Thursday, December 24, 2015

Affordably priced adjustable chairs for the complete orchestra

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New to the Black Cat Music catalogue for 2016 is the Adjustable Orchestra Chair.

With seat and back upholstered in a business-like black fire resistant fabric and with co-ordinated matching black base, the new adjustable chair certainly looks professional. Adjustments can be made to basic parameters to suit individual musician’s personal requirements. Each leg can be individually adjusted in height and further adjustments allow the tilt of the seat and back to be fine tuned too, as well as vertically setting the preferred back height. Up to five chairs can be stacked for compact storage and there is even an under-seat music storage rack!

Speaking at the product’s launch, Managing Director, Alice Dagger said, “ Thanks to the very affordable price for our new Adjustable Orchestra Chair, orchestra managers and music departments can now consider equipping the whole orchestra, whereas up until now often funds would only stretch to having a few such chairs.” Alice continued, “ Adjustment is very important to allow musicians to set the chair for personal comfort and good posture is an essential contributor to good health.” “We believe this new chair will be well received by orchestra managers and music departments alike.”

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

LED music stand light - no wires, no fuss - it just clips on

A great offer from Black Cat Music available throughout December is a 10 per cent discount on LED music stand lights. 


Black Cat Music’s popular dual-headed, bright white LED light simply clips on to any music stand to provide even illumination of sheet music. The standard version is battery powered, so no trailing wires to trip over in the orchestra pit. The adjustable twin goose-neck lighting heads pack the illuminating power of 4 bright white LEDs that thanks to economic operation give extra long battery life. Supplied complete with 3 x AAA batteries the stand light is ready to use straight out of the box.  But if you want to plug in, there is an alternative option of using the included USB power cable supplied in the pack. Ideal for rehearsal or performance these LED music stand lights are bright, light and versatile and very affordably priced. There is still time to buy for your Christmas shows!

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Celebrating St Cecilia - music’s patron saint

November 22nd is St Cecilia’s Day. The patron saint of music is said to be one of the most famous of Roman martyrs whose feast has been celebrated since about the fourth century. Legend has it that St Cecilia was a noble lady of Rome who suffered martyrdom around the year 230.
Various music has been inspired by St Cecilia down the centuries from Gregorian chants to popular songs of today. So this Sunday, why not raise a salute to music’s patron saint and sing along to this ..

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Music Teacher Awards for Excellence Finalists announced


Classic FM’s Margherita Taylor
Finalists for the Music Teacher Awards for Excellence have just been announced where once again Black Cat Music and MusicPracticeRooms.com are sponsoring the Lifetime Achievement Award category. 
Following a record number of nominations, the 59 finalists for the 2016 Music Teacher Awards for Excellence have been listed. The winners of the 11 award categories will be announced on 25 February 2016 – along with the winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Music Teacher Magazine Editor’s Award – in a gala ceremony at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel in Kensington. The evening will feature music from the Locke Brass Consort, under the direction of Leslie Lake and a Yamaha music scholar, and will be hosted by Classic FM’s Margherita Taylor.
Alice Dagger, Managing Director of Black Cat Music said, “We are pleased to be again sponsoring the Lifetime Achievement Award at this important annual event.”

Alex Stevens, editor of Music Teacher magazine, says: “We are delighted to announce a very strong selection of shortlists for this year’s awards. It is inspiring to see how much hard work goes into music education in the UK, and we are excited to be able to recognise some of the teachers, schools and initiatives achieving excellence – often in challenging circumstances.” 

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Black Cat Music team enjoy ABRSM Conference


Back from the recent ABRSM conference in London, Alice Dagger, Managing Director of Black Cat Music said, “The ABRSM conference was extremely well organised and offered us the chance to speak to music teachers and examiners alike - many were already familiar with Black Cat's products and services. Others who were not familiar with our acoustic services were very interested to learn about products such as our sound-isolating practice rooms.” 

