Chapter 3

Saturday morning, Willow and Wendy carried the Yamaha to the club, making another trip to collect the stand and stool. Malcolm had put the amp in place and set out three microphones. Willow took a dining chair from the back room and set one microphone in front of it, at a level to pick up a seated singer.

They tested the sound and spoke to Malcolm while waiting for Jacob. He told them that there was to be a meeting that afternoon, where Ashley was going to be elected to the club board. Because the Roses lived so close, he would be given the keys if there were any evening events in the week, which would allow Malcolm some time off.

When Jacob arrived, he was followed in by his sister. Racheal was in her twenties and much more social than the rest of the family. Willow took to her immediately. Jacob opened his guitar case and pulled out a Fender acoustic that had been altered with a pick-up inside the body, a volume and a tone control, and a jack plug in the usual place. He plugged in the lead and played a few chords, adjusting the volume and tone to his satisfaction.

“Jacob. We can work this two ways. Either you play something you know, and we’ll follow; or we play something we know, and you follow. When we’re playing, tonight, we’ll let you lead and pick the songs, so, I suggest that we start this that way.”

“All right, Willow. A lot of what I know is stuff that you may have heard before.”

He tuned up as Malcolm brought Racheal a drink. With his first song, Willow was able to catch on quickly, while Gina took a bit longer. They repeated it and Racheal told them that it was great. They worked for an hour, with Gina getting faster to find the accompaniment. Then they swapped, with the girls playing their singable pop, and Jacob finding it easy to add the guitar, sometimes with a lead-like passage. When they stopped, Racheal was grinning.

“I told my boyfriend that we were going to a community club for a sing-along, tonight. He’s a dear, and agreed to come, but I think that he had the idea that it will be old fogies singing war-time ditties. He is a budding singer in a new band in Coventry. This will blow his mind.”

“You don’t mind bringing Jacob?”

“Certainly not. I used to hear him play while I was at home and was amazed at how good he was. It took you girls to pull him out of his bedroom and into the world. He told me that he played in front of the school orchestra and that it was so different. I think that he may be a good entertainer, rather than the farmer he’s been pencilled in as. Rick and I watched that concert on Christmas Eve. I never thought that I would be here with the star of that show.”

“Has Jacob shown you the two DVDs of school concerts that we were in?”

“No. I’ll have to borrow them from him and have a look this afternoon before I come back to collect him. What time will you need him here?”

“About half past six. There will be food served, and he will get a free meal before we play. Does your boyfriend’s group do gigs? We have a bigger room in the back where we’ll be having a dinner dance on the last Saturday of the month. Come on, I’ll show you.”

Willow led Racheal through to the back room.

“This seats up to two forty without a dance floor. There are four fifty-watt Marshalls and a PA system in-house. We had eleven on stage before Christmas for a party to a full house.”

“Are you heavily involved in this club?”

“My father will be on the board by tonight, but I just seem to be here a lot, playing and singing. Gina and I are the organists for the church across the road.”

“That’s interesting. I’ll have a look at that before I take Jacob home. I’ve been dropping hints to Rick for a few months and having a venue in mind is the first step in getting him to propose.”

“There will be a society wedding there just before Easter. The reception will be in this room.”

“Oh! Who are the couple?”

“Cassandra and Terry. She is the daughter of Baron Leigh. If you look in the church, you’ll see lots of memorials to the earlier side of the family. The third baron died without children and the peerage went to his cousin.”

They all left the club; Gina went home, and Willow took Racheal and Jacob into the church. They were amazed by the beauty and the calmness of the building.

“This is amazing, Willow. I’ve never been in here before, even though I lived nearby. Our family lapsed without a synagogue close by.”

“I was told that by your parents. What is your boyfriend?”

“At the moment, semi-goth satanist on stage. I believe that he had been a choirboy in his early years.”

They went to her car and Willow went home.

“How did it go, sweetheart?”

“Good, Dad. Malcolm told me that you’re going to be on the club board and will be getting the keys. Will that mean that you’ll also double as bartender?”

“Probably. I did that for a while as a job while I was at Cambridge.”

“Did you serve any drinks to Mum while she was still underage?”

“Of course. She had an excellent ID, and so did all of her friends.”

“Oh, great! My Mum was a forger, and my Dad worked as an underage barkeep in a speakeasy. No wonder I’m so mixed up.”

“You really are a bright one. You know that you light up our lives.”

“My battery seems to be lasting longer, these days. I told Mum that there are some church ladies who have started singing together. Don’t be surprised if you’re asked to open up the club on a weekday evening so they can practise. I won’t be surprised if they want someone on the piano.”

