ELVIN YOUNG – MUSIC – 1965-1968

Having done two jobs each of one year in a bank and in the Civil Service I joined Bretton Hall in 1965 to train as a teacher with music as my main subject. This was not surprising as I had been playing the piano since the age of four and had been a cathedral chorister.

At Bretton I joined as many musical groups as possible and learned the trombone from scratch and found myself in the college first orchestra by the beginning of my second year under Harvey Marsden and Guy Woolfenden. 

I remember playing in concerts including Street Corner Overture by Alun Rawsthorne, In the Steppes of Central Asia by Alexander Borodin, Symphony no. 4 in D minor by Robert Schumann and finally the F major Piano Concerto by George Gershwin with Keith Swallow who was also my piano tutor. The wind band under Gerald Arran was great fun.

The Chapel Choir was taken by William Crust who was also the college warden in my first year. Sadly Mr Crust died unexpectedly over the summer holidays in 1967. The A Cappella Choir under Brian Longthorne took us to Coventry Cathedral in June 1968 where we sang the weekend services. I remember that our overnight accommodation was in the Undercroft!

My two teaching practices were at Oulton County Primary School near Leeds and at Thornhill County Primary School near Dewsbury. At the end of my three years at Bretton it became evident that, after all, I was not cut out to be a teacher so I returned to Gloucester and entered local government with the County Council in the Education Department. Most of my subsequent working life was involved with the administration of teachers’ records and pensions which suited me quite well!

Musically I have continued singing – Gloucester Choral Society, Saint Cecilia Singers (Chamber choir) for 44 years and still counting – and 26 Three Choirs Festivals. The trombone gave way to the French Horn many years ago and I’ve played in numerous concerts and shows locally since.

Over the years I managed to keep in regular touch with one of my music tutors, Paul Mann, who joined Bretton at the same time as I did. Paul produced a booklet “Sounds and Sweet Airs” – the Development of Music at Bretton Hall 1949-1989 – to the memory of Daphne Bird, Head of the Music Department 1949-1979. Sadly Paul died a few years ago but I’m still in touch with his widow, Mary.

I’m so sorry to see the destruction and demise of Bretton Hall as a college and of so many of the buildings all of which I have many happy memories together with my fellow students. My time at Bretton certainly helped shape my life for the better particularly in the field of music albeit outside the scope of teaching.

Martin Kiszko 1976 to 1979

I was one of the guinea pigs for the new BA Creative Arts. My course was split into music, visual Arts and inter-arts, a new subject area embracing film, dance, drama, performance art, music, art and literature. Music was my major throughout the three years. I lived on Men’s Main in the mansion, Allendale in the second year, and in Haigh Village during the third year.

Since those inspiring years I have my life as a film composer, scoring over 200 film and TV scores for the BBC Natural History Unit and many of Sir David Attenborough’s films. I also wrote many well known TV signature tunes and released nine albums with Europe’s finest orchestras. In 2009 I founded my environmental campaign Green Poems for a Blue Planet based on my two books of eco-poetry Green Poems for a Blue Planet and Verse for the Earth. My one-man-show based on the books has toured from LA to India, China to Dubai, and Malta to the Edinburgh Fringe.

In 2020 I published my autobiography Major & Minor Adventures in Lah Lah Land, which can be pre-ordered here http://www.martinkiszko.com/discography.html is a candid behind-the-scenes look at film music composition, natural history filmmaking, TV projects and eco-poetry. It is also a personal memoir and a good laugh along the way! The book is a useful primer for anyone wishing to enter the music and writing industries.

www.martinkiszko.com

www.greenpoemsforablueplanet.com

Whilst at Bretton was involved in many performances, sang regularly at folk club and played all the sports I could. I was even captain of the football team for one disastrous year! And access to the boat house for midnight serenading on the lake. On leaving Bretton I taught for 6 years then following a successful entrance into the National Student Drama festival in Swansea and Edinburgh with “My Friend Julie” (which was televised network by Thames TV as part of the Dramarama series)

I left teaching and had a wonderful time performing nationally, internationally and in the West End. I always regarded myself as a Practitioner and have been directing, singing, teaching and acting ever since. Bretton was the start quite literally of A Wonderful Life and I grateful to this day.

Gordon Beastall Drama and Music in 1971 - 74

I was 25 years old when I started at Bretton Hall, but prior to this I lived in Matlock and worked as a Tax Officer for HMRC, as Manager of a Delicatessen and then as a representative for Tetley Tea, selling teabags from the back of a van. During my late teens I belonged to two Amateur Drama groups and an Operatic Society. On joining the Drama course, under John Hodgson, I realised that I was the oldest person and most of the others were straight from school at 18 years of age. I loved my three years there and experienced the company of a generous bunch. I was married in my second year to Rachel, who was in her third year of a Music course at Bretton Hall. We rented a house in West Bretton for 2 years, eventually moving to Withernsea, (a coastal town in East Yorkshire about 20 miles east of Hull) where I got my first teaching post at the High School. I remained there for 30 years and eventually became Head of the Arts Faculty.

In 1985 I was seconded to ‘The Arts in Schools project for a year, working alongside Ken Robinson, another ex-Bretton student. I left Withernsea High in 2005 and started my own company providing drama and music workshops in local Primary Schools as ’barnstormersdrama’ I also worked with a company called ‘Young Enterprise’ which provided workshops in schools and in large venues where I facilitated day-long events for up to 200 pupils. I am currently working for York St John University, mentoring students on Primary teaching courses as they go on teaching practice. I love this work. l am still singing folksongs with my wife for various local organisation, playing in a folk-band called ‘Morning Dew’ and singing with three other 70+ lads as ‘Quarto’.

Final year (1974) production of 'Three Sisters' at Bretton Hall. What do these photos bring to mind? I seemed to play a lot of older characters in my time at BH..e.g. a Professor in Year 1 and Ferapont in Year 3. I was 25 when I joined the drama course and the rest of the group were much younger than me with the majority being just 18!

Martin Snow

1968 to 1971 Music

OK this is a Cliff Notes version, google that if it's US talk. Travelling in Israel, doing kibbutz, more travelling through Afghanistan etc took me through to 1975. Back to England and London, TAUGHT for 6 months just enough to make it quite clear it was not for me. Took a train  down to Cornwall to  visit a friend running a youth hostel in Tintagel, started running various hostels all in Cornwall most especially Treyarnon Bay,  met my American wife, Mia who was backpacking and in 1980 moved to the states...for everything since then check out  www.martinsnowpianos.com I have three daughters,  Corrina  27, Rosie 22, and Zoe 18.