Brigitte Downs, Sales Executive at Black Cat Music added, 'We enjoyed the ABRSM conference and it was a great opportunity to meet and chat to many of our customers”.
The 2015 ABRSM conference concerned the broad range of skills that support musical performance.  The organisers described the event as offering “a wide range of practical and thought-provoking sessions for class, group and one-to-one lessons. Presenters introduced inspiring resources and gave interactive demonstrations to show how to use them effectively within your teaching.”
ABRSM is the UK’s largest music education body, one of its largest music publishers and the world’s leading provider of music exams, offering assessments to more than 630,000 candidates in 93 countries every year. ABRSM’s mission is to inspire achievement in music. In partnership with the Royal Schools of Music, it supports high-quality music-making and learning around the world offering pathways and resources for learners and teachers that help build musical skills, provide goals and encourage progress.

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Wenger choral risers benefit from 15 years warranty


Tourmaster and Signature Choral Risers distributed by Black Cat Music are now backed by an impressive 15-year warranty on all new products sold.

This extended warranty demonstrates Wenger’s confidence in their choral risers that are already widely used and recommended by choirs everywhere. Signature risers with classic black styling benefit from safe, simple set up, lightweight handling, easy mobility and an integrated back rail with safety crossbar. They are strong and quiet in performance. Available in 3 – step or 4 – step models, configurations can be changed quickly and securely, or optional side rails added without the need for tools.  The patented fold-down design allows easy one person set up.

No other risers fold, roll, set up or travel as smoothly as Tourmaster Choral Risers. Easy to take up stairs, navigate round tight corners or load into vehicles for transport, the Tourmaster is a world leader. Precision engineering and use of top quality materials are reasons why these products now come with a 15-year warranty.

Tourmaster Choral Risers enjoy 10 per cent discount this month


Black Cat Music is currently promoting Wenger Tourmaster Choral Risers, which are subject to a 10 per cent discount for orders placed in November.

TourmasterChoral Risers bring a professional look to performances and are ideal for choirs on tour as they are designed to fold away, roll into place and set up smoothly and easily. Tourmaster is easy to take up stairs, around tight corners, across the parking lot and load into a bus or van. Thanks to precision engineering and use of high quality materials Tourmaster risers will deliver reliable operation for a long, long time.

Tourmaster Choral Risers distributed by Black Cat Music are now backed by an impressive 15-year warranty on all new products sold. This exceptional  warranty demonstrates Wenger’s confidence in their choral risers that are already widely used and recommended by choirs everywhere. Tourmaster is a world leader.

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Music Folders October Offer

If you were thinking of buying a set of music folders for your musicians or choir, then October is the time to take action. Black Cat Music are offering a 30 per cent discount for the whole of the month.

Imagine the visual impact created by a set of smart new matching music folders to give a great identity to your orchestra, chorus, band or choir. The hard-wearing leatherette covers enhanced by hand stitching and brass-bound corners are sure of a long life protecting your music and keeping it together. Choose your style and size, whether for orchestra or choir, some with options such as expanding pockets or retaining strings, pencil pockets and windows.


And there is a choice of colour – Concert Black, Royal Blue or Cardinal Red. Check out the October deal now!

Bravo Music Stand - the tough gets tougher

Wenger Bravo Music Stands are already recognised as a premium design and thanks to a recent engineering upgrade the late versions incorporate a new friction slider making a great product even better..
The Bravo Music Stand is designed and engineered to high quality standards to provide a long, trouble-free life. Wenger explained that as the Bravo desk is heavier than in other music stand models, the desk must be held to a higher level of force expectation. In other words the latest upgrade enables the force to be increased. But the even better news is that this is achieved without any price increase!

Bravo’s polypropelene desk will not chip, bend or scratch and includes a useful accessory shelf, handy for keeping pencils or reeds to hand. Height is adjustable in just a single smooth motion, from 61 cm to 116 cm. 

