the hampshire area guitar orchestra - our new name
hago October 2004
2004 has been a fantastic year of outreach for hago
- we've played in more concerts than ever before
- we've new players from the far reaches of Hampshire
- we've performed at the International Guitar Festival, Bath
- we've more new items for our concerts
- we've raised even more money for charities
We're delighted to announce that we've changed our name to
the Hampshire Area Guitar Orchestra
to reflect our increasing work inside and outside the county.
Founded in 1999, hago has already been through one name change! But as from September 2004, we've a new name - the Hampshire Area Guitar Orchestra. Here's why ...
The 12 months between Summer 2003 and 2004 were hectic and exciting, and took us to venues outside Hampshire - to London for the Guitar Orchestra Competition, to Cambridge and to the International Guitar Festival in Bath. Actually, we did escape Hampshire once before to journey to Bognor Regis, but it's hardly a 3-day hike from Havant.
It's become apparent that once we leave Hampshire, people don't have the foggiest where Havant is, and they certainly can't pronounce it! It's simple - just say haven't - but if we had a pound for every time someone has said ha-VANT, we'd probably be able to afford a stretch limo to take us to our concerts!
That, and the welcome appearance of new players from much further afield, means that we need to be a little more honest about what we are - we really are from the Hampshire Area of the UK, and that's why we've changed our name.
Of course, now people will think we're from America's (new) Hampshire, but we'll deal with that as it happens. Just bear in mind that we're the new Hampshire Area Guitar Orchestra, not the New Hampshire Area Guitar Orchestra and we'll be fine.
Our first rehearsal with our new name.
Our first photo with our new name is
in our Out-Takes section!
The hago concept that has served us so well is unchanged. Our orchestration and varied styles stay, as does the occasional really lousy joke from our Musical Director when he gets over-confident in Concert ...
Our free mailing list continues to grow - we send out about six email newsletters a year - you can join here.
But we're certainly not standing still - we're always looking for new players to swell our ranks and boost our volume - if you're interested, we've more details here.
You'll still find references to Havant Area Guitar Orchestra in our archive pages, but our fresh, new, website appearance tells you that we've changed, just a little!