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Nominations for the Music Teacher Awards for Excellence close on Friday 24th October. Once again Black Cat Music and MusicPracticeRooms.com are sponsoring the Lifetime Achievement Award. Finalists for the category will be announced on 21st November.

The 2015 Awards will be presented at a gala evening at The Grange St Pauls Hotel in London, on the first night of Music Education Expo (12 March 2015). “Created to celebrate excellence in music education, the Music Teacher Awards for Excellence are now in their third year, and accepting nominations for 10 award categories.

Nominations are encouraged from all sections of the public, and will be accepted until Friday 24 October 2014. The shortlist will be announced online in mid-November and in the December issue of Music Teacher magazine.

Acoustic experts Russel Todd and Christopher Blair introduce a work session at the Tobin Center, San Antonio where the audience become the ‘absorption factor’ as the sound surrounds and envelopes.

Turn the speakers up for this one!

The Black Cat Music team is looking forward to attending the forthcoming Deutscher Orchestertag 2014 in Berlin next month.

The goal of the 12th annual conference for German orchestra managers which takes place in Berlin on 2nd and 3rd November, is to promote the exchange of ideas and articulate the interests of more than 150 German orchestras. Opportunities for discussion and information on the latest developments and strategies for pricing are encompassed in the conference sessions. Cultural and political issues will also be up for discussion.The central theme of this year’s conference will be concert promotion and how to grow audiences.

Delegates will also have an opportunity to improve their leadership skills. And, as before, Mr. Rolf Bolwin the German Stage Association will update attendees on the latest developments within the German orchestra scene.

Black Cat Music will exhibit a wide range of high quality performance equipment including ergonomic orchestra chairs, stage systems, music stands, stand lights and instrument and music storage systems.

Black Cat Music is the central distributor in Europe and Russia for Wenger Corporation. Wenger is world-renowned for the quality and durability of its music equipment, and all Wenger products carry a minimum 5-year

warranty.

Assembling Wenger 3 or 4-Step Choral Risers is a piece of cake thanks to a range of explanatory videos from Wenger.

For owners or prospective buyers of Signature Risers the steps through the assembly stages right from removing the shipping packaging to the completed system. Mostly a job for one person with a few basic tools, the Signature Risers are lightweight and easy to move around yet offer excellent stability. A back rail gives added safety for performers and it all folds down to a compact size for storage. Elegant 3 or 4 step risers that fold and roll wherever you need them are the easy way to look as professional as you sound. Plus they all come with a five year warranty.

Want to experience how your music sounds in different venues? Then tune in to Wenger’s VAE technology in a SoundLok® Sound-Isolation Practice Room.

VAE technology now offers more realistic acoustical simulations, creating the sensation of being enveloped by the sound and enabling musicians to hear themselves in various performance venues. With the option of selecting from up to

nine different performance environments, ranging from a small recital hall to a cathedral, students can quickly learn how to adapt to performing in larger spaces. The smart Virtual Acoustical Environment (VAE) technology can duplicate the acoustics of a broad range of performance venues. Features such as 
immediate ‘Record and Playback’ offers feedback during the practice session, or to record the session to take to the next lesson for review with the music teacher.
Upload’ and ‘Download’ simulates practice with a band or choir in the practice room simply by uploading accompaniments.



It all adds up to a major aid to performance preparation and rehearsal, while changing from one preset acoustic environment to another is as quick and easy as pressing a button.

Director, International Sales at Wenger Corporation, Nancy Wagner is visiting Black Cat Music this week.

Alice Dagger, Marketing Manager, Black Cat Music said, "We're excited to learn about Wenger's new products such as their 'tuneable' acoustic panels, which will complement Wenger's existing range of quality music and performance equipment. Wenger equipment is designed to last - as is demonstrated by the minimum 5-year warranty given to all Wenger products. Black Cat Music is proud to be Master Distributor for Wenger across the whole of Europe and Russia."

. Nancy Wagner is pictured here with Alice Dagger, Myke Millward and Brigitte Downes, prior to receiving training on new products that will shortly be joining Black Cat Music’s already comprehensive catalogue.

- Ends –

Leavers and latecomers is a theme of an article on audience behaviour referenced on the Wenger web site. In addition we could add texters and tweeters.

"Controversial aspects of audience behavior – expressing dissatisfaction by walking out early and disrupting performances by arriving late – were recently highlighted in two lengthy articles in The The New York Times.

"Walk-outs” vote with their feet and skip the rest of the movie, concert, ballet, etc., for a variety of reasons. A question about their motivation posted on the paper’s Facebook page received nearly 500 responses, evoking common themes. For movies, excessive violence was a frequent complaint. For live performances, the quality of the presentation factored heavily."

The article continues, " At any performance, however, performers have right to be offended by walk-outs only to the degree that other audience members’ experience is compromised by visual or auditory distractions these walk-outs cause. Such disruptions are the primary reason late-arrivals are banned from entering many performances until the intermission.

Performances start on time. Never talk during the music. Never applaud during the music…Do all you can to avoid impeding others’ view of the stage. Above all, if you arrive late, expect to remain outside the auditorium until the intermission."

In West End theatres the practice of sending tweets or text messages has been observed at a number of shows and this should be considered as part of the audience etiquette debate. What are your thoughts?

If you were thinking of buying a set of music folders for your musicians or choir, then October is the time to take action. Black Cat Music are offering a 10 per cent discount for the whole of the month.

Imagine the visual impact created by a set of smart new matching music folders to give a great identity to your orchestra, chorus, band or choir. The hard-wearing leatherette covers enhanced by hand stitching and brass-bound corners are sure of a long life protecting your music and keeping it together. Choose your style and size, whether for orchestra or choir, some with options such as expanding pockets or retaining strings, pencil pockets and windows.

And there is a choice of colour – Concert Black, Royal Blue or Cardinal Red. Check out the October deal now!