Friday, September 18, 2015

Black Cat Music team set for ABRSM Conference

The Black Cat Music team will be heading to the ABRSM conference on 7th November at London’s Grange Tower Bridge Hotel.
The focus of the 2015 ABRSM conference is the broad range of skills that support musical performance.  The organisers say the event, “offers a wide range of practical and thought-provoking sessions for class, group and one-to-one lessons. Our presenters will introduce inspiring resources and give interactive demonstrations to show how to use them effectively within your teaching.”
Managing Director, Alice Dagger summed up Black Cat Music’s anticipation of the conference, saying, “We are looking forward to attending the ABRSM Conference, the splendid programme of events and making contact with conference delegates.” Further details are on the ARBSM web site

ABRSM is the UK’s largest music education body, one of its largest music publishers and the world’s leading provider of music exams, offering assessments to more than 630,000 candidates in 93 countries every year. ABRSM’s mission is to inspire achievement in music. In partnership with the Royal Schools of Music, it supports high-quality music-making and learning around the world offering pathways and resources for learners and teachers that help build musical skills, provide goals and encourage progress. 

Monday, September 7, 2015

Customised Music Folders - ordering now for Christmas shows


Black Cat Music has a message for choirs, music groups, orchestras and schools planning Christmas concerts, that now is a good time to consider ordering music folders customised with the music group’s own name, a crest or logo.

Managing Director, Alice Dagger talking about Black Cat Music’s popular range of music folders explained, “Musical groups might like to know that Black Cat Music offer a gold-blocking service on all of our choral and orchestral folders, so you can add your logo or school crest to the front of the folder. We can also add gold-blocked lettering, and many customers choose to gold-block the instrument name or number in the corner of the music folder. Our choir folders and band folders from Black Cat Music are elegant, high-quality music folders to help you organise your sheet music. Whether you belong to a professional orchestra, chorus, school band or church choir, our choral and orchestral folders will give a sense of identity to your music group.”
 
Alice continued, “If your choir, music group or school has previously ordered music or choral folders with your own crest or logo from Black Cat Music, now is also a good time to order extra copies ready for the Christmas concert season. When we create a die to imprint your crest on music folders using our traditional gold-blocking technique we keep the die ready for future use. Just give us a call if you need to add to your set of folders.”

The visual impact created by a set of smart new matching music folders gives a great identity to an orchestra, chorus, band or choir. The hard-wearing leatherette covers enhanced by hand stitching and brass-bound corners are sure of a long life protecting music and keeping it together. There is a choice of style and size, whether for orchestra or choir, some with options such as expanding pockets or retaining strings, pencil pockets and windows. And there is a choice of colour – Concert Black, Royal Blue or Cardinal Red.


Black Cat Music’s customers just love our music folders, especially when gold-blocked with the name and crest of their choir, band or orchestra. So much so that many write to tell us how delighted they are when they open the parcel and see their new folders for the first time.  Jim Jefferson of Barrow Steelworks Band contacted us to say, 'The Band were delighted with the music folders.' The Orchestrate Project told us, “Received our shipment of orchestral music folders from Black Cat Music. They look stunning!” Kristen Callaway of Wimbledon High School says, “The orchestra folders have arrived safely and are great - thanks so much! “Order arrived today safe and well. The folders look great. Many thanks.” says Chris Stone from Thornden Community Wind Band. “Our fabulous performance folders have arrived in time for Friday's concert; thanks, Black Cat Music,” the Cecilian Choir at the University of Kent told us. “Just to say thank you for all your help and support with this order which we received last week,” says Frances Belamy of St Peter's Catholic School. And a final word from Jo Black, St. Mary's School Calne Opera Ensemble. “The Opera Ensemble was very happy with their music folders, so thank you very much for them.”

“It’s always encouraging to hear from our customers and how pleased they are with their gold-blocked music folders,” concluded Alice Dagger.  “Customised music folders will certainly add to the presentation of your music group – why not contact us now and discuss how we can make you look special in concert this Christmas.”

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Music Education Expo 2016 free registration opens


Music Education Expo organizer, Rhinegold has announced that Registration for the 2016 event is now open.

Black Cat Music and sister company MusicPracticeRooms.com are once again Platinum co-sponsors of Music Education Expo in 2016 and we look forward to seeing you at the show.

