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It’s amazing how good quality equipment helps induce a professional pride in their music. Recently Black Cat Music made the short journey to Tonbridge Grammar School in Kent for a behind the scenes look at how the school stores and cares for the instruments and music equipment that has been built up in recent years.  

With Simon Hayward, Head of Music at Tonbridge Grammar School, Black Cat Music’s guide for the visit, we have produced a video of the tour of the music facilities. Students at the school take music up to Key Stage 3, then can go on to take GCSE in music. Senior students can go further and take a baccalaureate. Teaching music at the school for the last 11 years, Simon Hayward shows how the investment in music storage equipment not only keeps instruments safe and protected from damage, but allows equipment to always be on hand when it is time to practise. What’s more everything is kept tidy, so no clutter to trip over at the start and finish of lessons, or risk of damage to delicate instruments. Simon is impressed by the quality of the equipment and is confident that the robust and lockable storage racks will go on and on for many years.

 When it comes to Wenger music stands, which he explains are virtually unbreakable, we see members of the choir in a slick, well practised maneouvre, collapse the stands, load them on to a move and store cart and wheel them away for the next group to use. Tonbridge Grammar School has a good tradition in choral singing. Examples from the Motet Choir’s repertoire accompany the video narration. Over the years a big library of choral music has been built up and now benefits from its own storage and indexing facilities. Naturally members of the choir have their own Choral Folders. It all adds up to acting and looking professional as well as looking and sounding good in performance.

When Sevenoaks based music teacher, Amanda Rupp set up Aeolian Music, her teaching work was to take place at her home. Amanda was anxious to ensure that her private music room met the current reverberation time guidelines for music teaching within schools.

It was time to call in Black Cat Acoustics to evaluate the acoustic environment and recommend a suitable solution.  After the installation work was completed a delighted Amanda said, “I am delighted with my Black Cat acoustic panels which have greatly improved the sound attenuation in the music room. By ensuring that my private music room meets the current reverberation time guidelines for music teaching within schools, I have optimised conditions for myself and my pupils.

With correct seated posture a vital consideration for musicians, the current discounted price on offer from Black Cat Music makes June a great time to buy the Encore Chair designed specially for musicians.

The result of considerable research and development, the Encore Chair offers both comfort and posture support for seated musicians. Thanks to the curved ‘waterfall’ leading seat edge, musicians are able to sit comfortably in a more upright and poised position, while the slender back gives plenty of room for arm movements when playing. The seat and back panel are fitted to a sturdy tubular frame and can be supplied in other fabric colours as an alternative to the standard black. Seats can be ordered for either 470 mm or 490 mm height above floor, with an option for alternative heights available to special order.

For full details of the Encore Chair and to take advantage of this special offer visit  our   Black Cat Music web site.   

Black Cat Music Sales Consultant, Brigitte Downs back from the MMA conference said: "It was a pleasure, as ever, to meet up with familiar faces and new at the annual MMA conference.  Ripley St Thomas CE Academy in Lancaster was a great venue, and we enjoyed the weekend."

The MMA Conference, which took place over the weekend is described as “a widely respected annual gathering of professionals in music education with a comprehensive and diverse programme of some of the best speakers in the UK. Hosted by an MMA member school, the atmosphere is always friendly but professional and for the last five years, the conference has sold out in advance.”

Managing Director of Black Cat Music, Alice Dagger added: "We were able to attend some very interesting conference sessions by Music Mark and ISM.  We loved the keynote talk with Evelyn Glennie, and I was pleased to attend the Micromusicals workshop run by Christopher Norton, as I learnt to play piano with the help of his Microjazz piano pieces".

“The conference trade fair is always a lively hub of activity with some thirty corporate members giving in-depth advice and showcasing the latest instruments, products and scores” The Black Cat Music stand displayed Wenger music stands, chairs and accessories including the top-selling Classic 50 music stand, the Nota Standard Chair, the Encore chair, the Preface Conductor's Stand and the Folding Podium.  The Black Cat choir folders and band folders, with bespoke gold-blocking (also on display) continue to be highly popular with music teachers.

Throughout the month, Black Cat Music is offering a generous 10% discount on their best selling Classic 50 music stands in a special May promotion.

Quantity discount breaks allow purchase prices as low as £40.45 when purchased in quantities of 50 or more. Schools and colleges looking to equip with new music stands designed for robust and regular handling can take advantage of this great offer this month.

The ever popular Classic 50 Music Stand is tough enough to handle the hardships of regular classroom use thanks to a formulation of advanced polymers offering inherent tensile strength that will not bend or dent like metal stands.  Its elegant design makes it quiet and rattle-free during performances. And the scratch resistant desk surface also incorporates a unique recess for keeping pencils in place. The patented one-hand height adjustment of the music desk is simplicity itself, requiring no screw or locking collar adjustments. To learn more watch the Classic 50 put through its paces at   YouTube.com .

Full details of the May offer can be found on thet    Black Cat Music web site.

Based in Villach in the Austrian province of Carinthia, Austria the KELAG Blasorchester took delivery of  40 Bravo Music Stands supplied in a smart chrome and black version along with a Preface Conductor’s stand.The band was formed  over 60 years ago and in the tradition of many such bands has a strong connection with local industry with employees of Carinthian electricity AG being members. They  talk of themselves as “musical ambassadors of Kelag” which is a major energy company. Their repertoire includes traditional brass band music, symphonic music and music from films and musicals. The traditional concert in November is an integral part and musical highlight in the team of the year Kelag brass band.

Wenger Bravo Music Stands are already recognised as a premium design and thanks to a recent engineering upgrade the late versions incorporate a new friction slider making a great product even better.. The Bravo Music Stand is designed and engineered to high quality standards to provide a long, trouble-free life. Wenger explained that as the Bravo desk is heavier than in other music stand models, the desk must be held to a higher level of force expectation. In other words the latest upgrade enables the force to be increased. But the even better news is that this is achieved without any price increase!

Bravo’s polypropelene desk will not chip, bend or scratch and includes a useful accessory shelf, handy for keeping pencils or reeds to hand. Height is adjustable in just a single smooth motion, from 61 cm to 116 cm.