Spring Concert

We’re holding this term’s concert this Saturday, the last Saturday of term, March 29th, at 3.00pm in the Springwood Drama Studio. There’s no charge for this but donations are welcome.  As usual the programme will include a presentation of exam certificates followed by a variety of music performed by our groups and soloists, with refreshments and a raffle at the interval.

Donations of snacks etc for the refreshments and prizes for the raffle would be welcome either in the morning or at the concert. The groups included this time are: Sax Group, Brass Group, Recorder Groups, Youth and Senior Choirs, Beginner Band, Orchestra and Wind Band. If you or your child performs in one of these groups and can’t make the concert, please tell your group leader or me as soon as possible if you haven’t already. Performers should wear black and white. Please come along and ask your friends and relations even if you or your children are not involved.

Photographs may be taken during the concert and on Saturday mornings (both by individuals and for WNMC).  If you would prefer your child not to be included in these please tell us at the desk.

Open Day Success

We offered youngsters an opportunity to begin a lifelong love affair with music when we hosted an open day at the weekend.

We have been providing instrumental music, theory and singing opportunities for West Norfolk’s talent for the last four decades, and our chair Derek Stringer is hopeful that Saturday’s event will be the start of many more journeys of musical discovery.

“Since the start of the academic year, we’ve had people going into lots of local schools, putting the word out and showcasing the many opportunities that we offer at the centre, so it was great to see so many people come along and enjoy themselves,” he said.

We offer lessons in a wide range of instruments, as well as the opportunity to join a range of vocal and instrumental groups, for all ages and levels of ability. No audition or previous experience is required for entry, just a willingness to learn.

“We had a great turn-out and I’m hoping they were impressed by the showcase of activities that we offered,” Derek continued.  “A lot of our groups performed on the day, playing all different kinds of music, there were try-out sessions, and teachers on hand to talk in more depth to anyone who was interested.

“Everyone who turned up was automatically entered into a raffle to win lessons in the instrument of their choice, so I think we made all our guests as welcome as we could, and as far as I could see, they thoroughly enjoyed themselves.”


Derek added: “One of the centre’s greatest strengths is its people, and so many of them have been part of the place for years, even decades.

“We want to promote the centre as a family venue, and looking around at our staff, it’s clear that this is the case, so if we widened the family circle on Saturday, I would be absolutely delighted.”

Over the last 40 years, countless local musicians have come through our doors to embark on their own musical journeys, all of which are as unique as the individuals involved – and that, says Derek, is the joy of music, and the joy of being part of the centre.  

“Music can be with you for your whole life, it’s a passion you can take anywhere, and which can take you anywhere,” he said. “In a divided world, music is a unifying force, and a bringer of happiness. So if by opening our doors on Saturday, we’ve inspired someone to get involved, we’ve helped to spread that joy and make the world a better place.”  

Globe-trotting saxophonist backs our campaign

One of Britain’s most in-demand saxophone players has backed our campaign to encourage more children and adults in West Norfolk to discover and develop an interest in instrumental music and singing.

Nik Carter says he owes much of his career to the start he was given to his musical life at the West Norfolk Music Centre.

Nik has toured the world with artists including Lily Allen, Olly Murs, Beverley Knight, Pixie Lott and Boy George, playing at venues including Glastonbury, Wembley Stadium and Coachella, as well appearing on tv shows including The Late Show with Jay Leno, the Ellen Show and the Jonathan Ross Show, and winning gold and platinum discs along the way.

But he began his musical journey as a Saturday morning pupil at our centre, based at Springwood High School, which for the last 40 years has been opening a door for young music enthusiasts in the borough to explore and develop their talents.

“I was there from the age of about 8 to 14, and my main teacher was a guy called George King who I stayed in touch with until he passed away just a couple of years ago,” said Nik.

“The thing I remember most about going to the centre for the first time was walking in and there being so many different musical sounds coming from all sides, and seeing so many people with different instruments and cases – this wasn’t like school, it was something very different, and it inspired me,” he explained.  

“It was a very comfortable environment, too – there was always a chance to sit in with someone better and to learn from them.

“Children are so impressionable, and it’s so easy to put them off for life with a bad experience, so it’s absolutely crucial that they enjoy what they are doing, because then they will put in the hours doing things like practicing scales. I was always so well treated at the centre, it fired my enthusiasm.”

At the start of the new academic year, we launched a drive to encourage anyone with an interest in music to come and give instrumental music or singing a try. There is no entrance text or audition, and no previous experience is required, just a passion for music and enthusiasm.

We are a registered charity, and offer numerous groups to join, as well as tuition in strings, brass, woodwind, piano, guitar, music theory and more.

Nik says the standard of our teaching was excellent, and that developing his talents at the centre was the springboard for what has gone on to become an extremely successful career.

As well as honing his talents, we also gave Nik a chance to develop his love of performing.

“I remember playing in a Christmas concert with a beginner band, wearing a Santa hat and having tinsel wrapped around my saxophone – when you’re that age, these sorts of things make a difference and make you love what you’re doing,” he said.

“Without me being aware of it, it was also a great place for networking. Being in one band was always great preparation for advancing to the next one, and then before you know it, at the age of 16 I’m in the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. Being part of the centre was such a catalyst, so many other things spun off it.”

As well as kindling his lifelong passion for music, the experience of being a pupil at the centre was also a great social experience – and not just for Nik and his fellow pupils.

“My dad used to come along when I had my lessons, and all the parents got to know one another while they were waiting, so then they started taking an interest in other things, and going to other people’s concerts – some of them even got so drawn in that they decided to start learning instruments too, so everyone gained from it,” he said.

The road from King’s Lynn to Wembley, Glastonbury, the West End and elsewhere may seem like a long and rarely-travelled one, but Nik says it was the West Norfolk Music Centre that put him on it, and has fuelled his progress along it.

“I had to elbow my way to the front in my career, and sometimes I was up against people who’d been at better-known musical schools, like Wells Cathedral and Chetham’s School in Manchester, but having come from King’s Lynn, somewhere that seems so far away from that world, I wanted it more,” he said.

“After the Royal Academy, I went to Trinity College but dropped out after two years to go and spend six months touring America with Lily Allen, at the age of 21, and I’ve never looked back.

“I’ve played all over the world, I’ve done three West End shows, I’ve played at the Royal Albert Hall 18 times, and I’ve got gold silver and platinum discs, all because as a kid, at the centre, I was taught right and treated right by good people.”