Remembering Atarah Ben-Tovim (1940-2022)

While the flautist Atarah Ben-Tovim, who has died aged 82, was certainly not the inventor of fresh air, it never stopped her injecting huge and welcome doses of it into British music education, particularly throughout the latter years of the last century. 

An outstanding performer, writer, arranger, broadcaster, teacher and undoubted enthusiast, the remarkable breadth and industry of this dynamic and hugely distinctive personality brought not only greater recognition for the instrument itself but also proved pivotal in inspiring countless generations of future musicians.

Local spirit 

Born in Wales on 1 October 1940, the only daughter of an Abergavenny medical practitioner, her mother a teacher, the family home was constantly filled with classical music courtesy of her father’s extensive collection of 78s. Spending her formative years in Ealing, West London, this prodigiously talented performer played her first concerto on TV with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra aged 16. Barely 12 months later, when serving as principal flute of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, she performed at a Henry Wood Promenade Concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

Subsequently studying with Gareth Morris at the Royal Academy of Music, a French government scholarship allowed her to further refine her technique in Paris with Fernand Caratgé. Her orchestral apprenticeship came courtesy of Ballet Rambert and Sadlers Wells before, in 1963, she beat a young James Galway to become principal flute of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. 

While completely assimilating and revelling in the local spirit during her 12 year tenure, she did however become increasingly unhappy at the way the orchestra approached their educational output.

Doc Martens resplendent with glitter

Having failed on any number of occasions to convince the Phil’s management to be more adventurous, instead she decided to promote her own concerts. Initially using fellow players mainly from the RLPO, she then experimented with every possible combination from two to 22, eventually settling on the seven who went on to become Atarah’s Band. Colourfully dressed in the manner of an old fashioned children’s entertainer, her Doc Martens resplendent with glitter, she proved a consummate communicator, able to command and control an audience be it large or small.

With the format having proved successful on a small scale, it was the input of Ben-Tovim’s husband, Douglas Boyd, who took the shows to a new level. A BBC television producer with experience of producing all manner of outside events, his input proved pivotal. 

Building on earlier experiences, together they expanded the format and brought in virtuoso instrumentalists able to span all manner of styles and periods. Beginning with the under eights, they successfully developed different schemes running up through the various age ranges.  These were often followed by evening family concerts.

Throughout the 1980s, in addition to more than 200 live concerts and other musical events every year, from Scotland to the south coast, Ben-Tovim regularly appeared on television, had her own BBC Radio Three series, was carving out a career as a writer, and was much in demand for masterclasses, workshops, seminars and guidance clinics as well. 

Constantly being approached by teachers for follow-up material to sustain the effect of the live concerts, she recorded a whole series of Atarah’s Bandkits, a multi-strand series of in-school teaching aids, each covering a term’s work.

The Pied Piper of Rossendale

Earlier in 1977, in addition to performing, running their management company, a record production company and a publishing operation, under the auspices of the Bentovim Children’s Music Centre Trust, the couple opened Britain’s first ever children’s music centre, a 44-room complex in Haslingden, East Lancashire. 

It contained practice rooms for brass, strings, wind and percussion, a music library, recital chambers, a cafeteria and overnight accommodation. It was a mix of youth hostel, music school and a cultural and leisure centre, all housed under one roof. Ben-Tovim also fulfilled an ambassadorial role with Mid Pennine Arts.

Famously now dubbed ‘The Pied Piper of Rossendale’, always precise, literate and stylish, Ben-Tovim also proved to be a fine writer. Following on from her forthright and highly entertaining 1975 autobiography, Atarah’s Book, four years later came Children and Music. This proved to be an indispensable handbook for parents, teachers and all interested in the musical welfare of children. No less successful were two books written with her husband, The Right Instrument For Your Child and You Can Make Music. She also compiled a number of precisely imagined musical arrangements.

A longstanding member of the Arts Council, in 1980 she was awarded an MBE. While leading the Ben Tovim Ensemble, a quintet also comprising cello, viola, acoustic guitar and electric bass guitar, she also enjoyed productive partnerships with both the English Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

Latterly, while living in Southwest France, for 33 years she had been the Bordeaux representative of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. Still active as a teacher, in May 2021 she proved a most worthy recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Music & Drama Education Awards 2021.