Brian: Hello there and greetings from me, Brian Kay. For those of you who don't know me I was lucky enough, privileged even to be the conductor of the Leith Hill Music Festival for 21 years from 1996 to 2016. During that time, many conductors of the individual choirs came and went, often having cut their teeth as choral directors and then moved on.

One conductor remained constant. She was there before I started, there when I finished, and in this final year is still there. It's a remarkable record of dedication to her choirs and devotion to the festival which will surely never be equalled. She is, of course, the much-loved conductor of Oxshott and Horsley, Val Beynon.

Hello, Val. How are you and how is semi-retirement?

Val: Thank you. Difficult at times. But I suppose it's something I’ll get used to. I've still got my choirs and that's the main thing at the moment, which is lovely. So I'm just going to live out the rest and enjoy it.

Brian: Well, let's get this straight to start with. This is your 50th year with Oxshott. 

Val: Yes, indeed. Yes, I started the choir 50 years ago. 

Brian: And how long have you been with Horsley? Fifteen years?

Val: Yes!

Brian: You must have seen some changes in that time in the festival.

Val: Yes, quite a few. Some good, some creating difficulties such as I won't miss having to choose six own choice pieces for the competition!

Brian: We'll come on to that.

Val: The spirit of the festival is still there. And particularly last year, after the business of COVID, which was horrendous, it's coming back into its own again, which is lovely.

Brian: You must have sung under what, four or is it five festival conductors? Do you go back as far as Christopher Robinson?

Val: Further back than that – I go back to William Cole.

Brian: William Cole; that's six.

Val: Which was amazing. He was the conductor when I first came to Leith Hill. 

And it was exciting because when I was young, his was the signature on all the certificates for the music exams. It was always signed ‘William Cole’ and there he was, conducting, which is amazing. So that was quite exciting. And Christopher Robinson. Bill Llewellyn. Oh, who else? Brian Kay of course! And Jonathan. And now Neil. So yes, quite a few.

Brian: Vaughan Williams?

Val: Sadly not, but what an amazing man.

Brian: Well, what an amazing vision. I mean, to have started this whole thing off and to find the Festival still going all these years later.

Val: It's his vision that kept me going because he wanted to let the people sing, also small choirs getting together. Absolute magic.

Brian: Well, you mentioned the pandemic. Of course, the pandemic was a huge problem for choral music everywhere, could have signalled the end of many choirs, many choral societies, and even many festivals. But I think we've all come through it.

Val: Yes, with the help of Zoom. All right, I'm not a great one for this sort of thing, but it was our saving grace because we kept our rehearsals going. We did a funny sort of Christmas concert for each choir over Zoom, which was weird, but it was good, so good. We kept going, we kept together, and we kept seeing each other, which was the important thing.

Brian: Because music making of this kind, particularly with the festival, is as much a social activity as it is a musical activity.

Val: It's incredibly important. You know, people getting together and singing together, it just lifts the soul, lifts you out of everything. A lot of people come who've got big problems and they say, “it's wonderful because after two hours of singing it's all gone away and I feel like a new person.”

That's the power of music, which is just so wonderful. 

Brian: Let's go back a bit. Let's go back a long way, in fact.

We have something very much in common. We both started off with childhoods in Yorkshire and we both went to boarding school in North Wales Not the same one, I have to say.

Val: Yes!

Brian: What a wonderful place for us both to have been brought up.

Val: Absolutely. North Wales is just beautiful. I have to say. I'm so glad I went there because the original plan was for me to go to York, to the Mount School, York.

But that was the one time I actually went against my parents’ wishes because when I went to look around the school, they took my parents around and I was left in this little room. My parents came back and said, “Oh, that's wonderful.” So I said, “No, it isn't.” “What do you mean?” So I said, “Well, I haven't seen it. You know, they haven't shown me around. So I'm not going there.” 

That was the first time I actually put my foot down with my parents because my brother was the great rebel. They took that on and sent me to Lowther College in North Wales, which was just sensationally beautiful.

Brian: To be brought up with the North Sea on one side and the mountains on the other. It was just perfect. Was it there that you started singing in earnest?

Val: Yes, perfect! My school had a very good music department and the music master, Mr. Davies, was just brilliant, taught me piano, got me singing, gave me singing lessons and then a wonderful choir. We did lots of concerts and he made me choir leader at the beginning of my sixth form year when he was taken ill. He sent a message, “Can you take the choir practices” so I sort of stumbled my way through those which was exciting, and I loved every minute of it. 

Brian: So the moment you first conducted the choir, did you think to yourself “This is it.”?

Val: No, it never even occurred to me!

Brian: Really?

Val: Oh gosh, not until much later. I'd conducted children – that was fine, that was part of teaching. But conducting a choir seriously never even occurred to me. 