“Are you set for this evening?”

“Yes, Summer Rose is now a trio. You’ll be able to sing as you pull pints.”

When Wendy and Willow walked to the club, Ashley had been there for a while and was now a member of the club management. He had been surprised to see the books, and how much more business had come in since the sing-alongs started, compared with the previous few years. Gina and Maisie were already sitting with drinks.

When Jacob arrived, they had a meal before they started playing. The place was filling, with Rick, Rachael’s boyfriend, looking almost normal. The Russells joined Wendy and Maisie at their table, and the three teens went to start the evening entertainment. Willow looked out at the crowded room, seeing some faces from school and then made an announcement.

“Ladies and gentlemen. Tonight, Summer Rose has been joined by Jacob Epstein on guitar. We hope you like what we play.”

They started with the songs that had Jacob leading, with Gina on the piano and Willow on the keyboard. Obviously, a lot of people had listened to the radio over the previous years, as there was good singing. At around eight-thirty, Willow said that they were taking a short break and then would be back with the drinking songs. Jacob was reluctant to leave the spotlight, but both Willow and Gina gave him a hug and told him that this was just the start.

They took a comfort break and were playing again when Rachael and Rick came back in, staying to the end and singing along. When they finished Rick came over to them.

“I have to compliment you two on your professionalism. That was a full evening of entertainment. I know how hard it is to capture your audience, and you had everyone in the palms of your hands. Jacob was better than I’d ever heard him, and I never thought that I’d see him basking in the spotlight and enjoying being an entertainer.”

“He was magnificent in front of the school orchestra. You can expect to see him starring in a future concert.”

“Rachael said that you were the organist in that Christmas Eve concert. That piece is one that always gives me shivers down my spine.”

“We’ll be back in the Cathedral to play a Saint-Saens concert in May. Who knows what else we’ll be doing in the rest of the year. Did you see the DVDs of the school concerts yet?”

“Not yet. Rach has them in the car and we’ll watch them during the week.”

“I hope that you enjoy them.”

Wendy and Willow helped to tidy up before Ashley could leave, with Ashley carrying the keyboard and Willow with the stand and stool.

“Another great show tonight.”

“It did go well, didn’t it. Jacob added so much to the entertainment.”

“He seemed to grow as he played. You look like you’ve done it again, my girl.”

“I can’t help it if people hide their skill. His evenings in his bedroom has made him a very good.”

“Just like someone else we know.”

Sunday morning, the family walked to church, with Willow going up to fire up old Betsy. When the church was empty again, she went down to find out what the gossip was. It wasn’t surprising that a lot of it was about last night’s entertainment. Rick and Racheal were there, and Rick came over to her.

“Good morning, Willow. I thought that I was just being dragged here to check out a likely marriage venue. I never thought that I would be hearing you play. I’ve never heard a genuine old organ before, and I have to say it was worth coming. It has a tone all of its own.”

“That’s because it’s old, and still uses air pressure from a reservoir. The word that best describes it is authentic.”

“That’s it. I wonder if I could get a tune recorded here. There are a few that we sing that should have an organ, and it would really make a difference with that sound.”

“As long as it’s not one of those Goth dirges about death and destruction. I don’t think that the Reverend would approve of that.”

“Actually, one’s about love and marriage, and a short burst of the wedding march would round it out nicely.”

“If that’s it, I can organise for you to bring your sound gear in and I’ll play it for you, in full, and you can cut it to suit.”

“Would you? That would be great! Give me your number and I’ll get back to you.”

That afternoon, Gina and Willow worked on their Music Studies project. They had been given memory cards with a short segment of a video game, but without any sound. Their task, before the next lesson, was to see if they could create a musical accompaniment to the action. They both used Willow’s organ and laptop but created their own takes on the segment that they had been given. They used some of the synthesizer controls, recording the output to the laptop and then adding the video, before recording it back on their memory cards.

The following week the girls and Jacob were the centre of some attention, as those who had been at the club told their friends about the show. On Tuesday afternoon, they played the ‘Concerto’ through, and then went on to start learning an Albinez piece.

“Today, boys and girls, we will start learning one of the harder pieces that you’ve come across. It is Albinez, ‘Opus 232’, his ‘Cantos de Espana’. We will do it in its original form, with three parts. The thing with this are the odd timings and chords. The second and third movements do not flow as easily as you’re used to, being based on flamenco.”

