NEWCASTLE'S MUSICAL HERITAGE AN INTRODUCTION By ...

Cathedral organist) who was awarded a Lambeth Doctorate in Music, Miss Elsie
Winstanley (piano) who did Stirling work as resident pianist at the Laing Art
Gallery Lunch Time Concerts during WWII. and Arthur Milner, (piano and choral
class) who at some time was also vice-Principal and in 1927 took charge of
music teaching at the Royal Grammar School, making the school notable for its
fine musical activity.
Why the Conservatoire failed is a difficult one to answer, it had all the makings
of a permanent school of music for the North East. The beginning of the end
seems to have been when Bainton invited Dr Leslie Russell, music adviser for
the Kent County Education Committee, whom he had probably met in connection
with his work as an examiner, to be his successor. A slap in the face for those
who worked with him at the Conservatoire, but maybe Bainton considered that
the Conservatoire needed new ideas and a new outlook, not available locally. It
would be an understatement to say that some of the staff were disappointed at
the decision. The press notice announcing the start of the summer term on 5 th
April 1934 mentioned that ‘new classes included a Children’s percussion band,
Dalcroze Eurhythmics, folk dancing and pipes (both making and playing) ‘. This
clearly seemed to indicate an enterprising new broom which was confirmed by a
further announcement in September that the ‘Prospectus is completely redesigned,
with particulars of many new courses’ Notwithstanding, Dr Russell,
who was a highly disciplined and competent musician went on to widen the
scope of the Conservatoire, but his efforts were of little avail and on 22 nd July
1938 the Newcastle Journal announced that the Conservatoire was to close. No
reason was given but it seems likely that the Conservatoire was underfunded, it
had no influential committee of management and no subsidy from private or
public funds and at that particular time in history the national economy had
deteriorated and a career in music was rather a bleak outlook.
The Newcastle Conservatoire was a bold attempt to establish a school of
music in the town and had it succeeded it would today be on a par with those
schools successfully established in other larger industrial towns. Its demise was
a sad day for music in the North East but during its lifetime it had a stimulating
effect on musical activity in the city. However, whilst it was the most
comprehensive school of its kind in the North East it was not the only attempt to
found a musical educational centre within the town. Around the 1880s a Miss
Hildegard Werner, a Swedish lady and minor composer, living in the town, set up
the High School of Music in Northumberland Street. It appears to have been an
all ladies establishment with some notable patrons. The school had an all ladies
string orchestra that gave Invitation concerts in the Barras Bridge Assembly
Rooms, mentioned in an earlier chapter. A programme from this period dated
1892 states that it is the 10 th Invitation Concert to be given in the upper suite of
the Assembly Rooms by the Mignon String Orchestra and comprises a
programme of songs, solos and string pieces. Miss Werner died in 1911. In 1894
Mr T.A.Alderson, whom we met when reviewing the choral societies, was listing
himself in the Newcastle Directory as Principal of the Northumberland College of
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