Dear Students & Parents,
As we come to the end of the year and approach the Christmas break, we would like to update you on various things going on at the Music School.
We break up after lessons on Saturday 22nd December and have three exam sessions and a performance at St Mary's Church before we close for the Christmas break.
Exams
Rock School Exams for Yamaha keyboard students and vocalists will take place at the Music School on Sunday 9th and Monday 10th December. Trinity keyboard and piano exams will take place at the exam centre in Stone on Thursday 13th and Saturday 15th December. The timetables can be found here and are password protected. Please contact us for the password.
Christmas Tree Festival
For the last three years, we have performed during the Christmas Tree Festival at St Mary's Church. We have a 30 minute slot at 10am on Saturday 8th December and a few of our keyboard, guitar and vocal students will perform a variety of songs. It is usually a relaxed and enjoyable performance and a great opportunity to view the Christmas trees on display with some live music to leave you feeling festive.
Vocal Lessons
We are very pleased to have the amazing Kit Henson now on the team at the Music School, joining Jenii and Jayne as our third vocal teacher. The demand for singing lessons continues to increase and we have now opened up spaces with Kit on Monday evenings for one to one lessons. Spaces are limited and already we have filled most of the available times. If you know anyone who might be interested in starting vocals on a one to one basis, please let us as soon as possible.
Adult Vocals Group
On Mondays at 6pm we have a vocals group Just for Adults! All levels are welcome, whether you have no singing lesson experience at all, or have previously worked with choirs or vocal groups, the class is a fun way to improve your vocal abilities and work towards group performances. Please get in touch for more information.
Christmas
You may have seen a fabulous looking Snowman on our noticeboard in reception. This Christmas at the Music School, the staff have together decided not to send gifts or cards to each other, but instead to sign the snowman and make a donation to The Douglas Macmillan Centre, who have very recently supported one of our young students who sadly lost a parent to cancer. Instead of the token chocolates we usually gift each student, we will also donate the equivalent to the charity. Please feel free to join in if you wish and leave a message or make a donation. All money raised will go to The Douglas Macmillan Centre who looked after the family.
Annual Concerts - Sunday 10th March 2019
Once again, we will commence preparations for our live shows at Stafford Gatehouse theatre once we return from the Christmas break. We will have two concerts at 2pm and 4.30pm on Sunday 10th March with live performances combining our guitar, keyboard and vocal students. A professional drummer will join us to provide a full afternoon of live music.
A rehearsal will take place at the Music School on Sunday 10th February, with final rehearsals at the Gatehouse on the morning of Sunday 10th March. Please let us know if students are unable to take part as soon as possible, so that we can prepare our groups. We are always most grateful for any help offered when organising an event of this scale. If there are any parents or relatives who would be happy and available to support us on the day of the concert, by acting as a chaperone or supervising adult, please let us know. We would very much appreciate any help offered! Further concert details to follow soon.
Facebook/Twitter/Website
Please keep checking our website, facebook page and on Twitter (@musicstafford) to keep up to date with any important information. We understand that letters sometimes struggle to find their way home and we will always post letters sent home on our website. Please like our facebook page or follow us on Twitter.
Reminders of all the important dates are included below.
Please get in touch if you have any queries or questions
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Term Dates 2018-2019
Term 1
First Lesson: Monday 3rd September
Last Lesson: Saturday 22nd December
Term 2
First Lesson: Saturday 5th January
Last Lesson: Saturday 13th April
Term 3
First Lesson: Monday 29th April
Last Lesson: Friday 26th July
Dates for your diaries
Saturday 8th December @10am: Christmas Tree Festival at St Mary's
9th & Monday 10th December: Rock School exams at Stafford Music School
Thursday 13th & Saturday 15th December: Trinity Exams at Stone
Sunday 10th February : Concert Rehearsals at Stafford Music School
Sunday 10th March: Annual Concerts @ Stafford Gatehouse Theatre