Martin was latterly a music teacher (guitar, piano, flute); he would
often discount his fees for pupils from households hit by the recession,
and his family has launched a charitable fund, in his memory, to
continue this work, subsidising instrumental tuition for the young
people of Fairford UK, where he lived.
We were absolutely delighted and overwhelmed by the generosity of
the donations that BtP readers sent, following that announcement. Large
and small, the sums rolled in from all over the world, and the fund –
including other 'live' donations – already stands at over £2,500. With
this capital we can make a real difference to the lives of many young
musicians for a good time to come, so Thank You Very Much, kind
BtP readers.
Paler DJ Rob Barnes kindly used part of his radio show on 30 August to
relay thanks to all Procol fans listening, and our (edited) clip of this
makes good listening:
click here (you will also hear a
webmaster typing a message to the DJ in the opening seconds)
In the show Rob explained his selection of
Gary Brooker's poignant
Trick of the Night (we wonder how many times that piece has been
aired on the radio). It's also the song
sung by Martin's brother Roland (with his son and nephews, in a
special choral arrangement) to a full congregation of about 300 people
just before the Commendation that concluded Martin's Memorial Celebrations.
Here in the UK we're now researching for a philanthropic sponsor to match the sum collected, pound for pound, so the Martin Clare Music Fund can do more good for longer.
So – if any further BtP readers would now like to make a donation, whatever the size, to promote something so musical and worthwhile, it might now produce a double benefit. Thank you all again.