EDMC is currently in its 70th year (see here for our current concert programme).
Founded in 1950 at an inaugural meeting at Strodes College, it had 120 paid up members by its first AGM. From the start, non-club members could attend as visitors for an admission fee, and professional artists and lecturers were engaged to bring live music of good quality to Egham. Concerts were given for the first three months at Strodes College and then generous members allowed their homes to be used for recitals and socials. Scaitcliffe School and Great Fosters Hotel hosted certain events. Fund raising events were held to build a firm financial basis for the club. Since 1970 the United Church of Egham has become the club’s regular venue.
For many years a yearly concert has featured promising young performers, namely the Young Performers Platform, providing a platform for aspiring local musicians and encouraging them and their parents to join as members. As part of our mission to bring quality live music to the local area and to a youth audience, we have special student and under-21s rates for our events. Accompanied children under 16 are admitted free.
In 1995 the club invested in a modern Steinway grand piano reflecting its confidence in the club’s future. There have been many outstanding local personalities involved in building the club over the years and many international artists have performed at celebrity concerts and club evenings. Their names are documented in the club’s archives and we thank them for the many contributions which they made to establish our music club, which continues to provide live music of excellent quality to the people of Egham and District.
In addition to established artists, we try to book emerging talented artists at the start of their careers. We are helped in this endeavour by organisations such as the ‘Philip and Dorothy Green Young Artists’ scheme and the ‘Selected artists’ scheme run by ‘Making Music’, of which the club is a member.
The club seeks sponsorship for events and is grateful to many organisations for their help and support in maintaining economical access to quality live music. In the past we have benefited from the support of :-
- Proctor and Gamble
- Philip and Dorothy Green Young Artists
- Making Music Selected Artists
- Waitrose Community Matters
- Humphrey Richardson Taylor Charitable Trust
- Rosemary Searle
- Dogs and Birds music publishing company
Previous celebrities:
The club has been fortunate to have had visits from many distinguished artistes, including:
Moura Lympany
Alfredo Campoli
Gerald Moore
Phyllis Sellick
Cyril Smith
Julius Katchen
Jack Brymer
Richard Baker
Anna Markland
Nicholas Daniel
Freddy Kempf
Peter Katin
Malcom Binns
Medici String Quartet
Gervase de Payer
Gwenneth Pryor
Carlo Curley
Philip Fowke
Peter Katin
Gina Mc Cormack
Philip Martin
Lara Melda
James Lisney
Alexei Grynyuk
