Beautiful replica period music stands are an ideal gift

If you are looking for something traditional in the way of music stands, perhaps to be in tune with the era of music you play, or as a gift a musician will appreciate, then look no further than the Black Cat Music range of period style wooden music stands. 

Recently, a French customer Remi Serny opted for the Victorian Music Stand and was so delighted to receive the delivery, wrote saying. “It is beautiful, thank you very much!” Thank you Remi for drawing attention to our range of inexpensive, period style wooden music stands. Made to the highest standard from solid rosewood, they are replicas of traditional music stands which, for over a century, have been popular with musicians and antique collectors alike. 

Last 2 days to buy storage cart bought with stands at discounted price

There is still time to take advantage of our May package deal of a 10 per cent discount for purchasers of ten Classic 50s complete with a compatible small Move and Store Cart, which ends Friday night. 

The Classic 50 Music Stand 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. 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. The small move and Store Cart provides easy, stable transport and compact storage for ten Classic 50 Music Stands. 

Full details of how to participate in this offer are published on the Black Cat Music web site.

Price discount on Conductor’s Stand

During June Black Cat Music are offering the Wenger Preface Conductor’s music stand at a 10% discount compared to the usual price. 

Already affordably priced thanks to elegant design and clever engineering, the Preface Conductor’s stand still benefits from plenty of useful features. This stylish conductor's stand enjoys a large desk, a sleek, non-scratch black surface, and dual posts offering superb stability and strength. Although robust it's also extremely lightweight and easy to use and store. The tilting desk permits easy angle adjustment while integrated storage keeps all the conductor's needs nearby and out-of-sight. In fact, it's been exquisitely fine-tuned to give conductors more stand for less money. Plus each stand comes with a 5-year warranty. 

For full details of the Preface Conductor’s stand and to take advantage of this special offer visit the Black Cat Music web site.

We’ll be back at Music Education Expo in 2014

Platinum Sponsors of the inaugural Music Education Expo, Black Cat Music and partner company MusicPracticeRooms.com are once again taking a lead in signing up for the 2014 show to be held at London’s Barbican venue, 7/8th February.

Although it’s early days yet, Black Cat Music are planning to exhibit a wide range of its music performance equipment including music stands, staging, choral risers, music folders and conductors' equipment at the show. Black Cat Music has exclusive distributorship of Wenger Corporation’s extensive product range - acknowledged as the largest manufacturer of fully-guaranteed staging and music performance equipment in the world.

Described as “the largest gathering of music education professionals in the UK,” organisers Rhinegold promise, “The UK’s most comprehensive music education event. Comprising a major exhibition, a dynamic educational programme and exceptional networking opportunities. This two-day event offers music educational professionals a highly rewarding experience - both professionally and personally.”

Sign up for savings on purchases for education

With music equipment budgets under pressure, if your education establishment is not already enjoying the advantages of the Black Cat Music Education Discount Programme, then why not get on board today?

The good news is that all qualifying educational establishments in the United Kingdom – schools, colleges, universites, school choirs and orchestras – can apply online and start receiving a 5% discount on purchases of all our standard products straight away. But that’s not all. You get the support of our highly professional team of music equipment advisors who can guide you to select the right products for your needs and even arrange samples of some products for your evaluation prior to order. Alternatively you can buy online 24/7 and simply enter your discount code when prompted. It is all designed to make your purchasing experience quick and easy. And, when you sign up we will send you as a small welcome gift, a limited edition china mug decorated with the famous Black Cat insignia.

There’s more. Each month we will email you an advanced preview of our special product offer for the next month, typically up to a week before the general anouncement – great news when there are limited stocks. Of course we also mail you our latest catalogues each year, hot off the press and keep you informed of new product introductions too.

So enrol today – it’s free!

Terms and Conditions are published online.

Black Cat Music applaud successful MMA Conference

It was another inspiring MMA Conference last weekend, held in the historic setting of Canterbury’s Cathedral School.

Marketing Manager, Alice Dagger summing up the weekend said, “We love visiting Canterbury anyway and once again the MMA Conference with its diverse and comprehensive programme designed to inspire music teachers and practitioners fully lived up to the promise.

European Sales Manager Teresa Rogers said, "The MMA conference never fails to be interesting and enjoyable, and we were pleased to receive a good number of enquiries from existing and new customers.  Our Wenger music stands and our choir folders received a great deal of interest, as did our sound-isolating music practice rooms and our acoustic treatments.  A big thank-you to the organisers."

Brigitte Downs concluded, "We enjoyed the conference in its pretty Canterbury location and were pleased to see lots of familiar faces, as well as getting to know some new MMA members."

Taking a look at instrument and music storage

Secure storage of instruments, keeping theatrical costumes tidy and organizing sheet music are typical challenges that call for effective storage solutions. Black Cat Music has been providing instrument, costume and sheet music storage solutions for years - both custom-built, and from the well-respected and trusted Wenger range. 

When Joe Hughes, Head of Music Technology at Eastbourne College was busy procuring equipment for their new music building, his research quickly moved in the direction of Black Cat Music and the range of Wenger products. “In preparing for the opening, we had to go round various music schools to see what the best options were for us and we were able to see that Black Cat had an excellent reputation, the build quality was excellent and that is what we decided to go for.” Joe explained. Instrument storage lockers were one such item on the procurement list and Eastbourne College opted for the Ultrastor system.

Joining the comprehensive range of establishedinstrument storage products recently was the Edge™ Storage System. With budgets under pressure the Edge™ Storage System was developed as an economical product, but without compromising quality or durability and is supported by Wenger’s ten-year warranty. It is also eco-friendly being constructed from fewer materials, and includes an FSC wood option amongst the choice of styles. 

