Rosemary Vaux -
tel: 020 8943 5343 mobile: 07792 72 62 41
email: rvaux@ravenstonepr.co.uk
New CD:
The Music of Gary Findon
3 December 2008
A new CD - The Music of Gary Findon - brings to life the music of a gifted young classical musician and composer, which was thought to have been lost forever.
Gary Findon took his own life in June 1969, just before his 16th birthday, already an acclaimed musician. He left behind a legacy of music: music written for school concerts and speech days, also three piano pieces, one unfinished, which he was writing for an anthology of music and poetry called The Wheel of Fire. All of this music was thought to have been destroyed by his family at the painful time of his death.
Gary was a school friend of Michael Portillo who, with the family, made a film about his life and music, Death of a School Friend, recently broadcast on BBC2. During the filming the music was rediscovered and performed by Gary’s younger brother Andy, an acclaimed international flautist and for whom much of the music was written.
It has now been recorded by three generations of this musical family, which is generously donating all proceeds to PAPYRUS the national charity for prevention of young suicide.
The CD features Gary’s father Ronnie (clarinet), his younger brother Andy (flute) and Gary’s music professor Anthony Saunders (piano). Gary’s nephew Marc Findon has completed three of the incomplete tracks and together with Andy, prepared the music from the original manuscripts.
Andy comments: “The making of this programme has led to a complete re-examination of the events and relationships of a 40 year period, brought to a peak by the discovery and preservation of some of Gary’s music. The quality and diversity of his writing has surprised and thrilled us all and has been an ultimately satisfying project to have been part of.”
For Marc the production has been particularly poignant. “I never knew my uncle so at times it felt strange to have people closest to him looking to me for advice on interpreting his music,” he explained. “Some of the pieces had no dynamics, articulation or tempi written into them, so when it came to record the music it was down to me to make crucial decisions on speed, volume and style of many of the pieces.
“The music had been written in pencil and beginning to fade, so we decided to computerise it for preservation. In doing this we discovered a few pieces that had been left incomplete, including one dated just a few weeks before he died. With the exception of his final piece ‘Fire 3: Pain & Death’, I decided to finished the pieces, anxious to remain true to his style. There was very little material written for this last piece and recognising that it was probably his last composition, I decided not to finish it, but instead to blend it with a recording of Gary, aged 9, playing Beethoven’s A minor Bagatelle ‘Für Elise’.”
The Music of Gary Findon CD is available for £5.50 including packing and postage from PAPYRUS www.papyrus-uk.org
or tel 01282 432 555 or www.andyfindon.com
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Editor’s Notes:
Ronnie Findon - A jazz legend, Ronnie at the age of 80 is still playing clarinet and saxophone among many other woodwind and brass instruments. He has played with Joe Loss at Buckingham Palace for the Queen and spent many years leading one of Joe’s bands. He has worked with a variety of distinguished jazz artists, including a period with Harry Gold’s ‘Pieces of Eight’.
Andy Findon - Gary’s younger brother is an acclaimed international musician. His background of mixed musical experience has led to an incredibly diverse career. Having trained as an orchestral flautist, as principal flute of the National Youth Orchestra three years at the Royal College of Music, he branched out into the London musical scene, from dance band dates (working for Nat Temple, Joe Loss, Eric Delaney and Sidney Lipton among others) to Ballet Rambert, taking in the National Theatre and the formation of the Myhra Saxophone Quartet with John Harle.
He later joined the Michael Nyman Band, with whom he still tours and records and is also associated with John Wilson, in whose orchestra he plays principal flute and also sits on the baritone chair in his big band. He is principal flute of the National Symphony Orchestra and works with many other orchestra and chamber groups. His West End credits are numerous, currently including the new production of ‘Oliver’.
As a session musician he has appeared on countless film and TV scores, albums and advertisements - he is the penny whistle player on the Young’s Fish ad campaign. He has also recorded on his own label, along with solo CDs for EMI, Virgin and Quartz. More at www.andyfindon.com
Marc Findon - Gary’s nephew, Marc, graduated with First Class Honours and the silver medal for composition studies from Trinity College of Music. He has been fortunate to study with a range of accomplished composers and performers.
As a copyist he has experience working on projects for film, TV, theatre and the concert hall. Clients and projects have included The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Diana Ross and the English National Ballet. Marc also regularly works for Dakota Music Service.
He currently works as a composer, orchestrator, arranger, conductor and music copyist and has written for Channel 4 and the KPM library music company. More at www.marcfindon.com
About PAPYRUS
PAPYRUS is a national charity dedicated to the prevention of young suicide. It was founded in 1997 by a group of parents who had lost a son or daughter to suicide. PAPYRUS supports families, concerned friends, medics, mental health professionals, education staff and others who work with young people. Its publications, many of which can be downloaded at www.papyrus-uk.org, are used extensively by, for example, parents, schools, medical staff, social workers and prison staff.
The charity’s helpline - HOPELineUK 08000 68 41 41 - is a telephone service staffed by trained professionals who give practical advice, information and support needed in order to approach and respond to suicidal feelings. It has helped hundreds of suicidal young people and concerned parents and other family members, friends, teachers and professionals.
For a CD review copy or more information:
Rosemary Vaux at PAPYRUS press office
tel 020 8943 5343 mobile 07792 72 62 41 email: rvaux@ravenstonepr.co.uk
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