Brian: What changed? Was it when you went to Dartington? Because you went on to Dartington?

Val: I went to Dartington College of Arts; I just loved the music. More singing and learning how to teach it and so on, which was great. Didn't do any conducting there at all. None whatsoever. I just sang and sang and sang and it was wonderful.

Singing in the choir for me was everything. And I wanted, I suppose, to impart that to everybody that singing in a choir was the best thing. 

Brian: So what sort of qualification did you come away from Dartington with?

Val: Oh, it's called the DDMES, the Dartington Diploma of Music Education in Schools. Also ARCM; teaching, singing. 

Brian: That qualified you as a teacher. And you have done that ever since?

Val: I have indeed. In schools and with choirs and church choirs, people and children; children all over the place…

Brian: In schools and with choirs. But you also, I think… sang with the Sheffield choir?

Val: After qualifying as a teacher, I returned to Sheffield and sang with the Sheffield Bach choir for about two or three years. We sang in Huddersfield, one of your places, Brian. It was just great fun. 

Brian: When did you finally move south to Surrey?

Val: I moved to Surrey in 1970 when my parents moved down. I stayed in Sheffield for a while And then I decided to come to London. So I left Sheffield and came down and got a job at a boys prep school, where I stayed and taught for 45 years. 

Brian: And you started singing as well.

Val: Yes, I joined Leatherhead Choral Society, and that introduced me to Leith Hill.

Brian: The start of another new experience. How did you actually get involved with the Oxshott choir?

Val: Well, I was singing at Leatherhead and the conductor there made me deputy. So I took quite a few of the rehearsals - and there were one or two members who had moved from Oxshott to sing there when Oxshott had folded some years before.

One of them came to me and said, have you ever thought of conducting in Oxshott? I said, no, not really. And they said, well, what about the WI choir? So I did! 

I thought, not having done any conducting, it would be quite an experience. So I agreed! We used to meet every Monday afternoon, which was great. And we entered quite a few competitions, for one of which Robin Gritton was the adjudicator, and he was very good to us! 

By that time I'd started a children's choir in the village because I really wanted to work with children and that grew to enormous proportions. We used to do things like ‘Joseph and his amazing Technicolor Dream Coat’ and ‘Jonah Man Jazz’ etc. And we had great fun! 

Then it was suggested I start up Oxshott Choral Society again. We had this little meeting, and that was it. The birth of the Oxshott Choral Society - rebirth I should say.

Brian: 50 years later, you're still there. 

Val: I'm still there, yes.

Brian: Absolutely. It's a remarkable achievement. 

Val: There are still some there who were with me 50 years ago, when we re-formed.

Brian: Goodness me. That’s very impressive. And one other side of your core activity, of course, was the church choir.

Val: There's the church choir. Yes, I took over the church choir about 32, 33 years ago. And that's lovely. So I've got a small church choir. I also had a children's church choir as well.

We did lots and lots of things there; I used to write plays for them for Easter and Christmas, so there was always a lot going on. And they loved it. We had lots of fun!

Brian: So you like hard work!

Val: Never seems hard because I just love it.

Brian: Once you'd started conducting, did you miss the singing?

Val: Yes, I suppose I did, but that was the joy of Leith Hill because I could go and sing in the concerts. So I got that opportunity and I carried on singing with Leatherhead for a little while.

Before I conducted Horsley, I sang with them for a bit because they were doing the Dream of Gerontius, which I desperately wanted to sing. 

That introduced me to Horsley, then their conductor said he was leaving in November, so they had nobody to take them on to the festival that season. They said, “Will you?” I said “Yes, okay, I'll take you on to the festival, see what happens.” And I'm still there!

But the joy also, is that in the summer, Oxshott and Horsley get together to do a joint summer concert. And that's lovely.

Brian: That's wonderful. Did you ever have lessons in conducting or did it come naturally to you?

Val: No, no lessons. I think I went on one course in London for a couple of days and that was good. But I've learned from you lovely conductors! Brian Kay and more! Simply by observing and drawing inspiration from them.

Brian: Pick it up, pick it up. Yes. I'm the same. You pick it up and you learn by experience. The great thing is you learn by doing it; you learn what works more importantly you learn what doesn't work.

Val: Oh, you do, exactly.

Brian: And hopefully improve as the years go by.

Val: Quite so.

Brian: Let's concentrate now on the festival. Because in the old days the music committee – of which I was a member - used to choose the competition pieces. Now that's changed and the conductors like you have to choose your own pieces for the competition. That puts a considerable strain on your time?

Val: You’re telling me! I mean, just choosing three for one choir is bad enough but six for two choirs is really hard work.

Brian: How do you set about choosing the pieces? I mean, do you have to cater for the differences between the two choirs?

