Celebrating 30 years of music with an ‘all-afternoon extravaganza’
Community-based musical ensemble Loosely Woven is celebrating 30 years of musical magic and to celebrate it will hold ‘all-afternoon extravaganzas’ titled Loosely Woven Unwound.
The free shows will feature over 40 performers, and you can see it at three locations on the Beaches from 29 March.
The story began in 1995 at Manly Warringah Radio’s studios in Narrabeen (now Northern Beaches Radio) where Wayne Richmond organised monthly live-to-air concerts. He’d often grab a few musical friends and perform himself.
More musicians and singers joined Wayne, a public concert followed, and the ensemble needed a name.
“A Christian rock band called Tightly Packed had performed for the previous live-to-air, so we became Loosely Woven,” recalls Wayne.
Loosely Woven played at Warriewood Surf Club, and other venues across the beaches, including St David’s Anglican Church in Dee Why. They also did a fundraiser for Amnesty International at Avalon Baptist Church.
“We’ve never accepted money, not even for expenses,” says Wayne. “But we are happy for other people to use our concerts as fundraisers.”
Fast forward 30 years or so and Loosely Woven has put a new repertoire together for free public concerts three times a year. It could be anything from pop to opera, and include a variety of singers and performers playing instruments such as the harmonium, violin, saxophone, harp and glockenspiel. Wayne say new instrumentalists and singers are always welcome to join the group.
Loosely Woven usually has 15 to 25 musicians playing at any one time. Wayne’s wife, Gial, sings duets with Wayne and plays the glockenspiel and violin. Wayne plays the keyboard, concertina and piano accordion.
They also entertain residents at retirement villages, performing a morning concert at one venue, before packing
up and proceeding to the next venue, where Wayne says he organises lunch for the hungry musicians.
“We don’t accept money, but we do accept food,” Wayne laughs. “We need to eat between concerts.”
“People are amazed. They say, ‘You do all this and you do it for nothing.’ But we have a ball,” Wayne says. “We are just a bunch of people who love playing and performing.”
Back when Loosely Woven was growing in size, they needed somewhere to rehearse. Wayne loved the idea of rehearsing and hosting performances in his home, so he started searching for a house with a backyard big enough to fit a yurt!
It was Gial who found a small church for sale in Allambie Heights, which they thought was ideal.
“It was a lot of money, but it was just perfect,” says Wayne, who subsequently found an old photo of himself at the old church voting in the 1972 federal election when Gough Whitlam was elected prime minister.
The old church became Humph Hall, holding its first Loosely Woven performance in 2009. Now, local and international musicians are lining up to perform at one of the Beaches best kept secret venues.
“Hundreds of artists from all over the world have performed in our ‘living room’ – that is, the former church which we now call Humph Hall,” says Wayne.
Incidentally, ‘Humph’ is Wayne’s nod to Winnie the Pooh’s reaction to finding an empty honey pot – Wayne used to read the classic story to his children.
However, no audience member has ever sighed ‘humph’ at a Loosely Woven performance!
LOOSELY WOVEN UNWOUND
30 year anniversary
1pm – 6pm
29 March | Avalon Baptist Church
30 March | The Lakes Parish Hall, Narrabeen
6 April | St David’s Uniting Church, Dee Why
Free admission | looselywoven.org