Co-founder
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Sally had been a much-loved GP in the area for most of her working life. She only took up the oboe in retirement, to her family and friends' surprise, and playing music with other people became a large part of her life. She never expressed confidence in her playing, and was reluctant to play in public, let alone charge the public to hear her, but she was a compentent player, who took her playing seriously, while having fun with her fellow musicians.
Sally, and her co-founder Mike Baynes, formed Bury Friendly Orchestra (the name they invented) in the autumn of 2006 with the intention of creating an orchestra to accommodate players of varying ages and abilities so that they could enjoy themselves making music together. They placed a a simple advert in the Bury Free Press asking people who were interested in joining to come to the cricket pavilion on Nowton Road.
Their vision became a reality with the orchestra membership expanding from 22 to 64 players in a short space of time and including members aged 11 to 92 years old!
For 10 years, Sally put a huge amount of time and energy into the development and running of the orchestra, working alongside conductors Jenny Sewell and Christopher Moore. Until 2009, Sally, with Mike, ran the orchestra as a "benevolent dictatorship" (her words), but as it increased in size and quality of playing, and when Mike had to stop playing, a committee was formed which she chaired until 2015. Her committee meetings were memorable for the cake which accompanied them.
In 2014, Christopher persuaded Sally that the BFO could play their first public ticketed concert at The Apex and this was a huge success.
The Spring Apex concert has now become a regular highlight in the BFO calendar and our seventh Apex concert was dedicated to the memory of Sally Haslewood as a tribute to her vision and achievement in founding such a wonderful community orchestra.