This year there is a change of venue with Music Education Expo moving to Olympia for the two day exhibition and conference event taking place on the 25th and 26th February 2016. Details of free visitor registration are available online 

Black Cat Music will be involved in the exhibition, conference and sponsoring the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Music Teacher Awards for Excellence.

Monday, August 3, 2015

Super Savings in Scorching Summer Sale of Music Equipment




Black Cat Music, leading suppliers of music education and performance equipment, has announced details of a Summer Sale that promises superb savings on their high quality equipment.

Selected items on sale from the company’s comprehensive catalogue include some of Black Cat Music’s most popular music stands, orchestra chairs, conductor’s equipment, instrument storage, stereo cabinets, staging anad choral risers. The sale offers some great opportunities to buy new equipment ready in place for the start of the autumn term.

Previous clearance sales have proved extremely popular and stocks are limited, so customers are encouraged to take advantage of the Freephone line on 0800 072 7799 and discuss reqirements with a member of Black Cat Music’s ultra friendly team.  Clearance items are offered on a ‘first come, first served’ basis and stocks change daily, so an early call is recommended.  Items are also listed on the web site. 

Black Cat Music continues support for Music Teacher Lifetime Achievement Award


Managing Director, Alice Dagger revealed that Black Cat Music and sister company MusicPracticeRooms.com were once again sponsoring the Lifetime Achievement Award in the  prestigious Music Teacher Awards for Excellence in 2016.

The annual black tie event is scheduled for the 25th of February 2016 at London’s Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel during next year’s Music Education Expo. Nominations for all award categories are now open until 23rd October this year. The Black Cat Music -  MusicPracticeRooms.com sponsored award is “For an individual who has made a seminal contribution to music education.” Details of the Awards evening are online now.

Richard Morris, winner of the 2015 Black Cat Music sponsored award said, I am both honoured and very touched to receive this award. I have had the joy of working in music education for the past 23 years and much of this time has been spent trying to promote the provision of sustained musical tuition for all young people who show commitment and eagerness. My sole condition on receiving this award is that I should be allowed to continue, since there’s so much more to do.”

Black Cat Music confirms Platinum Sponsorship for Music Education Expo again in 2016

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Black Cat Music and sister company MusicPracticeRooms.com confirms the continuation of the Platinum co-sponsorship of Music Education Expo in 2016.

In a change of venue, Music Education Expo is moving to Olympia in 2016 for the two day exhibition and conference event taking place on the 25th and 26th February. Details of visitor registration are available online   . Black Cat Music will be involved in the exhibition, conference and sponsoring the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Music Teacher Awards for Excellence.

Although early days yet, Managing Director, Alice Dagger confirmed that Black Cat Music would be showing and demonstrating selected products from the company’s extensive range of education performance and staging equipment. Product specialists will be on hand to provide music teachers with advice in selecting suitable products. The stand will also include the latest developments in sound-proof rooms allowing visitors to experience for themselves the acoustic performance achieved.
… and if you like drums, then look at this.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Only one week left to buy Classic 50 music stands and cart at discounted price

As a special promotional offer, 20 x Classic 50 Music Stands plus a large size Move & Store Cart are offered with a saving of 10% by Black Cat Music, for July only. There is still time to take advantage of this great price deal – but don’t leave it too late, there is just one week left before the offer closes.

The package normally priced at £1,393.60 is on offer throughout the month at just £1,252.24  plus VAT and delivery. Schools and colleges looking to equip with new music stands designed for robust and regular handling can take advantage of this great offer now.

The ever popular Classic 50 Music Stand doesn’t compromise on a design that is tough enough to handle the hardships of regular classroom use thanks to a formula of advanced polymers offering inherent tensile strength that will not bend or dent like metal stands - a design that also makes it quiet and rattle-free during performances. And the scratch resistant desk surface also incorporates a unique recess for keeping pencils in place. When the performance, rehearsal or class is over, stands can be stacked on the easy to load Move & Store Cart for transport and convenient, compact storage.


For full details on the July offer can be found on the Black Cat Music web site.