Val: Yes, to a certain extent. And then, of course, you've got to get your modern composer, your living composer… It takes forever and ever.

Brian: Do you find the publishers help you by sending you copies of things they'd like you to perform?

Val: Sometimes, not always. I have to go and listen to YouTube – that's the way it goes!  One or two I've possibly done before in this festival because I really like them and because it's my last year.

Brian: You've earned the right to do that, I think.

Val: Thank you.

Brian: How does it feel for you when you've done all the hard work of preparation, and the festival conductor comes in and does the business? 

Val: I just think it's wonderful. To me, that's brilliant. I feel I've done my job if the choir is singing well and they love the piece of music that they're singing. That's the main thing. Then they'll perform it for their festival conductor and for me! It doesn't bother me in the slightest and it's great because I get to sing without the responsibility. 

Brian: You did a wonderful job because you're actually putting something together. To start with a blank sheet and you're creating something very special. Even if you then have to hand it on to another conductor. You've done all the hard work and that is hugely satisfying.

Val: Yes, I just love it. And if I can make my choir love it too; love the music, that's my job complete as far as I'm concerned.

Brian: Well, the festival conductor chooses what we call the ‘main work’. Over all those years, have you ever had to prepare something you didn't much care for?

Val: Yes.

Brian: That must make life difficult.

Val: It's very difficult. But generally speaking the more you work at something, the more you begin to like it and It's my job to put across to them a love of the music. So I have to play it very carefully at the beginning and be enthusiastic and so on and gradually hopefully it catches on between us, the singers and myself.

Brian: Yes, unfortunately, it's part of your job when you've been told what to prepare. It's your job to make sure that the choir knows how much you love it, even if internally you're not having a very good time. We chorus masters, we've all been there.

If you met someone who said, “Um yes, Leith Hill Festival.” How would you describe a day at the festival to demonstrate to them how special it is to you?

Val: So as far as I'm concerned, the main thing of the festival is singing with a big choir in the evening with a professional orchestra, professional singers doing a really, really good job with the big work.

In the morning it's exciting because you have your solo pieces, and you're competing against the people you're singing with in the evening. 

Generally speaking, it's really good. The conductors are very generous with each other, and they get on extremely well. You've got nail biting stuff in the morning which is kind of mind-boggling and scary. 

But in the afternoon, all that's lost; all that competition is over and we all get together and sing and it's absolutely brilliant.

Brian: Developed recently, I think, in that in the mornings all the choirs get to listen to each other all the time. They get to hear everything that the other choirs have done.

Val: Yes. It's nerve-wracking but it's fascinating. It's so interesting to hear what other choirs choose to sing.

Brian: Is that making it a little bit more nerve-wracking for you?

Val: To me, it's one of the most interesting things about it.

Brian: Yes, to actually see how other choirs perform in the same situation. 

Val: So very exciting.

Brian: How many times can you remember have your two choirs won cups and banners?

Val: So many times! Too many to remember.

Brian: Do the choirs really mind whether or not they win or is it just part of the fun?

Val: Oh, good question! Some are so incredibly competitive and really want to win. Some of us just go to enjoy, so it’s a kind of mixed balance within each choir. 

Obviously, they'd all love to do well, because partly they want to do well for me as well as for themselves.  But it's okay because in the end the evening really settles it, which is good.

Brian: Do you mind not singing the little pieces in the evening concerts? I mean, for me when I was a conductor, it was always a thrill to be able to bring all the choirs together and sing. 250 people singing a madrigal or a part song was always to me one of the great things of the festival.

Val: I did too, and it was great to perform them all together. The audiences enjoyed that as well. Now some are saying “Well, can't the winners each sing their song” it just wouldn’t work. I can't think how they would stage it, how it would happen, and I don't think it's right anyway. That's not the Vaughan Williams vision.

The Vaughan Williams mission was to let the choirs sing, let them all sing together; and that would break away from that vision. 

Brian: I'm trying to get my mind around the workload that you have had for the last 50 years. Because as well as the festival, which takes up a lot of your time, you have to run the year's programme for two choirs. Choosing unique music, getting the scores together, learning the scores. It's a huge part of your life, isn't it?

Val: I don't really think about it. I just sort of get on with it and love every minute.

You know, I’m so lucky. Making music has really been my life and my life's work and I've so enjoyed it. Planning a Christmas concert and things for each choir is lovely. Doing a summer concert together, that lightened that load quite a lot.

Brian: How many nights a week would you spend in rehearsal? Three nights?

Val: Yes, Three. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Brian: On top of a full-time teaching job.

Val: Yes, quite a lot!

Brian: It's a very big commitment.

Val: It is. It is. But if you love doing what you're doing, it’s just a pleasure. 

Brian: It's keeping you middle-aged! 

