Memorial Concert for Elman Poole
The life of late long-time Common Room Member Elman Poole was celebrated at a concert at Lincoln College on Sunday 16 April.
Associate Fellow Lindy Castell reflects
I was fortunate enough to attend the memorial concert at Lincoln College which remembered how a former Common Room Member, Dr Elman Poole, cared for overseas students with musical abilities, in particular from New Zealand – Elman’s home country. The concert was organised by Sally Martin, Chair of the NZUK Link Foundation. The audience included Elman’s friends, and members of the two colleges to which he was attached for many years, Lincoln and Green Templeton.
Dr Poole was a distinguished physician who worked in Oxford Hospitals. He was passionate about science and music. Inspired by the scholarship that allowed him to study graduate medicine at Oxford University, Dr Poole was dedicated to ensuring that others could benefit from overseas study in the same way. From 2006, he funded the annual NZUK Link Foundation Music Fellowship, enabling young musicians from New Zealand to attend the Southbank Sinfonia in London. More than 20 players have been supported by this prestigious one-year programme. In 2019, his will bequeathed £750,000 (NZ$1.5 million) respectively, to the Universities of Canterbury (NZ) and Otago (NZ) to support a number of programmes for students of different disciplines, including PhD travel scholarships and internships in the UK.
Tributes to Elman Poole came from Southbank Sinfonia scholars (most had met him in person), from his half-brother, from the Music Director of the Southbank Sinfonia, Simon Over (who also accompanied three pieces on the piano), and from the NZUK Link Foundation.
Of course, the greatest tribute to Elman was the wonderful music performed by the talented young musicians (fellows and alumni of Southbank Sinfonia) on viola, violins, flute, piano, cellos and double bass. They played music by Bowen, Barber, Lilburn, Kodaly, Mendelssohn, Piazzolla-Kicho, Popper and, one of my favourites, ‘The Birds’ by Pablo Casals. This piece paid tribute to Elman’s love of both the cello and birds.
