Our ‘first Thursday’ gathering on 1st October 2026 included a short recital by Tim Emmerton, celebrating 80 years of the Manchester Guitar Circle.
We don’t know the exact date of the inaugural meeting, but October 2026 marks 80 years since the first report in BMG magazine of the MGC as a recently launched club.
The main feature of Tim’s programme was the premiere of From Here to There by Helen Walker, commissioned by the MGC and dedicated to our co-founders, Terry Usher and Jack Duarte.
Also included were two movements from a baroque pastiche composed by Terry Usher and published by Clifford Essex shortly before the MGC’s launch, plus a well-known folksong arrangement by Jack Duarte.
This was the full programme…
Prelude & Sarabande (from ‘Suite in the Manner of the XVII Century’) – Terry Usher
O, Dark, Sweetest Girl – Irish Traditional (attrib. O’Carolan in some references), arr. Jack Duarte
From Here to There (first performance) – Helen Walker
Here’s a live video of Tim performing From Here to There filmed on the night…