Lots of good things can start life as happy accidents – including becoming publishers. 

A decade or so ago Moira Bennett travelled the world interviewing former students of the Britten–Pears School at Snape, many of whom were by then well-established musicians, for her personal history of the School. Her own memories of masterclasses and performances and the testimonials of professional musicians who felt they owed so much to their time at the School blended in an evocative and moving account of artistic discovery and achievement.

When the basis on which she had undertaken this work crumbled beneath her, and it appeared that her research would be absorbed by an entirely different project, her Aldeburgh friends decided that this could not and should not be allowed to happen. Kenneth Baird, the former General Manager of the Aldeburgh Foundation, then running the European Opera Centre; Philip Reed, former Musicologist at the Britten–Pears Library and then Head of Publications at  English National Opera; and Jill Burrows, who had worked with both of them on a variety of publications and was then working freelance as an editor and typographer, joined together to form the Bennett Book Society in order to rescue Moira's book.

All small presses – and this was a minute press – tend to hit the rocks when it comes to distribution. Bittern Press, as it then became, was extraordinarily lucky in earning the trust of Boydell & Brewer, who agreed to a distribution arrangement. Since then it has become quite usual for publishers to enter partnerships with small presses in this way, but it was almost unknown at the time. Boydell & Brewer now has a distinguished partnership list of fellow publishers.

Once Making Musicians had been published, and had met with the appreciation it thoroughly deserved, Moira Bennett was once more at a loose end. Her own story was so extraordinary – early life in South Africa followed by the discovery of her unsuspected talents for arts administration in her fifties – another happy accident – meant that she was enthusiastically encouraged by her fellow members of the Bennett Book Society to write her autobiography, Change of Key, which vividly recreates her time in South Africa as well as her work for the Aldeburgh Festival and the London Symphony Orchestra.

As the four founders of Bittern Press began to become more focused on publishing books on music and the arts, shedding light in unfamiliar but worthwhile corners, exploring the history and ethos of the Aldeburgh Festival, and the far-reaching impact of Benjamin Britten's vision and creativity, activity became more deliberate and less accidental.

Knowing Britten, Steuart Bedford's memoir of his and his family's long association with Benjamin Britten filtered through interviews with Christopher Gillett, described by Oliver Soden as 'a brilliant and often witty duet between memoirist and amanuensis' followed. As did the formality of Bittern Press becoming a Charitable Incorporated Organisation in the course of 2023.

The change in status meant two of Bittern Press's committed supporters, Christine and Simon Airey, joined the Trustees. Both have a long association with Suffolk, Aldeburgh and the music of Benjamin Britten, and bring extra skills to Bittern Press's Board.

As we embark on the next chapter, we find our pending tray full of exciting new projects. We hope to share them with you very soon.

JB