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Marketing Manager, Alice Dagger tells us, “The Black Cat team are looking forward to meeting representatives from Wenger Corporation later this week” when they pay a visit to Black Cat Music’s Tonbridge, Kent headquarters.

Alice continued, “Black Cat Music has been exclusive UK distributor for Wenger for over 30 years now, and Master Distributor for Wenger across the whole of Europe and Russia for five years - a business relationship which deserves celebrating!”

Wenger Corporation is the recognised world leader in fully-guaranteed staging and music performance equipment that includes music stands, orchestral chairs, staging, choral risers, conductor’s equipment, acoustic solutions and full stage acoustic shells. In addition there is a range of theatre products that embraces tiered audience seating, pit filler staging, make-up stations, costume racks and stage boxes. All Wenger products come with a minimum five year guarantee but thanks to the quality of their design and build it is rare to even receive a complaint.

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Black Cat Music can offer a range of instrument storage solutions designed by Wenger. There are some very strong arguments in favour of investing in a professional storage solution – protection against accidental damage and theft of expensive expensive instruments for a start. But smart use of space can be even more critical should poorly stored instruments block fire exits. Alarmingly, this is exactly what Wenger discovered on a visit to a prestigious international school.

Wenger’s Nancy Wagner takes up the story. “Instead of using a Wenger fixed cabinet for violins – or even one of our mobile storage racks – the school chose instead to use regular wooden bookcases. The bookcases were not bolted to the wall (making for a potentially hazardous situation) and blocked the window of the classroom. The bookcases are not designed for violins, making the overall utilization of the space very poor. In fact, there were some violins left off the shelves and the instruments spilled out into the hallway. There was no room for storage inside the classroom, and yet, the Facilities Manager told me the school was in violation of the fire code as the hallway, where the bookcase/violin storage was located, was blocked.”

When visiting customers, we are often asked to provide consultation for instrument storage. Our storage cabinets are available in “fit for purpose” sizes (no need to guess how big a violin really is!). When a renovation or new school construction is imminent, the Wenger Planning Guides can guide school administrators to the realization that instrument storage is a key issue and the school needs to plan ahead.

Nancy continued, “Storage cabinets of course are an investment for schools, but in this instance, where locally provided bookshelves are not bolted to the wall and potentially may block students from a quick escape during a fire - what is the payback for investment in student safety and instrument storage security?”

Black Cat Music can offer expert advice on instrument storage, to determine the best use of space and make proposals for the most effective layout.

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During June Black Cat Music are offering the Wenger Preface Conductor’s music stand at a 10% discount compared to the usual price.

Already affordably priced thanks to elegant design and clever engineering, the Preface Conductor’s stand still benefits from plenty of useful features. This stylish conductor's stand enjoys a large desk, a sleek, non-scratch black surface, and dual posts offering superb stability and strength. Although robust it's also extremely lightweight and easy to use and store. The tilting desk permits easy angle adjustment while integrated storage keeps all the conductor's needs nearby and out-of-sight. In fact, it's been exquisitely fine-tuned to give conductors more stand for less money. Plus each stand comes with a 5-year warranty.

For full details of the Preface Conductor’s stand and to take advantage of this special offer visit the Black Cat Music web site.

Customers who have contacted Black Cat Music are probably already aware of the team’s linguistic capabilities, in addition to their knowledgeable product advice of course.

So it is no surprise that Wenger Corporation turned to Brigitte Downs when it came to a final check of their new catalogue in French. Brigitte explained, "I have lived in England for over 30 years, but French is still my mother tongue. I have a keen eye for spelling and grammar, and I am always happy to give the Wenger catalogue a final proofread to ensure the quality of the catalogue reflects the superb quality of the Wenger product offering."

Wenger added, “thanks to Brigitte Downs of Black Cat Music for translation and “proofing” work on our French language catalog. The French music education catalogue is now available on our website in electronic version or via CD-Rom. Merci beaucoup.”

We’ve had a very busy few months at MusicPracticeRooms.com – so busy in fact that we haven’t had a chance to share our latest installation photos with you! Here are a couple of pictures from some of our recent installs. We’re proud of the results. In addition to the University of West London and Farnham College rooms pictured below, we have successfully completed installations at the following companies and institutions:

Goldsmiths University – a suite of Music Practice Rooms in addition to a diverse acoustic treatments in the music department.

Eton College – a dedicated sound-isolation room for bagpipe practice.

WCM, Essex – an isolation booth for testing industrial components for installation in luxury cars.

Spirophoto Photography Studio – we installed a sound-isolating Music Practice Room in the studio to enable the professional photographer to use the studio as a multi-purpose space.

Surrey University – a suite of isolation booths for the psychology department to run psychometric testing.

Surrey Arts – a Music Practice Room for use by arts and music organisations across Surrey.

Black Cat Music, distributor of Wenger products, are pleased to announce that many Instrument Storage cabinets can now be supplied to schools, certified with green credentials.

Wenger introduced the FSC certification - Forest Stewardship Council – as a new core option for instrument storage cabinets in 2011. The Forest Stewardship Council ( www.fsc.org ) certifies that wood products have been harvested responsibly. Many Wenger storage products can be FSC certified if schools specify these “green initiative” requirements. Wenger can certify to customers that we have used specially harvested wood.