Newsletter, March 2010

Dear Parents,

Great to see you all getting your children back into the routine of practicing at the start of the new year, thanks and well done!

Firstly a warm thank you for all the lovely cards, thoughts and lovely xmas presents I received in December. I (again!) have been very spoilt! I am sure the warmth in your hearts has brought us all through this incredibly cold and long winter. But we can take hope that the spring flowers are beginning to show, just in time for the Spring Equinox.

I would like to welcome all the new families who have recently joined us. We hope you enjoy your time with us and look forward to meeting you at the summer concerts.

Thanks very much also to all of you who have recommended the CMC to your friends and families. Your recommendations are invaluable.

Musically, the students and I have had an interesting term with an unexpected journey into the high energy 'Rock and Roll' which of course had a major impact on the British pop music, while the younger Bound into Sound students have been hard working on notation and of rhythm.

Guitar Club and Bound into Sound - Fees - £93.50

There are 11 weeks next term and so the fees for next term are therefore £93.50. Please collect a list of dates or these can be found on the website childrensmusiccentre.com. Thank you so much to those of you who regularly pay on time. If you are having difficulty paying on time, please let me know. Those who would prefer to pay over the internet, please do so by the 29th March. Please make cheques payable to FOLKIST and old fashioned cash is good too!

Please sponser us for the 'Swimathon' - Chris Hoy Half Marathon!!

OK, we've really lost the plot now! The Children's Music Centre have entered a team for the Swimathon which is aimed at raising funds for the Marie Curie Hospice. We will be swimming 5000m between us in relay form. This will take place on Saturday 17th April, at midday at Ainsley Park Leisure Centre. Please come on the day, make some music and noise to cheer us on! Sponsoring our team is easy, either see me or go to www.swimathon.org and follow 'sponsor a team'. Our team is called Children's Music Centre, and the team captain is Karen Jones. Other team members include:

I am also running the Chris Hoy Half Marathon for Breast Cancer Care Scotland on Sunday 18th April. I would really appreciate your donations as I am running for the many family members I have lost through breast cancer. You can also sponsor me by clicking onto my webpage:

www.justgiving.com/KarenJones3

The race starts at Meadowbank Stadium at 9am, and I'm hoping to make it to the finish by lunchtime! Be good to see you there!

Congratulations Lucas!

Lucas Thomson received a gold medal when he came first in the Scottish Gymnastics Championships and will be representing Scotland in May at Birmingham. Well done Lucas! We wish you luck on the big day!

Performances

I have had great reports about students taking the opportunity to perform in front of their classes, schools and families. This is fantastic news. Performance skills are just as important as the mechanical skills and the more we practice them, the better we become at performing! Keep up the good work!

Midsummer concerts

In an effort to include as many students as possible, our concerts will be a week earlier this year and will be Friday 18th, sat 19th, Sun 20th and Mon 21st June. Please let me know, (preferably in writing,) ASAP if you have any commitments on any of these dates as I will try to slot your child's performance around these.

Neon Trash

Most of you will know Alexander Elmi as one of the older boys who helps out at the concerts and plays 'Green Day' songs on the electric guitar with Matthew Dirkin. Alexander Elmi is a past Children's Music Centre pupil and currently helps us out on a Saturday and at the concerts. Alexander's band, Neon Trash, is regularly composing and performing gigs at venues which usually accommodate 14year olds and over. Check out their myspace page:

www.myspace.com/neontrash10

Individual lessons

It has been 2 years since the last fees update, and unfortunately, due to inflation, I must increase the individual lessons to £24 per lesson.

Diary Dates

All classes and individuals will break at the end of term for the spring on the 3rd April. We will all resume again on the 19th April until the 3rd July.

Easter Break

Blessings of the the Equinox and Easter.

Karen Jones
Tutor Children's Music Centre
FOLKIST Director

We acknowledge the kind support of:

Scayles

Live Music