IT was an exceedingly sprightly Garth Mansfield who turned up at Wesley Music Centre last Friday (May 21) for his own 90th birthday party, thrown by staff and admirers to acknowledge his boundless energy, drive and focus.

Those present to enjoy the music and raise a glass, looked on admiringly as the long-time director and founder of the centre cut a birthday cake decorated with a picture of Johann Sebastian Bach wearing a party hat, and agreed that if they have that much energy left by the age of 90, they’d be doing pretty well.

Mansfield, who agitated for and founded the centre, one of Canberra’s finest venues for acoustic music performance, first came to Canberra’s music world in the ’60s and ’70s as organist and choir conductor at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Forrest, later joining Wesley Uniting Church as director of music in 1978 and stayed on until 2008

While he benefited from the George Stephen rebuilding of the Wesley organ, it was not as an organist but as founding director of the Wesley Music Centre from 2002 to 2013 that he was able to mentor a long line of distinguished, mostly young, organ scholars who went on to continue their careers overseas.

First up at the birthday party was, appropriately, music with Ariana Odermatt playing a Thomas Tallis work on a cembalo (upright harpsichord) recently donated to Wesley Music Foundation.

Pianist Phillipa Candy, another Wesley favourite, played a late Brahms movement, then it was the turn of cellist David Pereira who, before playing two gentle Bach sarabandes, described Mansfield as “a generous, kind good Samaritan who supported me when I was at my lowest point.”

On hand for the birthday party was Jenny Dean, former chair of the Wesley Music Foundation, founded in 1999, who spoke of Mansfield’s “unique ability to bring together people in music”.

Former minister at Wesley Uniting Church and former chair of the foundation, Rev Gregor Henderson, said of the centre, “Garth defined that musical space”, describing how he had battled opposition to improve the poor acoustics of the church, which used to be “a barn” before setting up scholarships that led to the church being known for its musical excellence.

“It’s Garth who drove us,” he said.

Henderson paid tribute to the of Mansfield’s late wife Margaret, who had died 19 months ago, and whose calming influence had been an important part of the centre’s success. Wesley has renamed the performance room at the centre in both their names, “The Mansfield Room”.

Mansfield got his turn to speak, confirming what Henderson had said about the church’s “horrible acoustics… it took 22 years to get it right.”

He spoke of the transition from purely sacred music to classical music estimated that in its 19 years, the centre had been home to around 3000 concerts.

Under his watch, he said, and under that of his successor as director of the centre, Liz Mckenzie, the centre had become “a real hub of small-scale music events”.

As well-wishers rose to sing “happy birthday to you”, Mansfield, unable to contain himself, leapt to his feet and conducted us all.