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Halle violinist Michael Hall
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Inseparable to the end
Susannah Wright12/ 6/2008
TRIBUTES have been paid to two Didsbury musicians who were killed by an avalanche in the French Pyrenees.
Michael and Dorothy Hall, who were from Atwood Road and played in the Halle Orchestra, were walking on a mountain path when they were swept away by falling snow.
Mr Hall was a member of the second violin section of the Halle and was one of its longest serving musicians.
Mrs Hall was a regular guest cellist and a part-time cello tutor. She also worked as a volunteer bereavement counsellor.
The couple, both 52, had two children Christopher, 25, an IT consultant, who lives in Burnage, and Clare, 27, who works for a greeting card company.
Family friend Paul Blackwell, 61, from Didsbury, said the couple were ‘inseparable’.
He said: "They were such a wonderful couple and so talented.
"They were so generous and warm hearted and fun with a spirit of adventure. We are just so devastated."
Catherine Yates, principal second violinist in the Halle, who lives on Ashwood Avenue, West Didsbury, said: "They were two of the loveliest people on the planet.
"Mike always used to keep us amused with funny stories when we were on the coach coming home from concerts - usually in a traffic jam on the M6!
"Dorothy was a lovely woman, she would bend over backwards to help people, she was very empathetic."
Alison Hunt, a violinist with the Halle, who lives off Burton Road, West Didsbury, said: "They were both so youthful and adventurous.
"Mike was always the life and soul of the party - laughing and joking. He was so committed to the Halle and always full of energy and enthusiasm.
"And Dorothy was a very good cellist and such a delightful woman. It’s very sad."
Sarah Crouch - a violinist who retired from the Halle ten years ago after playing with the orchestra for 38 years - and who lives on Moorland Road, said: "Mike was always really cheerful - in all the years I knew him, I never saw him moan or grumble. He was such a positive person and a really good player.
"Dorothy did a lot of work for charity."
Halle director of music Mark Elder said: "Both Mike and his wife were the most lovely people with the most optimistic attitude.
"He was a long-serving, loyal, hard-working member of the orchestra, with a wonderful personality. He was absolutely brilliant at the educational work the orchestra does.
"I don’t know how we are going to manage without him because he was a very positive shining light.
"Dorothy often played as an extra, and was very much part of the Halle family."
Neighbour Michael Denton, 25, said Mr Hall was as ‘fit as a fiddle’ and a serious climber who had climbed Mont Blanc.
The Foreign Office confirmed the couple died in the Pyrenees after being struck by an avalanche on Wednesday. They were staying in the Luz St Sauveur area of France. Prayers for the couple were said at Didsbury’s St Catherine’s church, where they worshipped.
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22/06/2008 at 04:15