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It doesn’t get much better than this! When you visit the Black Cat Music/MusicPracticeRooms.com stand at Music Education Expo (20 -21 March) at London’s Barbican venue, not only can you see a fully functioning sound isolating music practice room and try it out for yourself, but you can buy this very same room for a special ex-demo price.

While you are thinking about acoustics, make sure you attend the Black Cat Acoustics presentation in Seminar Theatre 1, Weds 20th March, 10.15 am on the subject of 'Simple solutions to noise problems'. Enjoy our free coffee and pastries, served to everyone who attends the seminar and don’t forget to collect your free conductor's baton.

But it doesn’t end there! Free mugs and pens will be on our stand, plus we will be offering a special Music Expo 10 per cent discount on all our music stands and accessories ordered during the show.

Portable staging that is easy to transport and store, yet is strong, safe and configurable into any combination is about to set new standards thanks to the soon to be released Wenger StageTek system.

StageTek system available from Black Cat Music is a refined smart staging system resulting from extensive research, engineering and technical advancements in materials and manufacturing. These technical advances have resulted in a staging system that is 20 per cent lighter, stronger, easier to handle and faster to set up.

Affordably priced, when it comes to stretching investment across multiple needs like seated risers and performance stages, this new system has it all. But there is no compromise on performance, comfortably exceeding required standards on three critical loading capacity measures for uniform load, point load and dynamic load. Plus it is easy to handle, lighter to lift and with nice smooth edges for safety it is really easy to set up too. Anyone can set up StageTek in minutes all without the need for any tools.

Configurations including single or multi-level stages, thrust stages, choral risers, runways and many more options become possible in both scale and shape facilitated by a selection of different height, ‘plug-in’ legs. These simple to use, economical but strong plug-in legs secured by hand-turned locking knobs make hundreds of configurations possible to meet a wide variety of needs.

When it is time to dismantle, legs can be stored on the underside of the deck and panels quickly loaded on to a storage and transport cart that fits through standard door sizes. Designed to save as much as 50% in storage space compared to other systems, StageTek can be wheeled to a storage place or transported to another venue.

Members of the Black Cat Music team attended the abcd 25th Anniversary Annual Convention that took place at the Birmingham Conservatoire over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

The organizers explained, “We're celebrating not only our quarter century, but also our place in the world, our country and our region. We will be experiencing Birmingham's own contribution to choral music … including the first performance of renowned composer Kerry Andrew's new choral work, commissioned specially for this anniversary.

Robert Dagger, Chairman of Black Cat Music said, "It was great to meet so many choral directors who are really passionate about inspiring good singing and getting the best out of their choirs. We were particularly delighted to receive so much positive feedback on our products, such as the Wenger Tourmaster choral risers and the Jazz Music Stand, from people who really care about the quality of their musical performance." The easiest-to-move, easiest-to-set-up riser on the market, the Tourmaster goes anywhere and now Wenger are so confident of the quality of both Tourmaster and Signature choral risers they come with an impressive 15 year warranty.

"We enjoyed the weekend and were even able to take part in one or two of the singing sessions. It was good to meet so many talented musicians under one roof. There was a real buzz about the event" said Alice Dagger, Marketing Manager, Black Cat Music, summing up the convention.

Don't forget to pick up your free conductor's baton when attending the Black Cat Acoustics talk at the Music Education Expo on Wednesday 20th March and taking place at 10.15am in Seminar Theatre 1.

Black Cat Acoustics will be presenting a talk on the theme of 'Solving your Noise Problems' at the Music Education Expo 2013 event being staged at London’s Barbican venue, 20/21 March. Black Cat Music and partner company MusicPracticeRooms.com are proud to be Platinum Sponsors of this new undertaking.

The Black Cat Acoustics session will address common noise problems and their solutions. There will also be an opportunity for you to put your noise problems to our specialists, who can suggest some practical and simple to implement solutions. The workshop style session will provide a straightforward and commonsense approach to noise issues, and we hope that all attendees will come out with ideas to help them manage the acoustics in their schools.

Delegates' tickets for the Music Education Expo are free if you register in advance - just visit http://www.musiceducationexpo.co.uk/ to register for your free entry.

Anyone looking to invest in a rugged all-metal music stand, for practice and performance use that really lives up to its name, should take a look at the Wenger Roughneck. With its welded base, the Roughneck Music stand always stands straight, won't lean or wobble and will never need tightening.

Finished with durable black powder coat paint, the 22 gauge steel desk has rolled edges for structural strength. To remove any concerns about accidental damage such as scratching or denting to expensive instruments, the use of polycarbonate and rounded edges means there are no sharp edges to worry about. The bolt-through desk attachment means that the desk holds firmly and securely, with desk height from floor to desk lip adjustable between 69cm to 110cm and a trigger lock that easily holds 30 lbs without releasing.

Probably the toughest music stand on the market thanks also to its 12-gauge steel welded wobble-free base attachment designed for extreme durability and no tip overs. This rugged construction standard is carried through to an 18-gauge inner post that won’t dent and ensures the slider mechanism keeps functioning freely.

For the complete story see the Roughneck Music Stand details on the Black Cat Music web site.

Looking forward to making the short journey across Kent to St Edmund’s School Canterbury in May, are delegates from Black Cat Music.

Canterbury’s Cathedral School will welcome members to the 2013 MMA Conference (17-19th May) when a diverse and comprehensive programme to inspire music teachers and practitioners is promised.

Marketing Manager, Alice Dagger summed up Black Cat Music’s anticipation of the conference, saying, “We look forward to the MMA Conference this year especially, as we're local and love visiting Canterbury!”

Further details are on the MMA web site.