local business sponsorship for this year and we expect to sell out at every event.

All of our many helpers are unpaid volunteers (who pay for their own tickets – as I do!), and this year, they will contribute over £4,000 worth of value 'in-kind'.

So let's just summarise what I've covered tonight:

* Grayshott Concerts brings beautiful music to 'doorsteps' of local people over a growing area.
* We interact with our audiences – find out what they want and look after them. Make them feel valued.
* Content is never elitist nor populist, it's simply what audiences want. And they buy every available ticket.
* We present top 'London' and international quality artists and performances – without London's hassle and sky high prices.
* We only provide the highest standards of performers and facilities that we can afford.


* We won't compromise on quality. It's what makes Grayshott Concerts so special.
* Our events are accessible to all, especially minority groups, the elderly, disabled, young people. Those who couldn't go elsewhere. So we keep ticket prices as low as possible. And we sell out every time.
* We tell everyone, repeatedly, what we're lining up for them, through Posters, Websites, Press coverage, Word of mouth. Publicity is the key to success – and success drives publicity.


* Grayshott Concerts is, we believe, unique. No other village seems to do anything quite like it. Our achievements reflect well, not only on our community but on the whole of North East Hampshire.
* This year, our turnover will approach forty thousand pounds, all of which we aim to raise for ourselves, without compromising quality, raising prices or restricting access in any way.

It's a difficult balancing act – but we're working on it! Currently, our budgets are still about £3,000 adrift (put in context, that's seven and a half percent of turnover).
We hope your Council will look favourably at an application from us later if, despite our very best efforts, we find that we cannot bridge that small gap.

I hope that, tonight, I've given you a flavour of what Grayshott Concerts is currently achieving in our community.

I'm proud to be part of those achievements, Mr Chairman, and delighted to have your Council as our partners and co-achievers.

So now, I would be happy to take questions: