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.”

Guitar teacher Ed spreads musical love

Guitarist Ed Taylor is banging the drum in schools around the borough as part of our bid to encourage more children to discover and develop an interest in instrumental music and singing.

Ed has more than 40 years of teaching and performance experience, and is travelling around West Norfolk schools for us as a recruiting officer to spread the word and hopefully encourage them to sign up.

“The psychology of how I work is that I offer schools a mini guitar concert, go in and play all kinds of stuff, and then once they’re interested I give a talk explaining the benefits of the centre and what it can offer, and sometimes I get as many as up to 30 from each year who seem to be interested,” he said.

“I teach the guitar at Downham Market Academy one day a week, and I’ve managed to get in there and do presentations to years 7 and 8 and there’s been a big take up from that.

“I’ve also got it confirmed that I’ll be going to Shouldham Academy and the Nelson Academy in Downham Market, and there’s a lot more schools that I’ve approached and hope to go to soon.”

We launched a major promotional drive to tie in with the new academic year to get youngsters in West Norfolk schools to come along and give instrumental music and singing a try.

No previous experience, exams or audition is necessary for entry, just a love of music and a willingness to learn.

We offer lessons in piano and keyboard, guitar and ukulele, brass, strings and woodwind, singing, music theory, drums and percussion, and numerous groups to join, as well as being the home of the West Norfolk Youth Choir, and a registered charity.

Ed said the quality and variety of teaching on offer made it a great place for youngsters to develop a passion for music and to hone their skills in all kinds of ways.

“The centre offers a huge variety of different types of groups, as well as individual lessons in every instrument you can think of, and it also has choirs,” he said.

“When I go into the schools to tell them about it, I point out the benefits of going along and getting involved with groups, rather than just sitting on your own at home playing, or only playing with a teacher – music can be so much more than that, and the centre offers it in so many ways.”

“It’s a wonderful place to go and learn because it has a fantastic base of really experienced good quality teachers, who have enormous enthusiasm for what they are doing, and also the facilities are excellent,” he said.

“It offers so many opportunities, and you’re working with people who really know what they’re doing.”

Campaign expanded to encourage adults to return or get into music

People who used to play musical instruments or who have always wanted to learn are being encouraged to come forward and join West Norfolk Music Centre.

For more than 40 years, we have been working with schools and young people, promoting the teaching and learning of music, in a bid to inspire a lifelong passion.

The Centre, which is a registered charity, recently launched a drive aimed at school-age children which has generated strong initial interest. Now we are also hoping to add older music lovers, whatever their level of experience or expertise, to their ranks as part of their campaign.

One person who can vouch for the Centre’s life changing possibilities is its chair, Derek Stringer, who has been involved with it for 25 years, with all his children – and his wife – having learnt music there.

“An important part of our work is about providing the opportunity to play in bands and ensembles which many schools are unable to do,” he explained. “We want to encourage people of all ages to discover or rediscover the pleasure of playing a musical instrument.

“There are any number of people in West Norfolk who used to play an instrument at school but who have since stuffed the instrument in the loft and almost forgotten it exists but who, with a bit of encouragement, would appreciate the opportunity to get back into playing again.”
He added: “Learning music is known to have wider positive effects in terms of learning, and it’s great that our campaign has had a strong initial response, that now we want to open up even further.”

We offer lessons in strings, brass, woodwind, piano and keyboard, guitar and ukulele, singing, drums and percussion and theory of music.

Derek continued: “We’d love to welcome more adults through our doors, be it someone who played an instrument years ago at school, and has let it fall by the wayside, or someone who always wanted to have a go but never knew how to start – our doors are open, please come in.

“There are no auditions, just come along and have a go. Having adults playing alongside children in a band or ensemble is such fun for all and also spurs the children on.

“Music is an activity that we can all enjoy at any age, and it is also one that we can embrace and start at any age,” added Mr Stringer. “It is one of the most unifying things known to humanity – everywhere, we are all capable of making music, and we all love music, of so many different kinds, so our mission is to bring music, in all its forms to our community anything that helps spread the word and the love of music to people of all ages, can only be a good thing.”

Campaign launched to encourage youngsters into music

West Norfolk Music Centre has launched a campaign to encourage more children in West Norfolk to discover and develop an interest in instrumental music and singing.

