News
Congratulations to Alex Lewis on a fantastic achievement in his graded music exams. Maestros percussion teacher, Sue Whitling, has taught Alex the Drum Kit for a number of years. Alex recently passed his Grade 8 exam with Distinction which means that he has attained Distinction in every grade that he has taken!
Berkshire Maestros is delighted to announce that we have reached a groundbreaking three year sponsorship deal with Dawsons which will allow us to bring down the cost of ensemble membership across the whole pyramid of Berkshire Maestros ensembles.
We are looking to expand opportunity to even greater numbers of children. The government’s wider opportunities programme will enable us to do this. To be successful, however, we need to ensure that there is a structure of bands, choirs and orchestras for every young musician and in every area of the county. Therefore we will be dramatically expanding our pyramids of ensembles and to do this in a sustainable way we need to seek funding from businesses.
Three Maestros groups participated in the finals of the National Festival of Music for youth in Birmingham from 7 - 12 July 2008.
Held in Birmingham at Symphony Hall, Town Hall, Birmingham Conservatoire, and Carling Academy 2, the National Festival of Music for Youth brings together around 300 groups selected from regional heats which take place in March.
Congratulations to Berkshire Youth Percussion & Marimba Ensemble who came away with an 'Outstanding Achievement' award and Berkshire Youth Guitar Orchestra who won a 'Highly Commended' prize. Well done to Bracknell Music Centre’s Corelli Orchestra who received a positive report on their performance at the prestigious Symphony Hall, against a very strong field that included county orchestras and university aged students. Performing at this prestigious event also means that the groups are in with a chance of being invited to perform at the Schools Proms, held at the Royal Albert Hall in November.
For more information about Music for Youth, visit their website.
Quote:
The National Festival of Music for Youth is the largest event of its kind in the world. 10,000 young musicians and singers perform 800 different works at this six-day celebration of young people’s music making. Every style of music is represented and the young music makers come from every corner of the UK
Research shows that music really does make you smarter!
Learning to sing or play a musical instrument can help to improve memory skills, concentration levels and even raise your IQ. It is also thought that children who learn music often develop a flair for modern languages and can handle more complex maths problems.
So what are you waiting for? Sign up for lessons with Maestros today!
Read the article on the BBC website
At the end of last term Bracknell Music Centre ran an introductory session for a new rock school programme starting on Tuesdays. The new groups will take place from 6-7pm starting Tuesday 29 April at the Open Learning Centre, Brakenhale School, Bracknell. Click here for a map.
Martin Kennedy, former head at the Academy of Contemporary Guitar, will lead the sessions.
Don’t worry if you missed the introductory session, please give us a call on 01344 782970 and we will arrange for you to come and have a go this term. We would especially like to hear from drummers.