It took them the rest of the session to master the easier movement. The whole opus was aimed at a piano and cello. With other parts of the orchestra adding their weight. Gina was on piano, and Willow was sitting with her clarinet. Alec was quite friendly, and they spoke between playing. By the time they went home they had worked hard.

………………………………………………………….

While the orchestra was rehearsing, the Head and Miss Russell were in the Head’s office, speaking to a well-dressed man who had asked for an appointment.

“I have to tell you, Mister Waddington, that we have had promoters in here before, offering the world but really just wanting to use our school talent to make a killing. I’ll say to you, before you start, that our children are our first responsibility, and they’re not for signing for pop shows, no matter how good you think they are.”

“What it says on the card is that I am a promoter, true, but I have a great interest in classical music, and find talent good enough to make recordings for a classical music CD company. I could organise a weekend in a studio with your wonderful orchestra, and you would have a CD on the market showing just how good this school is. I was at the concert at the Cathedral and was totally enraptured by what they did there. I know that show will be a BBC production, but I’m sure that there are other items in their repertoire that deserve greater exposure.”

“Give me your contact details, and a list of other orchestras that you have recorded. We’ll do our research. If the signs are good, we’ll get in touch.”

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Wednesday evening, Ashley was needed to go to the club and open up. He found a group of village ladies asking to use the front area to rehearse their singing. One of them asked if Willow could help them with the piano, so he rang her and told her that the speculation was now fact, and if she could come and play the piano.

That evening, she played as accompaniment on some hymns, some carols, and told the ladies that she would get some lyrics for them next week. None of them read music, so she would have to lead the singing until they got the hang of every choral piece. She walked home with her father, and he put his hand on her shoulder.

“Tonight, I saw, at first hand, how good you are with teaching. You could have a career teaching singing, even if you don’t get to sing, yourself.”

“I’m just repeating what I hear at school, Dad. It’s no big thing.”

The rest of the week was as usual as school days could be. They submitted their music for the video games, and they went home Friday with an arrangement for Jacob to join them again for a practise session on Saturday afternoon. It was Gina’s week for the church organ so Willow had some spare time on her hands to source easier choral pieces that the ladies would be able to master.

Saturday morning, Rick got in touch and asked if Willow could arrange a session in the church one evening in the week.

“I’ll go and see the Reverend and call you back. I do have an idea. If you have the actual songs that you want rearranged, can you bring a CD or tape player with them. If I listen to them once, I can then play something suitable the next time. I can count down to the start of a song, so you can then record the organ and will have the timing when you add the track. That might be easier than trying to make the actual classical piece fit.”

“Great idea, I’ll bring the recording gear and the player. Do you have headphones?”

“I have some of my own. I’ll call you back with a time.”

She went over to the church where Gina was running through the hymns and sought out the Reverend.

“Reverend, I’ve been asked to provide a backing track on the organ. It will only take one evening. If I tell them to list the organ of St. Marys, Stoneleigh, on the cover notes, will it be right?”

“I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t ask for a donation, but we can accept a small percentage of sales, say a couple of percent to the roof fund.”

“Got you. I’ll tell you tomorrow if it’s on. Will Thursday evening work for you?”

“I’ll be here. Who are the group, someone from school?”

“No. It’s Rick, Racheal Epstein’s boyfriend. He was here with her last Sunday. That’s when he heard the organ.”

Back at home, she rang Rick. He agreed to the Thursday, and readily agreed to paying a small percentage to the roof fund. That afternoon, Racheal brought Jacob to the club. Because it wasn’t a show night, Gina and Willow swapped seats on the upright for two hours, with the one not playing being the lead singer. They worked through more of Jacob’s repertoire. By the time they packed up, they would be able to handle a full evening of song, the next time it happened. Racheal told them that she would be coming to the dinner dance, so Jacob would be available if needed.

On Sunday, Gina played for the service and Willow sat with the ladies of the choir, trying to gauge their voices in full flight, as they had been a little reticent on the Wednesday evening. That afternoon, she looked for choral pieces on her computer, sending suitable ones to the printer. She found three that she liked, and made ten copies of each set, thinking that they would last her several weeks to get the ladies singing properly.

The school week passed quickly, with much discussion about who were going to be at the dinner dance with their parents. If they, and the usual villagers, turned up, the casual event may be more crowded than the New Year’s Eve party. Gina played for Tuesday morning chapel and the orchestra practise saw them work on the second and third movements of the Albinez.