Monday, July 6, 2015

Sound Isolation Cabin helps Brit School speak the language in Paris

Language examination in new AcoustiCabin
The Languages Faculty of the British School of Paris has recently installed an AcoustiCabin Express sound-isolation cabin for use in one of their language classrooms.
Dr. Batters, Head of the Senior School enthusiastically welcomed the new AcoustiCabin Express saying. “ We are delighted that we now have such a fantastic facility in the Languages department, this will undoubtedly give us more options to adapt and enhance our language teaching.” The new cabin has already been pressed into service for some of the school’s oral public examinations.
The AcoustiCabin Express sound-isolation cabin is designed to be self-installed but without compromising the booth’s excellent sound-isolating properties. Impressive sound isolation is achieved thanks to the use of high performance acoustic materials in the slot-together patented panels. The modular, interlocking panel design permits considerable flexibility in size and footprint.


Commenting on the early success of the AcoustiCabin Express which was only launched at Music Education Expo earlier this year, marketing manager, Alice Dagger said, ”Although our company heritage is in music, we are excited by the other applications customers are finding for the product. Apart from other educational uses such as language laboratories, we have commercial installations where privacy is important, quiet working space in noisy industrial locations and as recording suites.”

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Sound-isolation cabin and all that jazz


An AcoustiCabin Express sound-isolation cabin certainly squeezed into a tight space when installed in Andrew Chisholm’s flat.
The AcoustiCabin Express sound-isolation cabin is designed to be self-installed but without compromising the booth’s excellent sound-isolating properties. Impressive sound isolation is achieved thanks to the use of high performance acoustic materials in the slot-together patented panels. The modular, interlocking panel design permits considerable flexibility in size and footprint.

Andrew told Black Cat Music, “I've set up the cabin and it's been excellent in reducing the volume of my music. Due to the height of my room, space was restricted to get the top panels on, but I got there in the end and it was worth it.”

A Christian musician whose music reflects his life and faith, his compositions are strongly influenced by the Gospel and Jazz music styles. Andrew's music is largely instrumental, focused heavily around the tenor and soprano saxophones, with the occasional splash of background vocals. The music is smooth in nature, with elements of classic and modern jazz fused together to create a rich, yet soulful blend.

Get a new set of stands plus move and store cart at a discounted price


A package offer from Black Cat Music that proved so popular before, is back for July. As a special promotion, 20 x Classic 50 Music Stands plus a large size Move & Store Cart are offered with a saving of 10% by Black Cat Music, for July only.

The package normally priced at £1,393.60 is on offer throughout the month at just £1,252.24  plus VAT and delivery. Schools and colleges looking to equip with new music stands designed for robust and regular handling can take advantage of this great offer as  the summer break approaches.

Already a top seller, the popular Classic 50 Music Stand doesn’t compromise on a design that is tough enough to handle the hardships of regular classroom use thanks to a formula of advanced polymers offering inherent tensile strength that will not bend or dent like metal stands - a design that also makes it quiet and rattle-free during performances. And the scratch resistant desk surface also incorporates a unique recess for keeping pencils in place. When the performance, rehearsal or class is over, stands can be stacked on the easy to load Move & Store Cart for transport and convenient, compact storage.

For full details on the July offer can be found on the Black Cat Music web site.

Friday, June 19, 2015

Military band rehearsal space gets acoustic upgrade


When Britain’s largest military band, The Band of the Life Guards based at Combermere Barracks, Windsor, relocated to the Army Reserve Centre, the new location was not acoustically suited for music rehearsal, so Black Cat Acoustics was called in for advice.
Although the ARC provided more space for the band, currently with 68 musicians, the structure of the drill hall and gymnasium that formerly occupied the building had very reflective walls and ceiling giving rise to noise and echo problems that without acoustic treatment rendered the space unsuited for the musicians’ rehearsals.  Black Cat Acoustics recommended a series of special treatments to create an ambience and acoustic quality that dealt with the noise problems and allowed the band to take advantage of the larger space that they required, but now in an acoustically friendly environment.
The work which was completed on time and within budget, included the addition of acoustic panels, both wall mounted and suspended from ceiling that reduced the Reverberation time (RT) to approximately 1.5 seconds from 4.5 seconds. In addition acoustic dampening walls were installed between the band rehearsal room and two other military secure areas.
 Four acoustic door sets separate the band rehearsal room from the social club, office corridor, stores area and museum corridor.
 An acoustic barrier and absorption curtain over a roller shutter door helps muffle sound travelling through the shutter door and also assists in the internal acoustics of the rehearsal room.


