In May 2026, This is Haslemere met with Peter and Vivien Harrison at The Red Rose Tea Room in Grayshott. This couple had been honoured with Haslemere Volunteer Awards earlier this year and we were keen to hear about all their volunteering. As they arrived, we noticed they were each wearing their volunteer medals, not as an act of vanity but one of unbridled pride. They were genuinely touched to have had their voluntary work recognised in establishing Grayshott Concerts.

Establishing Grayshott Concerts

Grayshott Concerts was set up more than 20 years ago in 2004 by Peter and Vivien. We were surprised when Peter said, “It was a mistake when we set it up.” In 2003, their daughter got married in St Luke’s Church and had requested a choir as the musical accompaniment for her big day. They asked The Occam Singers a chamber choir based in Guildford because they had a huge repertoire and they delivered on the day.

The following year, they read that St Luke’s Church was hard strapped for cash (actually it wasn’t) and they asked what they could do to help. It was Vivien’s idea to bring back the Occam Singers and have a concert. Peter, with a day job in marketing, set about organising it from scratch. He knew it would be quite a task just to cover costs. They agreed they needed plenty of time to promote it plus a programme of well-known music. Peter shared, “It took months and months to promote. We got help from local businesses, especially the Buy-In-Grayshott group, run by Dick Smith, which existed back then and from Phil Bates at Grayshott Pottery.” It was a huge effort from a standing start but there was a big ground swell of support with the awareness that getting it right would reflect well on the village. With local shops and businesses covering all the costs, they raised approximately £3,500 for St Luke’s.

They were relieved when the concert was over as they were worn out. Peter said, “It was a great success but we were very exhausted. We relaxed and thought we’d done our bit. The village had a different idea and asked, when’s the next one?” Peter and Vivien did one more event to keep people quiet but villagers started saying, “What an amazing series you have started!”

Making Grayshott Concerts Successful

This is an incredibly successful concert organisation. How have they done it?

Vivien began by telling us, “For starters, we were very lucky to have good contacts.” Peter acknowledged that Vivien had all the good ideas but his knowledge of database marketing from his day job helped him build a list where he categorised ticket buyers and this formed the basis of email communications. He explained, “We had good audiences, the start of a good marketing plan and forty poster sites in Grayshott and beyond.”

Peter and Vivien realised they could put on big events. Around this time, they attended an open-air opera in Berkshire and they thought, “We could do that in a field somewhere.” They had the confidence and belief that it would work somewhere in the village so they erected a marquee, provided food and drink and chose the grounds of Grayshott Primary School as the venue. 600 people attended!

They gave away some of the secrets of their success – “choose music that people want to hear and promote it like mad.” Peter said a lot of chamber music groups provide smaller ensembles with a chamber music repertoire. They felt there was room for much bigger works which could “bring more bums on seats.” St Luke’s Church has a 300-seat capacity and, with dismantlable staging via grant funding, they are able to accommodate an orchestra with up to 50 players as well as a choir. Bigger works meant they could cover their costs as they were putting on live music that was not being heard anywhere else locally.

An opportune conversation with a music agent at a concert in Basingstoke was a light bulb moment. With the advice that a top flight orchestra in residence would bring in star soloists, this was just the introduction they needed for the renowned London Mozart Players (LMP) to become their orchestra in residence. This has brought in world-class soloists, for example, Howard Shelley (piano), Tasmin Little (violin) and Alison Balsom (Trumpet). A local donor provided the latest high intensity LED lighting throughout the church and they have put up TV screens for those with tickets in the side aisles and the back of the church.

They acknowledge all the volunteers who have supported Grayshott Concerts – those meeting and greeting, erecting staging, accounts, ticketing, marketing. They gave a special mention to Andy Crocker who has been involved since early days. He is now Artistic Director.

Peter and Vivien were keen to share, “We brought classical music with works that people want to hear to an area that had not had classical music before. It was also amazing having Sir Karl Jenkins as our patron…”

Sir Karl Jenkins’ Patronage

Sir Karl Jenkins was a wonderful patron of Grayshott Concerts from 2011 to 2024, stepping down when he reached 80 years old. He did so much for them. Grayshott Concerts championed his works and he conducted them in Grayshott giving freely of his time.

In 2014, Grayshott Concerts commissioned a work from Karl Jenkins for their 10th anniversary - The Healer, a Cantata for St Luke - and the world premiere was held in St Luke's Church in Grayshott on 16 October 2014 and recorded and broadcast on Classic FM. Much of the text was written by Terry Waite, Vivien Harrison (Ego sum terra) and Carol Barratt. They sold 700 tickets and had to hold the performance over two evenings. The work is for four-part choir, strings, percussion and oboe. Terry Waite attended and the oboe was played by Karl Jenkins’ daughter in law, Rosie Jenkins. In January 2015, on Martin Luther King Day, Karl Jenkins conducted The Healer at Carnegie Hall. Peter and Vivien Harrison attended the concert. An audience member asked who he wrote it for and Jenkins replied, “These lovely people from Grayshott”. Such was the relationship with Sir Karl that when he thought he would write a new work, ‘Miserere’, he offered the World Premiere to Grayshott Concerts and happily reorchestrated to accommodate the performers in St Luke’s Church. Vivien explained, “We got so much out of it, not just the music but this great friendship.”

Bowing Out

Peter and Vivien have now handed Grayshott Concerts over to a seven strong board after more than 20 years at the helm.

We could have talked all day with this couple who have offered so much to the village of Grayshott, however, Peter was pressed for time as he was off to volunteer at the primary school helping pupils with their reading.

As we left the tea room, their last humble words were, “We are incredibly ordinary. We don’t know much about music but we know what we like. It’s been hard work but fun and very rewarding. We have made great friends. We have always found help when we have needed it. That’s the nature of Grayshott. We will be proud to wear our Haslemere Volunteer Award medals at every concert we attend.”