About
A brief history of St Botolph’s Music Society
St Botolph’s Music Society was founded by Colin Nicholson and Rodney Tomkins in 1966. To begin with they established a choir. Shortly after this they formed an orchestra to accompany the choir.
Over the years SBMS has organised festivals, concert series, and holiday courses. We have also welcomed talented local performers and renowned international soloists. Continuing our ethos of supporting young musicians, we are also pleased to offer performance opportunities to young and emerging local musicians.
In 2016 we celebrated our 50th anniversary with a celebration concert, performing many of the same pieces as were played in the very first concert in 1966.
The society is still going strong today. We perform four concerts each year, with our concert seasons running between September and July. Rehearsals are held on Thursday evenings at St Botolph’s Church, observing the school terms and holidays. New orchestra members are always welcome. For more information on this, please contact us.
Meet the people
The faces of St Botolph’s Music Society
Founder & President
Colin Nicholson
Colin has a life-time’s association with St Botolph’s Church. He was baptised there, and his family were regular worshippers at the church.
As a young boy Colin joined the choir, where his imagination was captured by the sound of the organ. He soon began taking lessons. While still a schoolboy, he became a reserve organist at various local churches.
Colin was awarded a place at The Royal College of Music, where he studied composition under Harold Darke. Following National Service, he trained as a teacher and eventually became Head of Music at Colchester Royal Grammar School.
In 1954 he became organist and choirmaster at St Botolph’s Church, a post which he held until his retirement in 2018. Together with Rodney Tomkins, Colin co-founded St Botolph’s Music Society in 1966. As a composer Colin has produced many choral pieces for the church, many of which have been included in SBMS concerts over the years.
Colin was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2012 for services to music.
Musical Director
Jonathan Abbott
Jonathan hails from the Colchester area, and studied music at the University Hull. It’s here where he also studied conducting under Andrew Penny.
In 2005, Jonathan returned to Colchester where he took on the role of Assistant Musical Director with the Colne Valley Youth Orchestra. It is a role in which he stayed for 13 years.
His association with SBMS began in 2010 when he started assisting Colin. In 2015, Jonathan became the principal conductor for SBMS. Under his direction, the repertoire of SBMS has been broadened to include a diverse range of orchestral music.
As well as his role at SBMS, Jonathan teaches music in schools in the Essex and Suffolk area. He is also Musical Director for the Woodbridge Orchestral Society. When not conducting, Jonathan can be found playing trumpet with the Sweeting Swing Band.
Leader
Simon Ballard
Simon has a varied musical career, having performed across the UK, Europe and China. He has played as part of string quartets for concerts in venues such as St Martin in the Fields in London and as far away as Beijing Concert Hall.
Orchestral work includes the Scottish Chamber, RTÉ Concert and Chineke Orchestras. He played in the orchestra for the Thursford Christmas Spectacular for over a decade. He also finds baroque performance on period instruments with groups such as Armonico Consort and Bach Camerata extremely rewarding.
A firm believer in the power of music, Simon also teaches children and adults the violin and viola and has coached and directed a range of amateur ensembles for many years
As a student, Simon received a full scholarship to study for a master’s degree at Trinity Laban with violist Rivka Golani where he was also awarded the Nick Roth prize for String Ensemble playing.
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