Hertfordshire Music Service www.hertsmusicservice.org,uk

E mail: [email protected]

NOTES FROM STEVENAGE STEVENAGE MUSIC CENTRE HEAD OF SATURDAY MORNING MUSIC SCHOOL: DEENA DAY Valley Way, Stevenage AREA HEAD - EAST: REBECCA HUGHES SG2 9AB

Tel: 01438 351138 Fax: 01438 746413 Dear Parents, Carers & Students, between 9.30am and 2.30pm daily. May we remind you that a full half term’s notice in writing is STEVENAGE MUSIC CENTRE IS MOVING! required to the Music School when giving any change in Instrumental/Vocal/Group Tuition. Please As you may be aware Stevenage Music Centre will notify as follows: be relocating to Nobel School from Monday 15th April 2013 (beginning of the Summer term) FOR CHANGE TO TAKE NOTIFICATION DEADLINE New address: PLACE th Stevenage Music Centre, Nobel School, End of Easter term Fri 15 February 2013 th Mobbsbury Way, Stevenage, SG2 0HS After Summer half term Thurs 28 March 2013 th We hope our telephone number will remain the End of Summer term Fri 24 May 2013 same but please look at our website to double check. MUSIC CENTRE NEWS AND CONCERTS

th FAMILY MUSIC SESSION We will be open for teaching from Friday 19 April Congratulations to all those families who came to 2013. These extra days at the beginning of the term our free music session for families. It was a will give us an opportunity to unpack!! wonderful afternoon and lovely to see parents making music with their children. Often when we run When you arrive for your lessons please come to the these courses no previous music experience is main reception at the school where we will be able to necessary. welcome you. Thanks to Diane Tisdall & Claire Humphries for bringing the learning and fun to our Saturday Teaching dates for Summer 2013 are; afternoon! Friday 19th April – Mon 22 July More to come next term if you missed it this time! (Half term Sat 25 May – Sun 2 June) Watch out for leaflets. PLEASE keep an eye on our website for all WANT TO LEARN AN INSTRUMENT? information about your local Music Centres, We are looking to recruit more students to learn Stevenage, Baldock or Royston and key dates and bassoon and oboe which are considered minority letters. instruments. Instruments available and subsidised Times and days for all teaching timetables will stay lessons to start. If you are interested please let the the same although we recognise there may need to office know. be some small changes for pupils accessing SENIOR WIND BAND will be performing a rich and individual lessons especially if travel distance is varied programme including Phillip Sparke’s greater, but we do hope that we will be able to Sinfonietta, Seal Lullaby, music by Eric Whitacre, resolve any issues as soon as we can. Please let us Sweeney Todd & other Broadway favourites at rd know of any potential queries sooner rather than 7.30pm, Saturday 23 March at St Mary’s Church, later. Hitchin, SG5 1HP conducted by Sue Pettitt. Tickets will be available on the door. INVOICES NORTH HERTS YOUTH ORCHESTRA We look forward to their Spring Concert at Meridian School, Royston All payments are now dealt with through County Hall. on 15th March which features Britten’s Paul Bunyan On the reverse side of your invoice are payment Overture, Parry’s English Symphony & the 1st options and phone numbers. Please contact the Movement of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4 with above office with any payment queries. We are able soloist Eleanor Thompson. Tickets are available on to take cheque payments in the Music Centre office the door. and will send these to County on your behalf. We are also able to take card payments in the Music Centre NORTH HERTS YOUTH JAZZ BIG BAND We look office forw www.hertsmusicservice.org.uk

SEE OUR WEBSITE FOR FUTURE NEWS, MUSIC SCHOOL CALENDAR AND CONCERT DATES follow the “GET INVOLVED” link to Music Centres East (left hand side) – click on Stevenage Music Centre ard to their upcoming gig with the Knights Templar All SPRING TERM 2013 Stars Big Band on Tuesday 19th March at Knights Templar School, 7.30pm. Tickets will be available on MARCH the door. There is great excitement in the wings for Friday 15 North Herts Youth Orchestra Concert, Meridian School, Royston, 7.30pm our young Jazz musicians as we look forward to a joint project with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra Saturday 16 Joint Strings and Choir SMMS Concert (NYJO) – details will be made available soon! Hitchin & Baldock LAST NIGHT OF THE PROMS COMES TO STEVENAGE! Once again our Senior Groups have been invited to Tuesday 19 North Herts Youth Jazz Big Band Concert bring the 2013 Stevenage Festival to a close. Join the with Knights Templar All Stars at Knights Templar School 7.30pm Senior Wind Band, North Herts Youth Orchestra, Choirs and soloists with an evening of traditional light Saturday 23 Stevenage SMMS Concert, Valley School classical music. Author and illustrator James Mayhew will join the orchestra as they perform, telling and Saturday 23 Royston SMMS Concert, Meridian Sch, painting the musical stories projected on to a big 10.30 screen. All the old favourites will be there including Saturday 23 Joint Wind and Brass SMMS Concert Elgar’s Land of Hope and Glory and Sir Henry Hitchin & Baldock 11.00 am Wood's Fantasia on British Sea Songs, which culminates with Rule Britannia. Wave your flag and Saturday 23 Senior Wind Band Concert at St Mary’s join in! Church, Hitchin. 7.30pm INSTRUMENTAL DAY WORKSHOPS: We had a very successful workshop day for woodwind players at Monday 25 Peter Lambourne Youth Bursary Benslow Music Trust 5.30pm Ickleford School at the beginning of December and th our Brass Day on 15 February at Lordship Farm Thursday 28 Last teaching day of Spring Term School in Letchworth was very rousing. There is a String Day for Years 3 – 6 Stevenage Thursday 28 Music School Office closes students on 22 May at Featherstone Wood School Stevenage from 9.30am – 3.00pm. Please ask your SUMMER TERM 2013 teacher or the office for an application form. We will APRIL only have 70 places, so will deal with applications on Monday 15 Office opens at Nobel! a first come, first served basis. Wednesday 17 Senior Wind Band trip to ‘Phantom’ COMPETITIONS & PRIZES Friday 19 First teaching day of Summer Term at PETER LAMBOURNE BURSARY COMPETITION: Stevenage Applications for this Bursary, which is sponsored by Hitchin Priory Rotary, are now closed and, this year, Saturday 20 First SMMS of Summer Term 14 students have applied! This annual event is open to all Year 12 instrumental and vocal students who MAY Wednesday 22 Stevenage String Day at Featherstone live or come to school in the North Herts or Wood School Stevenage area. There will be a ‘first’ prize of £250 and a second prize of £100 and a ‘runner up’ prize of Saturday 25 Half term ~ Music School closed Re- £50. The final Competition Concert where the opens on Monday 3 June winners will be decided is at Benslow Music Trust on Monday 25th March at 5.30pm. Admission to this JUNE Saturday 29 Last Night of The Proms, NHYO & SWB concert is free. Gordon Craig Theatre, 7.45 … AND FINALLY JULY Saturday 6 Wind Band – Chessington!

Sunday 7 Priory Picnic, Hitchin. With Senior Wind Well done to all of our young musicians whose Band wonderful performances show what a talented bunch they are! Thank you for supporting all of them in their Saturday 13 Stevenage SMMS Concert, Nobel School concerts and music making so far this year. Saturday 13 Royston SMMS Concert, Meridian School

Monday 22 All Stevenage Music School teaching finishes

MUSIC CENTRES DIARY ~ SPRING & SUMMER 2013