How Tea & Tunes in Kirkcaldy led to invite to King Charles’ Windsor reception

Kirkcaldy Old Kirk Trust’s popular Tea & Tunes initiative was honoured to receive recognition of its support for community music from King Charles, with an invitation to attend a reception at Windsor Castle.

Carol Main and Rosemary Potter were the driving forces behind the idea three years ago - one that has brought many musicians to the Lang Toun venue where they have found a good audience.

The afternoons feature a performance and then an opportunity to chat with the guests afterwards - a format that has proved a huge success.

Carol, of Live Music Now Scotland and Rosemary, who chairs the trust, wanted to encourage people to come together after the pandemic to enjoy live music.

Rosemary said: "We wanted to encourage people to come together again to enjoy music and company after the isolation of Covid and this was also the reason for the King’s reception - to celebrate the power and range of community music to bring people together.”

Kirkcaldy-born Carol Main, the retiring director of Live Music Now Scotland, has over 40 years built up the charity founded by Yehudi Menuhin with the vision of music being accessible to all members of society, regardless of their circumstances, while simultaneously developing the skills of young, talented musicians.

Originally an afternoon's work in a week this is now a full-time post - and more -with Carol retaining responsibilities for fund-raising and international contacts, while handing over other tasks to a new CEO.

She said: "The chance for people, especially older people living in social isolation, to meet and share the joy of music with others, is something that is becoming more important than ever in post-pandemic society.”

Rosemary added: “The young musicians Carol brought to Kirkcaldy were amazing, with such skill and energy and passion in their performances, and the audiences loved to chat with them afterwards - in fact sometimes it was hard for them to get to the table for a cup of tea or piece of cake!"

They both travelled to Windsor Castle recently for the reception which featured a performance in the magnificent Waterloo Chamber by diverse groups before guests joined the Royal Party again in Windsor Great Hall. It was compered by Katie Derham and featured the London Gay Men’s Choir, a Royal College of Music Quartet, YolanDa Brown and the Sing for Freedom Choir. However the group that caught the photographers’ attention was the London Vegetable Chorus – the pictures that appeared in the press next morning were of the King playing a carrot recorder with them!

Added Rosemary: "When Carol asked if I would like to go along with her and two others from Live Music Now, I really wasn’t sure what I was going to! However my first visit to Windsor Castle and my first invitation from the King proved as unique an experience as I had accepted it would be!”

Tea and Tunes returns to the Old Kirk on Sunday, June 22 at 2.30pm when an Armenian group will be playing in the Old Kirk and with Kirkcaldy Music Society a special partner in that venture.