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.”

Autumn half-term holiday has caught up with us already, so our students, music teachers and staff can enjoy a well-earned break. We’re back on 8 November.

It’s not too late to come and join us in King’s Lynn as a new student or group member. If you are looking for music lessons, or maybe you would just like to try out a new instrument, you are welcome to speak to us at any time — you don’t have to wait until the beginning of a new term. We have been offering some try-out sessions to new students just over the past couple of weeks, and we still have room for more on most instruments.

Just contact us, and we’ll let you know what we can offer you — whether it’s piano lessons, playing in our wind band, learning to play the drums or simply singing in a group.