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2011

Shaw healthcare’s Petworth care home, Rotherlea, received a surprise visit last week from musical impresario Sir Richard Rodney Bennett who was performing at the Petworth Festival. On Tuesday evening, Bennett performed with his long time friend and collaborator the jazz singer Claire Martin at St Mary’s Church in Petworth and through the good offices of Festival organiser Mary Hamilton, he and former Festival director, Terry Allbright, arrived at Rotherlea on Wednesday morning and treated residents and their families to an impromptu mix of music and anecdotes from his long life in music.    One of Britain’s most respected and versatile musicians, Bennett has produced over two hundred works for the concert hall, fifty scores for film and television, as well as having been a writer and performer of jazz songs for 50 years. He was knighted for services to music in 1998 and has continued to write music for films and television including Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) and Sweeney Todd (1998). For which he received three academy award nominations and a BAFTA.  With approximately 80 in the audience, Sir Richard invited Rotherlea resident, Michael Haley, an enthusiastic amateur musician to join him at the piano to the delight of everyone. The musical session included selections of standards and his film scores and finished with an informative question and answer session and a presentation of home made preserves from Rotherlea residents in appreciation of Sir Richard finding time in his busy schedule to visit them.