The Presidency of the Elgar Society has been vacant since the death
of Yehudi Menuhin.  Over the weekend his successor was elected by the
society and it's Richard Hickox.  Here is the official release:

   At last it can be announced ....  as those who attended the following
   evening's South Bank performance of Gerontius will know, Richard
   Hickox was elected the Elgar Society's new President at the Society's
   Annual General Meeting, held in Malvern on 5 June.  The choice was
   not an easy one, since the Society's Vice Presidents not unnaturally
   include a number of outstanding candidates for the position.  One in
   particular remained in strong contention until the very last stages
   of the election process.  But, as Bayern Munich fans know, when the
   final whistle blows, there can only be one winner.  In the end,
   Richard's comparative youth, the breadth of his promotion of Elgar's
   choral works (only King Olaf and the Coronation Ode remain unrecorded
   by him) and the fact that he joined the Society as an ordinary member
   all told in his favour.  His keenness to announce his Presidency at
   the following evening's Gerontius performance is a good indication
   of the enthusiasm with which he will use his position to promote the
   interests of the Society in years to come.

Tony Duggan
Staffordshire,
United Kingdom.