Additionally the contract included a large Wenger StageTek staging system 14.6m  x 4.8m (48ft wide by 16ft deep) comprising two tiers at  0.3m and 0.6m (12” and 24”) heights. This staging is also designed to be re-configurable in various layouts to suit the different band requirements. The move and store carts allow all the staging components once disassembled to be transported and deployed off-site when the band(s) play external functions.

Monday, June 1, 2015

Big discounts on Classic 50 music stands – June only!

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Classic 50 - 15% off in June
For June only, Black Cat Music is offering a massive 15% discount on their best selling Classic 50 music stands in a special Summer promotion. Quantity discount breaks allow purchase prices as low as £38.56 when purchased in quantities of 50 or more. Schools and colleges looking to equip with new music stands designed for robust and regular handling can take advantage of this great offer throughout the month.

The ever popular Classic 50 Music Stand is tough enough to handle the hardships of regular classroom use thanks to a formulation of advanced polymers offering inherent tensile strength that will not bend or dent like metal stands.  Its elegant design makes it quiet and rattle-free during performances. And the scratch resistant desk surface also incorporates a unique recess for keeping pencils in place. The patented one-hand height adjustment of the music desk is simplicity itself, requiring no screw or locking collar adjustments. To learn more watch the Classic 50 put through its paces at YouTube.com


Full details of the June offer can be found on the Black Cat Music web site.

MMA and ISBA Conferences proved successful for Black Cat Music


Alice & Myke sparkle at MMA Conference
Back from two important conferences - ISBA and MMA - the Black Cat Music team reflect on a successful and busy May.
Talking about the Independent Schools’ Bursars Association Annual Conference at Celtic Manor, Technical Sales Executive Martin Loft said, “As usual, the ISBA conference was extremely well organised and it was a great opportunity to speak to school bursars, both about their music departments, and about ways to solve noise problems in their schools.” Brigitte Downs, Sales Executive, added: “We were able to take our sound-isolating AcoustiCabin to display at the ISBA conference this year, and this met with a great deal of interest from independent school bursars.”

Next up the MMA Conference at Wellington College, Berkshire. Alice Dagger, Marketing Manager, commented: “the MMA conference at Wellington College was well run and enjoyable, and it was an excellent opportunity to catch up with Directors of Music in the independent and the state sector.  It was great to see lots of familiar faces, as well as meeting quite a few new faces in the world of music education.”  Alice summed up: “The location and venue were superb.” 
The AcoustiCabin Express sound-isolation cabin is designed for speedy and easy installation, without compromising the booth’s excellent sound-isolating properties. Impressive sound isolation is achieved thanks to the use of high performance acoustic materials in the slot-together patented panels. The modular, interlocking panel design permits considerable flexibility in size and footprint.

The ISBA's popular annual conference brings together many of the independent education sector's leading experts offering topical updates for schools plus networking opportunities and an exhibition of more than 100 professional advisers and companies dedicated to providing high quality services to the education sector.  Held over two days, the event welcomes more than 400 bursars and senior management staff from independent schools every year. As the administrative managers of schools they are the key decision-makers in sourcing their school's services and supplies.

At the MMA conference, the choices of session are always comprehensive and include over 24 different speakers with tailored wisdom for all areas of a school music department from music administrators and instrumental teachers to heads of department. The Conference always includes all meals and refreshments including a black tie dinner with entertainment. The conference trade fair is always a lively hub of activity with some thirty corporate members giving in-depth advice and showcasing the latest instruments, products and scores. However, networking is one of the key reasons that members attend and the opportunity to share good practice and ideas with colleagues from a wide range of schools, organisations and corporates is invaluable.