Wednesday, Willow introduced the ladies to a genuine choral piece for the first time. They worked on it for two hours, with her having to coax some in using the voice that they had sung hymns with on the Sunday. On the way home, Ashley patted her on the shoulder.

“Tonight, you took those ladies out of their comfort zones. If they all turn up next week, you’ll have the foundation of a good choir. That choral piece will make, or break, them.”

Thursday evening, Willow had warmed up her fingers with some Bach when Rick, Racheal, and a couple of guys lugging big bags came into the church. She went down to watch them set up the recording equipment.

“What we have here, Willow, is a small transmitter which will send a signal to this receiver, which you have the headphones plugged into. We will be able to record that signal, digitally, onto a hard drive, which will also be able to record what the microphone catches. All we need is the best place to set up.”

“There’s an outlet in the tearoom for the power, and I believe that the sweet spot is just in front of the temporary altar. Just don’t put anything on it! Play me the songs while I play you some music to set the levels. I’ll go up and start.”

She played some Bach and some bits of the ‘Organ Symphony’ to give them a volume range, while listening to the three songs that Rick wanted to overdub. When they indicated that they were ready, she called down.

“Play me the songs again but be prepared to reject the result. It’ll be better by the second or third take.”

She set herself to improvise and gave an arm wave to start. She could see the four of them all had headphones on, so were probably listening to the final cut as it was being recorded. The song that Rick had said was about love and marriage was quite sweet, she thought, and she was restrained with the additional parts of the Wedding March. After the third set, everyone in the body of the church had big grins, so she took her headphones off and they waved her to come down. She switched the fans off and tidied up, then went down to have Racheal give her a hug.

“That was fantastic, Willow. It really made those songs stand out!”

Rick then gave her a hug as well.

“Rach is right. The organ sound has made all the difference. Those three tracks will join another three that we have perfected and will be issued on the internet by the weekend. We have a video of us doing ‘Love and Marriage’, and we’ll have this audio added to it. You took what we were doing to heart and the result sounds as if you’ve been in the group for ever. Still, with what I saw of your Deep Purple and Moody’s acts, I wouldn’t have expected anything less.”

Willow stayed with them until they had collected all their equipment and the waved to them as they left, before locking the church and taking the keys to the vicarage. She strolled home, her headphones around her neck, wondering why she was so good at blending organ music into a track that she had never heard before. She wasn’t able to do something similar with piano, violin or clarinet, yet. But, there again, that was something she hadn’t had the chance to work on.

The dance band spent two hours after school on Friday sorting out a basic repertoire. Jacob joined in but Alec had bowed out because his mother refused to let him go to Stoneleigh on an unofficial event, as well as Herb, who had a family party to go to. The violinist had also gone down with the flu. They went with what they had. Without the strings, it became more of an electric band, but with the volume lowered, and the girls creating the strings sounds on the keyboards, it sounded good.

Saturday was busy for the Rose family. Ashley went to the club in the morning to help set up, taking the Yamaha with him. Willow followed with the stand and seat, then went to Gina’s house to help carry her Yamaha and stuff to the club. They hauled the amps and PA system out of storage and set them up, as the tables and chairs were being set out. Malcolm was setting up for the two hundred, and able to take tables away if the numbers didn’t happen.

Gina tested her keyboard and went home, while Willow went over to the church to check out the hymns for Sunday, before going home for her own lunch and changing before she went back. In the afternoon, Ashley was preparing the bar for a hopefully, busy evening. Malcolm, Wendy and a few of the church ladies were laying the tables and setting out water carafes. Willow and Gina made sure that the stage equipment was ready to go. Being the third event in here, since COVID, the kitchen was regaining its old efficiency, and the suppliers were keen to make sure that nobody left feeling that they hadn’t had a good feed.

The other band members started arriving and set their instruments in place. Racheal, Rick and Jacob arrived in the late afternoon. As diners started to arrive, going for drinks and finding a table, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. When the two coaches from the school arrived, with other students and their parents, it started to look like the event was going to be a runaway success. In the end, just before orders were to be taken, Malcolm had to add two small tables for another eight diners, which didn’t take a lot out of the dance floor.

The band were given their meal in the front section of the building, and then went to the stage to entertain the crowd. Over the next three hours, they played everything from standard ballroom numbers, to folk, pop, love songs and fun songs. Almost every member of the band had sung more than once, with Jacob and Willow doing the most. The dance floor was packed for most of the time, and the room slowly cleared while a few couples danced, cheek to cheek, to a brace of slow numbers before Willow announced that the evening was drawing to a close.

Marianne Gregory © 2025