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Oswestry Recorded Music Society |
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2011/12
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Society History The 2008/9 season marked the Society’s 50th Anniversary. The Oswestry Recorded Music Society was founded in 1958, the brainchild of employees of the Post Office’s telephone department (then part of the state-owned GPO and the predecessor to British Telecom). They were based at an engineering and administration centre located just outside the town, former country house Brogyntyn Hall, One of those founder members is our current President, Edward Tanner; another was the late Peter Lander (a former Treasurer). We remain the only RMS in Shropshire the nearest being in Cheshire, Staffs and Wolverhampton. The very first meeting was held in the old Public Library formerly situated at the rear of the Guildhall and during these early years the Society struggled along with attendances sometimes as low as six. However after several moves to various types of accommodation it was agreed to move to the then newly built Parish Centre in the middle of town near the Broad Walk. At this time it was a gamble as the room hire costs were far more expensive than anything before, however that gamble paid off due to the central location, reasonable acoustics and comfort levels and refreshment facilities. From that time membership steadily increased peaking at around 100 until recently although we have about sixty paid-up members currently with attendances usually between 30 and 50. Another important activity throughout the Society's history has been visits to concerts of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra as well as occasional concerts at Wrexham featuring various orchestras and artists. However this is no longer a direct function of ORMS and is now run by Oswestry Concert-goers. The Society has recently invested in new sound equipment and we usually employ a radio microphone system for presenters. It's a sign of the times that the audio cassette player and vinyl record deck have not seen the light of day for many years! Along with the general trend, our membership is not quite as high as once was but we continue to be one of the most successful societies affiliated to the Federation of Recorded Music Societies. Author: Paul Astell Page last updated: September 05, 2011
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