Val: Don't feel like it always, but yes…

Brian: Very important. You asked me not so long ago what it's like when you stop doing this kind of thing. And I think I tried to persuade you that there is life after what have you given up? Because, you know, it's hard to imagine if you suddenly have two nights a week free and you don't have to look up music and choose programs and things. It'll free up a lot of time for you.

Val: It will, and that's hard.

Brian: Are you looking forward to it?

Val: Not desperately, but I made the decision, and it was the right decision. No hesitation about that. It was the right decision.

So when I made the decision and announced it to the choirs, I then spent a while  - probably nearly a month - thinking, what am I going to do when it's all finished? I got really down about it, and then I sat there one day and thought, don't be stupid. You're spoiling the time you've got now. Just go on to the end of the time, then something will sort itself out. Hopefully…

Brian: And then what happens when somebody comes along to you and says, “we're looking for a conductor, will you please come and join us and start again.”

Would you do it?

Val: I doubt it. I’ll see how I've settled.

Brian: What about after 50 years of the festival, do you have any standout memories of things that have been very special?

Val: Diana Moore and the Dream of Gerontius. That was just… I'll never ever forget that. And again, when we did it at Coventry. I’ll never forget that either. She is so amazing. As a student I was a great fan of Janet Baker. She was my heroine. I just thought she was absolutely magical. And then Diana Moore came on and I thought, you know, she's the nearest thing you could possibly get to Janet Baker. The two of them are wonderful. 

Brian: And lucky for all of us when I When I did Gerontius with the Festival, there was Janet Baker sitting in the front.

Val: Yes. Absolutely amazing.

Brian: Do you think the festival is safe in the 21st century? Should it develop in different directions?

Val: I think for the time being it's safe. Because we're getting back after COVID, and I think from what I see of the choirs now, they're quite keen, though a lot of them are quite big choirs so they can do big things under their own steam and that's a slight problem. The little choirs are the ones that need the festival. I mean, Oxshott couldn't do anything with a big orchestra. We couldn't raise the money for that. Neither could Horsley. Epsom can, Dorking can, and we don't want to lose those choirs.

But there are some that are very, very small, and they need to be looked after very carefully, when deciding the choice of music.

Care is needed to introduce a wide and varied programme, because although you want to attract young people, it's the older people that are keeping it going at the moment. 

Brian: Well, yes, it's a shame because I think if you belong to a choir, you should sing in it. You should sing in every concert, whether you like the music or not. 

Do you think it has affected the festival greatly being cut down from three days to two?

Val: No, I don't think so. I think that's worked well. It's the Fridays - missing the workday - that people are worried about, but it's only once every other year, and they seem to be able to cope with that. 

When it was Thursday, Friday and Saturday that became more difficult. I think a two-day pattern is a good solution.

Brian: One of the many things about the festival that makes it so special to me is that it's basically run by volunteers in basically in every department. 

You've been a general committee member for a long time; do you ever imagine it being run any differently or do you think it will survive in this form?

Val: Well, I think they've sorted it a lot recently because now our Festival Organiser has got people working in teams, which is much easier than being solely responsible.  Teamwork is key to the Festival, and that was a very good move. Last year's festival was lovely. It all ran very smoothly. It all flowed beautifully.

Brian: There's always been a buzz about the festival. Even just watching. I used to watch as people arrived at the Dorking Halls ready for the festival day; you know there was a spring in their step and a real sort of wonderful feeling that ‘today is going to be very special, whatever.’

Val: And afterwards, you're still buzzing because it's been so good, so fulfilling. It's great.

Brian: Well, the festival is certainly going to miss you. I've no doubt you'll always be there in the audience but it's going to be very strange not having you up on the stage because as far as everybody there is concerned, you've always been there.

Val: I'm amazed! I just do it and I never think about the passage of time. I just… get up there and do it because I love it. It’s such a wonderful Festival.

Brian: You're a natural.

Val: And I love the people I conduct; in fact I love everything about it.

Brian: Well, and that is the secret of your success. Because if you love something and you can put that across for other people and make them love it too, then job done.

Val: Yes, exactly. And that is what you do, Brian – and what you taught me as well.

Brian: Well, you know… I'm still crazy about music. If I can share it with other people, then that's the greatest achievement. 

Val: Music with amateur singers has something extra special about it, I find. You know, you're really making something out of pretty well nothing and it's so exciting when it happens, and it really does happen if you love it enough. 

Brian: You use the word love. I always say that everything is always best because they love it. There's no other reason. They're not being paid for it. They pay to do it.

Val: Yes, exactly. 

Brian: Well, I'm sure I would join in with everybody else who's ever been connected with the festival when I wish you an extremely happy retirement.

Val: Oh, thank you. We will keep in touch, won't we?

Brian: We certainly will.