The teaching of music has been recognised as being hugely beneficial to wider education, and it is with this in mind that we have launched a new drive for younger members attending both primary and secondary schools.

Aspiring musicians are not required to have taken any exams, or to go through any audition process, all that is needed is enthusiasm, a willingness to learn, and a love of music.

Lessons on offer include piano and keyboard, woodwind, brass, strings, guitar and ukulele, singing, theory of music, drums and percussion, and the centre is also the base of the West Norfolk Youth Choir.

We are a registered charity which has been facilitating Saturday morning musical education in King’s Lynn for more than four decades, and we’re supported by the Norfolk Music Hub.

We offer instrument hire, music lessons and chances to join groups and choirs, and many of our staff and trustees have connections with the centre going back for decades, with several of them having initially become involved through their own children’s music lessons, and having remained connected long after they left.

One such person is our chair, Derek Stringer, whose wife and three children all learned to play instruments at the centre, and who has been involved with it for 25 years.

“What I like most about the centre is that it gives people of all ages and abilities a chance to get involved and discover the joy of playing together with others,” he said. “Anyone who cares about music is more than welcome to come along and see where they fit in.

“Seeing people make the journey from being confronted with a new piece of music at the start of the term, to being able to perform it at the end of term concert, is a joyous experience for us all, and that’s the beautiful thing about music, and particularly why it can be so good for children.”

In the new school year, we aim to get out into as many West Norfolk schools as possible, to take the message directly to youngsters, and as a follow-up to this, we will be holding an open day in October, with details to be confirmed soon.

“Music is all around us, and can be a lifelong companion for happiness, learning and socialising,” he said. “It’s a privilege to be part of an organisation that can introduce this to people’s lives, so please, come and join us.”

We are back: 12 September 2020!

West Norfolk Centre is please to announce that we are resuming some of our activities from 12 September 2020.

We will be offering a limited programme of groups on Saturday mornings at Gaywood Church Rooms, as well as individual lessons online or at home.

We have already contacted our existing members, but new members are welcome too (subject to limits on numbers to ensure appropriate social distancing). Please contact us for more information.

Online music lessons: now available

In response to the current restrictions on movement and social contact, due to coronavirus, West Norfolk Music Centre is pleased to be able to offer individual music lessons with some of our teachers online. Tuition is available in half-hour sessions at a time to suit the student and the teacher; it does not have to be on a Saturday morning! Shorter (20 minutes) or longer (40 minutes) lessons may also be available on request.

Lessons will be delivered through a platform which suits both the student and the teacher, for example Zoom or Skype, and in accordance with our Remote Teaching Policy.

This arrangement will be available until our usual activities resume, and lessons will be charged at a slightly reduced cost as we are currently unable to offer students participation in our usual groups (a benefit which is normally included in the price of our lessons).

For more details, please contact us.

Coronavirus update

The trustees of West Norfolk Music Centre have met today and, in line with Government advice to avoid non-essential social contact, it has been decided that music centre will suspend its operations with immediate effect and until further notice.

All Saturday morning lessons and groups on 21 March 2020 and 28 March 2020 are therefore cancelled, as is the concert on 21 March 2020. Credit will be given to members for missed lessons when teaching resumes.

Look out for further announcements as to what activities, if any, will be offered during the summer term.

Play at our Open Concert, 29 February

Come and play in our Open Concert on 29 February at St John’s Church in King’s Lynn. This short, informal concert is open to anyone who would like to play their instrument or sing — solo, duet or in a small group.

The Church is the Associated Board public exam centre in King’s Lynn, so if you are taking a music exam this is a chance to try a piece or two at your exam venue beforehand. We have previously welcomed players from beginners to grade 8+, as well as hearing some of our teachers perform for us.

Admission is free, refreshments will be served from 3.15pm, and the concert will finish by about 4.30.

To reserve your place and take part, please contact us.

Music Centre concert 13 July

West Norfolk Music Centre presents its end-of-term concert on Saturday 13 July at 7pm, Springwood High School, King’s Lynn. Come and enjoy music from our groups and soloists.

Tickets £4 on the door, raffle tickets available, refreshments will be served at the interval.

West Norfolk Music Centre is a registered charity and is supported by Norfolk Music Hub.