Alfred J. Clements

Alfred Joseph Clements (1858 – 6 January 1938) was the Organiser and secretary of the South Place Sunday Concerts in London for over 50 years, from 1887–1938.[1] During that period Clements arranged over 1,300 concerts featuring 1,500 artists.[2]

The first concerts were held at the South Place Ethical Chapel, Finsbury in 1878, organised by the specially assembled People's Concert Society. But in 1887 the Society ran short of funds. At that point Alfred Clements was appointed as first Honorary Secretary, with George Hutchinson as Assistant Secretary. Clements remained in his position for over 50 years, from 1887 until his death in 1938.[3] Composer Richard Henry Walthew also had a long association with the Sunday Concerts, from the early 1900s until his death in 1951.

The thousandth concert was played on 20 February 1927. In 1929 the South Place Ethical Society had the Conway Hall in Red Lion Square purposely built for it, and the concert series has continued there ever since with the exception of the war years. The two-thousandth concert was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on 9 March 1969.[4] They are still running every Sunday today.[5]

In 1901 Alfred Clements was working as a printer and living with his wife Dora Mary Clements née Varian at 10 Leighton Crescent, Kentish Town, London.[6] In 1926 he was awarded the Cobbett Gold Medal for services to Chamber Music.[7]

When he died on 6 January 1938, he was living at 8 Finchley Way, Finchley London. Probate of his will was to his widow Dora, and his effects totalled £995 10s.[8]

He is commemorated by a gold inlaid relief plaque at Conway Hall, London.[9] Both Clements and his wife are named in the Book of Remembrance in the Musicians’ Chapel at St Sepulchre-without-Newgate.

Clements Memorial Prize

In 1938 a chamber music composition prize was established in his name.[2] The initial prize was awarded to Frederick T Durrant for his Clarinet Quintet in E flat - subsequently performed at the Conway Hall in 1946 by Pauline Juler.[4] The Quintet was revived by Peter Cigleris at Conway Hall in 2019.[10]

Other prize winners have included:

The prize was put into abeyance in the late 1970s, and revived occasionally after that, most recently in 2021 when the winner was Noah Max with his Sojourn piano trio.[18]

See also

References
  1. "Alfred J. Clements". Conway Hall. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  2. 'An Alfred J. Clements Memorial Chamber Music Prize', The Times, 7 April 1938, p.12
  3. Cole, Hugo (12 March 1987). "Passionately Progressive". Country Life.
  4. Frank V Hawkins. The Story of 2,000 Concerts (1969)
  5. Ian Duncan MacKillop (1986). The British Ethical Societies. Cambridge University Press. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-521-26672-7.
  6. "1901 England Census". 1901 census. Ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  7. Biography, Musicians' Company Archive
  8. "England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966". Ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  9. Memorial Plaque for Alfred Joseph Clements, ArtUK.org
  10. Michael White. 'Rare clarinet treat at Conway Hall', Islington Tribune, 19 September 2019
  11. David Wynne biography, Oriana Publications
  12. Graham Melville Mason. David Gow obituary, The Independent, 1 March, 1993
  13. Stephen Gamble; William C. Lynch (2011). Dennis Brain: A Life in Music. University of North Texas Press. p. 40. ISBN 978-1-57441-307-6.
  14. Doreen Carwithen, Classical Music
  15. International Who's who in Music and Musicians' Directory (1986), p. 295
  16. Trevor Hold obituary, MusicWeb International
  17. Ian White, Contemporary Music Centre, Ireland
  18. Newly-written string trios in competition, The Arts Desk, 18 October 2021
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