Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2009 | Page 31

INTERVIEW

Pulling out
all the stops
He doesn’t seem the type to run up against
the law. Richard Hall is quietly spoken,
polite, and remarkably self assured. “I was
practising frantically for my organ exam
at church very early one morning – it must
have been about 4.30am – and when I
paused, I could hear banging on the door.
It was the police. Apparently they’d had
complaints about a 'psycho burglar!' It
took quite some time to convince them
that I wasn’t a noisy thief, just an avid
musician!”
Today this avid musician is filling the
church with a sound like Judgement Day.
The playing is strong and authoritative,
but anyone glancing at the organist would
think him too young to be such a master
of the instrument.
Richard Hall is indeed just 17 years
old, and is studying for his A levels at
Ryde High School. He is practicing for
a concert he has organised with some
friends, Toby Melcalfe and Tom Seal who
both play trumpet, and with three girls
from Goldolphin School in Salisbury: Jenny Walton is a flautist who also sings,
as does Olivia Stuart Taylor, and both
are accompanied by Miranda Ford on
the piano. They are all just 17 and are
remarkably talented.
The venue is Christ Church, Totland,
which boasts a famously good organ, and,
thanks to the church’s resident organist
Joan Gregson, attracts some prestigious
organists. However, seeing this collection
of youngsters taking on the space,
filling it with their music, is a striking
experience. Particularly so when you

Toby Metcalfe

Jenny Walton

learn that the money raised
will go towards Naomi House,
the hospice for children and
young people. They want
to buy instruments so the
terminally ill young people have a chance
to experience something of their own joy
of music.
If that were Richard’s only project
it would be impressive. But after this
rehearsal he is rushing off to Newport
(he relies on buses unless he can cycle or
cadge a lift) to prepare for a concert that
night. It won’t be the organ he is playing
this time but the trumpet, with the Isle
of Wight Symphony Orchestra. Before
Christmas he helped organise a charity
Christmas concert with lots of other
young musicians known as Interact, to
provide money for young musicians who
can't afford lessons or instruments.
This last is telling. It is clear that to take
the music out of Richard’s life would be
devastating. “My parents worry that I
take on too much, and that my A levels
might suffer,” he says. “But the school
is really supporting and flexible, really
encouraging the music.”
His father is the Rural Dean and vicar
of East Cowes and Wootton, and so
church music has always been part of
his life. However, it was the trumpet that
really got him into music – thanks to the
county music centre workshops run by
Isle of Wigh B