Music by the Commons is a music society, started by Simon Standage and Tony Penny. It was officially launched in September 1986 with a harpsichord recital by the world-renowned Trevor Pinnock. Tony Penny and John Waller (Treasurer) ran the society successfully for over two decades, organising eight or nine concerts each season. Since their retirement, we continue to arrange concerts in Wimbledon. Concerts feature, though not exclusively, music written before 1830, usually performed on authentic instruments in a friendly atmosphere. Refreshments are available at all concerts and the performers often mingle with the audience during the interval or after the concert. The informality of the concerts is one of its attractions and the standard of playing is very high indeed.
The name of the society was chosen because there are sixteen commons in South-West London, with Wimbledon Common the largest and Pest House Common in Richmond the smallest. The windmill logo on the brochure represents the windmill on Wimbledon Common.
Concerts have taken place in a variety of venues in South-West London. The first home for over a decade was St Mary’s Church, Putney Bridge, SW15. Because of major renovation work there, the society moved to St Mark’s Church, St Mark’s Place, Wimbledon SW19 in 2002. Our current home is St John’s Spencer Hill, which has splendid acoustics.
