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When Liz and Dee realised that Larry and I would be neither deterred or detoured on our musical pilgrimage of a chat, they decided to hitch their wagons to our star, and made their own contributions. Dee talked Motown, in the shape of Diana Ross & The Supremes, while Liz, to my amazement spoke of Canadian artist Robin Thicke and his huge, but controversial hit with Blurred Lines.

Norman Warwick checks out London Sinfonettia SUMMER SURVEY We have featured London Sinfonettia in a couple of articles really. One of the articles focussed quite narrowly on the minimalist music they are currently rsearching, adapting and playing and the other more weidely on what seems to be a particularly energetic contributions of art in the community. It has been good to learn this week that they also take great notice of feedback for those engaging wih them, as either audience or players or volunteers or clients. I have no great understanding yet of minimalism as a genre and I haen´t yet heard London Sinfonettia play, but I am nevertheless of the depth and range of their survey qustions which can be found on their website. As another incredible London Sinfonietta season comes to a close, the ensemble is taking advantage of the summer to check in with its audience ! They want to hear your opinions on their work and to know whether your impressions of then match their own assumptions. By filling out this survey you are helping them provide an even better concert experience for you. Their questions ask about your opinions on the ensemble´s standard of performances and productions; the balance of their programming; the outreach work in schools, in the community, and with emerging talent; their digital work; and your attitudes to societal issues such as equality and the environment. There are a couple of questions which are simply to collate statistical data, like how many Sinfonettia concerts you might have seen, that check out brand awareness etc. A more searching question with multiple response options asks what you might associate with London Sinfonettia and offers choices such as London Symphony Orchestrea and Manchester Collective, with even the options shown revealing the kind of stellar company kept by Sinfonettia. We learn from another question that London Sinfonietta deliver participation and learning events (eg Sound Out or a schools concert or workshop) and a subsequent question refers to their PIONEERS membership scheme. There ia a question in this survey that states boldly that London Sinfonettia hold aspirations of world class performances We are also able to gauge from the survey the diversity of work they undertake that might attract new members, These diverse strategies include performing 20th and 21st century contemporary music, commissioning new works and projects and collaborations with other art forms and genres. The survey also asks ´Are you aware of the work the London Sinfonietta does in schools and communities, and supporting early-career composers, players and conductors?´ The survey also states that over the past year or so London Sinfonettia has hugely developed its digital service and asks how often their followers use that service. As well as on line, London Sinfonettia can be found at Facebook, Instagram, X, Linkedin and Tik Tok and others. If you are familiar with their work then your opinions would be invaluable to London Sinfonewttia, and, if you are not familiar with the ensemble then their own survey, available on line, might be a great way of learning more about them ! Just tap their name, London Sinfonettia into your search engine of cjoice.

A READ WITH JENNA TODAY SHOW BOOK CLUB PICK | A Most Anticipated Book from Today, Real Simple, Time, Los Angeles Times, and BookPage “The book we all need to revive our souls” (Nicole Dennis-Benn): A sweeping family saga about the complicated bond between mothers and daughters, the disappearance of a father, and the long-hidden history of a declining New England mill town. “A powerful novel about how our family history shapes us. Swift River broke my heart, and then offered me hope.” —Ann Napolitano, New York Times bestselling author of Hello Beautiful It’s the summer of 1987 in Swift River, and Diamond Newberry is learning how to drive. Ever since her Pop disappeared seven years ago, she and her mother hitchhike everywhere they go. But that’s not the only reason Diamond stands out: she’s teased relentlessly about her weight, and since Pop’s been gone, she is the only Black person in all of Swift River. This summer, Ma is determined to declare Pop legally dead so that they can collect his life insurance money, get their house back from the bank, and finally move on. But when Diamond receives a letter from a relative she’s never met, key elements of Pop’s life are uncovered, and she is introduced to two generations of African American Newberry women, whose lives span the 20th century and reveal a much larger picture of prejudice and abandonment, of love and devotion. As pieces of their shared past become clearer, Diamond gains a sense of her place in the world and in her family. But how will what she’s learned of the past change her future? A story of first friendships, family secrets, and finding the courage to let go, Swift River is a sensational debut about how history shapes us and heralds the arrival of a major new literary talent.