Here at LittlePod, we’re delighted to be supporting the arts in East Devon in 2024. To mark the Farringdon Society of Arts’ 20th year, we’re lending our backing to a series of cultural events, which is due to culminate in the long-awaited return of Tom McLauchlan, the renowned classical guitarist, to the village this September. Keen to find out more, Paul this week gave Tom a call. These are his words:

It has been a long time since I first played for the FSA. Years have passed and I haven’t been in touch with Janet for quite a while. To receive an email saying, ‘we remember your recital, it was lovely and we’d like to have you back’ was fantastic. I do get asked to go back to places I’ve played at previously, but it’s quite unusual after such a long gap. It’s nice to be remembered and I look forward to it very much.

I remember that previous recital well. I recall chatting with Janet and being struck by her energy, and enthusiasm for supporting the arts in East Devon. Organisations and groups such as the FSA are so important and for all the other work that I do, to give a solo classical guitar recital in a setting like this is always a great pleasure. I love playing in rural locations. People always make a great effort and come to listen.

Music enables me to travel. In March, I joined an around-the-world cruise ship in Singapore and played on the penultimate leg to Durban. Last year, it was Buenos Aires to Brazil and, not long after the recital in Farringdon, I’ll be on a Transatlantic cruise that will sail into New York. It can be exciting, top-notch, and high brow. But these seated, solo recitals will always be my first love. They’re just so rewarding.

I like playing in London, but it’s a saturated market. I have a friend who put on a lunchtime concert series in the city. Seven people turned up. When I came to the South West previously, I remember asking if we’d get much of a turnout. They said, ‘Well, John and Sue are on holiday, and someone else is sick. But everyone else in the village will be there.’ You get such a great sense of occasion with these things.

These days recorded music is available so readily. You can subscribe and listen to anything, all the time. But it hasn’t diminished the appeal or the importance of live music. Rachmaninoff was fearful that people would stop going to his concerts and just listen to him on the gramophone. He turned out to be mistaken, because people still love to be there in the room on those live occasions that cannot be reproduced.

This recital will be an intimate occasion. It’s the kind of concert that I love to go to as an audience member. You get that sense that everyone has descended – like a pilgrimage – to listen to one person. It’s remarkable. There’s an openness that I love. With the guitar, you’re trying to draw people in rather than blow them away. People say, ‘I found myself leaning further and further forwards on my chair.’ I like that idea.

One of the strengths of the guitar is the size of the repertoire available. I like to start a recital in the Elizabethan era. That court lute music. I think Bach should always be included. There are immediate links with Spanish and Latin American music. Then there is music that is more contemporary, like Nikita Koshkin or Cavatina. There’s something for everyone. This is how it will be in September.

People like Janet are important. We need people to support the arts in East Devon and other such places. Live music is crucial to rural communities and we’re reliant on groups such as the FSA – and the people behind them – to make these things happen. The world is forever changing, but live music is as valuable as ever. To be asked back is a great pleasure. I look forward to seeing everyone in September.

• Tom will perform at St Petrock and St Barnabas Church in Farringdon on Saturday, September 21st. Tickets are £5 (available in advance or on the door, space permitting). Proceeds will go to the church roof fund. Like to find out more / reserve a place? Visit the FSA for details, email sales@littlepod.co.uk or call 01395 232022.

• Like to find out more about our events and how LittlePod is supporting the arts in East Devon? Please read our blog. For further details about Tom, visit his website.