Keep Jeffery Playing!!

We are raising funds to help pay for vital invasive oral/jaw surgery, without which Jeffery will struggle to keep playing music – this would be a loss to us all. The NHS will not fund this treatment even though it is his profession and professional music associations are simply not helping him!

For those of you who know Jeffery, you probably don’t need any further information, for those of you who don’t here is what Alicia, a former student, has to say:

"I would best describe Jeffery as a wizard of music. As a student (I say from past experience), learning music with him feels magical, as though you’re an apprentice of Dumbledore and your instrument or pencil (if you’re a composer) is your wand. He has a way of finding and bringing out the unique potential in you. As an audience member, you leave his concerts feeling spellbound by his playing where even if you’re 70 years old, you somehow come away feeling as though you must, just absolutely must play an instrument, anything, even if it’s just a triangle. As a friend and colleague, you feel uplifted in his company, with it being quite impossible not to giggle at least once eveytime you talk to him! Either way, when you meet Jeffery, you undoubtedly want to meet him again.

How I met Jeffery - I stumbled across Jeffery by accident. I was studying at the Junior Guildhall school of music (Saturday school) and I was at the time bunking a class to try and find an empty room with a piano. You see I was a very shy 15 year old who had over the years developed a passion for composing, but it was a secret passion. At the time, I had this melody in my head so I just had to find a piano to write it down before I forget it. I finally found an empty room with a piano! Result. I started playing and suddenly the door opened and a man (Jeffery) walked in briskly with students filtering in behind him. I immediately stopped, embarrassed and worried at being caught out for bunking a class and being in a room I shouldn’t be in. However I was met with the brightest sparkling blue eyes and friendliest smile I’d ever seen. He said “hello, are you

here for the composition class?”. I was curious…I’d never been to an official “composition lesson” before. He said I could stay if I wanted to and so…I stayed. That day changed my life forever. I was hooked. The stories, oh the stories…students, friends and colleagues would agree that Jeffery is quite possibly the greatest unknown storyteller that ever did exist! The way in which Jeffery teaches with stories is enough to make anything deemed boring, immediately interesting. Any students here will know what I mean when I say…how does Jeffery make even counterpoint fascinating!! Each week for the remainder of my time at Junior Guildhall, I looked forward to Jeffery’s composition lesson the most. I was so inspired by Jeffery’s lessons and my

confidence grew and grew. At 18 years old, I left to go and study my music degree at the Trinity College of Music and have enjoyed a busy music career as a performer, composer and teacher for the last 17 years. During this time, Jeffery has been and continues to be an amazing mentor, close friend and now a close colleague. I am forever grateful for that day because looking back, that day was one of those days you trace back as being a pivotal point in your life. I know students reading this will be nodding their heads and I know my story is not too dissimilar to many many students. I know this because over the years I have had the pleasure of meeting different students, friends and colleagues of Jeffery’s and we all share a similar story of how Jeffery has helped us, supported us, inspired us or championed us, sometimes saved us in one

way or another. In fact, it is incredible how many people Jeffery has actually helped. He is truly one of those rare human beings that will always go out of his way and he does so from such a genuine and pure place.

Music, I would describe as Jeffery's water and the thought of Jeffery not being able to play music and to be failed by the very system he has spent his life serving with so much love and dedication, makes me want to shout from the rooftops “HELP JEFFERY”. So, if the music system or health system won’t help this wonderful man then we will!"

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We are calling on anyone who has ever met Jeffery to help us raise money for his surgery so that he can continue playing music and inspiring people. Any donation you can give will be very much appreciated! We are doing this in secret to surprise Jeffery, sssshhhhhh! Let’s spread a little Christmas joy and give back to a man who has given so much to everyone else.

If you don’t know Jeffery, but want to help anyway…to list what Jeffery has achieved in the field of music would end up being a book, but to sum up very briefly:

Jeffery has a national and growing international reputation as a composer, performer and educator, equally at home in classical, contemporary and jazz music. He studied composition at the Royal College of Music with John Lambert and Herbert Howells and later with Aladar Majorossy, Gordon Jacob and in Paris with Olivier Messiaen.

An apprenticeship in music for dance and the theatre resulted in 34 dance scores to date and for the stage an Opera, a few musicals and some incidental music. Currently he has about 200 works in the repertoire with over a third of them published. He has been composer in residence in many European cities and with some notable orchestras including the London Festival Orchestra, London Mozart Players and the Northern Sinfonia. Jeffery performs in recital with pianists Tim Watts and for many years until his recent death, Henk Alkema. Jeffery has for 26 years performed with the contemporary quartet ‘Saxology’ and more recently with his own band ‘The Reduced History of Jazz’ and he continues to perform with numerous jazz and new music ensembles.

Jeffery was a visiting lecturer in composition, saxophone and improvisation at the Utrecht Conservatorium from 1986 until 2002 and was for a number of years a supervisor on the music faculty at Cambridge University teaching history, analysis and jazz. He maintains a relationship with the University as an examiner and for special projects. He recently ended a 22 year teaching relationship with the Colchester Institute to make more time for creative work. He currently divides his teaching commitments between Junior Guildhall where he is coordinator and a professor of composition and the Royal Military School of Music where he is Professor of

Saxophone. Jeffery sustains a thriving private teaching practice numbering among his students some prominent professionals and University and Conservatoire students.

Adjudication has taken him all over Europe and much of the world and he is much in demand in this area of music making. Serving as principal examiner (Jazz) for eleven years at the Guildhall Examination service, a role as senior examiner and Saxophone and Jazz adviser for Trinity College London and chief examiner at Online Music Exams completes the picture here.

Recent and current composing projects include a Saxophone Concerto called Testament' for Rob Buckland and the Docklands Sinfonia under Spencer Down, a Clarinet Concerto entitled 'The Fallen' for HM Band The Welsh Guards, an electro acoustic piece 'Journeying' for Victoria Soames Samek, a new Trumpet and Piano piece called 'The Boy King' for Paul Archibald and a choral work for The Waltham Singers called 'Songs of Home'. The next project is the revision and extension of his musical for young people 'Whistles After Dark'.

Jeffery values the support of his publishers – Camden Music, Brasswind Publications, Saxtet, Reedimensions, Spartan Press, Queens Temple, Recital Music and Trinity College London

https://www.jefferywilson.co.uk/