Chris Evans 1928-2019
Readers will be saddened to hear of the death of Chris Evans. Many will know his wife, Janet, from regular appearances at NWEMF workshops. Chris hadn’t attended these for some while, but both were faithful followers of my weekend courses, from way back into the last century (Springfield Court, Rye), its Easter successors at Wedgwood College and, from 2012, many weekends at Knuston Hall in Northamptonshire. Chris and Janet were seasoned recorder players, but increasingly were to enjoy the delights of vocal consorts. As for so many of us, the advent of domestic music publishing brought new opportunities for Chris, type-setting, arranging, and producing original compositions for musical gatherings at their home. Latterly, impaired mobility slowed these down, while the affliction so dreaded by lovers of music, loss of hearing, also took its toll. It was probably the latter which could seem to render Chris distant, even unapproachable. But he had a dry sense of humour, and I also came to realise that his quiet word of thanks at the end of a course was both gratefully proffered and justly earned.
Peter Syrus
First published in February 2020 Newsletter