This flush-to-wall instrument storage system cuts down on the amount of material used, as does the open back concept between the unit and the wall behind it. These design elements help to make cost savings, while maintaining the long-lasting quality and elegance for which Wenger products are renowned (hence the ten-year warranty). The system can be custom-designed to accommodate the number and size of instruments required by the school; it can also be designed to store costumes, theatre props or sheet music. 

Doors are available with the option of wood or grille fronts. Either way they are pretty tough. Experience has shown that students have a tendency to hang on locker doors, so doors are load-tested with more than 300 lb (136 kg) of pressure on the outer edge. It is also the case that easy theft is the most likely theft, and to prevent that the patented lock-bar is 12-gauge steel, the strike plate heavy-duty, and locks tamper-resistant. 

A Canterbury tale for MMA Conference next weekend

Tonbridge based Black Cat Music will be making the short journey across Kent this weekend to Canterbury Cathedral School where the 2013 MMA Conference takes place from 17-19th May. 

A diverse and comprehensive programme to inspire music teachers and practitioners is promised by the event organisers. Conference delegates are reminded to stop by the Black Cat Music exhibition stand to collect a free conductor’s baton plus an exclusive conference delegate discount voucher for purchases from the company’s comprehensive range of music performance equipment. 

Marketing Manager, Alice Dagger said, “We look forward to meeting everyone in Canterbury this year.” 

Music Practice Rooms make waves at ISBA sea side Conference

Music Practice Rooms went down a storm at the ISBA conference in Torquay last week, impressing bursars attending the event with their simplicity, cost-effectiveness, ease of installation and sound reduction performance. 

The sound-isolating rooms exhibited are supplied and installed by MusicPracticeRooms.com. They are designed to create an ideal rehearsal space with climate controlled interior environment for the comfort of musicians and singers in which they can practice without their music causing disturbance to other classes in the school. The balanced acoustics within the room provide a high quality sound-proof space suitable for recording purposes. The modular design allows for a wide range of sizes, from a solo singer to a choir or a band to be accommodated. And as needs and space allocations change the sound isolating rooms can simply be re-located when required. 

The 2013 ISBA annual conference which took place at the Riviera International Conference Centre (RICC) in Torquay is an annual members only two-day conference held every year in May. The event attracts some 400 bursars and senior management staff from member schools and around 100 exhibitors.

Plenty of interest for busy Black Cat Music and Acoustics team at ISBA Conference

Martin Loft at ISBA Conference today.

The ISBA conference currently taking place in Torquay is proving to be extremely busy, with the Black Cat Music and Acoustics team delighted to be part of it all. 

Reporting from the English seaside resort that provides a lovely setting for this event, Black Cat Music manager, Teresa Rogers highlights the great interest shown in our acoustic solutions and sound-isolating, modular music practice rooms. 

Teresa says: "We are really pleased that our Music Practice Rooms are receiving such a positive response with school bursars. There is no doubt that our modular, re-locatable sound pods offer a flexible and cost-effective solution for managing space and controlling noise in school music departments, and these advantages are clearly not lost on school bursars." 

Martin Loft adds: "Our structured payment options are also proving popular with school bursars, as structured payments enable schools to purchase the equipment they need, while spreading payments over 1 to 5 years and making significant savings." 

In addition to acoustic solutions and sound-isolating, modular Music Practice Rooms from www.musicpracticerooms.com, Black Cat is displaying a wide range of quality music performance equipment, from music stands and posture chairs to staging, choral risers and elegant instrument storage solutions for school music departments. 

The 2013 ISBA annual conference at the Riviera International Conference Centre (RICC) in Torquay is an annual members only two-day event, held in selected locations throughout the UK that attracts some 400 bursars and senior management staff from member schools and around 100 exhibitors. 

Collect a free baton from Black Cat Music at the MMA Conference

If you are signed up as a delegate to the MMA Conference next week make sure you call on Black Cat Music to collect your free Conductor’s Baton. 

Marketing Manager, Alice Dagger said, “We look forward to the MMA Conference this year especially, as we're local and love visiting Canterbury!” Canterbury’s Cathedral School will welcome members to the 2013 MMA Conference (17-19th May) when a diverse and comprehensive programme to inspire music teachers and practitioners is promised. 

Further details are on the MMA web site. 

Clip-on lamp delivery delights customer

Whether it is an order for a single item or one hundred, it seems Black Cat Music customers are delighted with the service they receive. 

The team at Black cat Music apppreciate all the feedback as yet another satisfied customer testifies to the service provided. 

“Thank you very much indeed for your prompt attention to my small order. It arrived on Tuesday at mid-day and I am delighted with the clip-on music-stand light. No wonder my friend recommended your company! Kind regards, C. Love.” 

We can also recommend the latest addition to the line up of music stand lights from Black Cat Music - a dual-headed, bright white LED light that simply clips on to any music stand to provide even illumination of sheet music. 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. And there is also the alternative option of using the included USB power cable supplied in the pack. 

Black Cat Music reflects on a successful Musikschulkongress

Musikschulkongress in Bamberg last week was a great success for Black Cat Music. 

Dietmar Auris, Black Cat Music’s agent in Germany who represented the company reflected on the event, saying, "It was a busy and enjoyable conference. It was great to have the chance to talk to lots of music teachers from music schools and conservatoires across Germany. We got to see quite a few familiar faces as well as some new ones. Bamberg was a very pleasant location for the conference." 

It was also interesting to see how popular the Black Cat Music conductor's baton offer proved to be with German music teachers. 

Musikschulkongress is an annual event that provides the occasion for representatives from over 950 German music schools to meet and share ideas on best practice in Music Education. As a supporting member of the VDM - Verband Deutscher Musikschulen - Black Cat Music has been attending Musikschulkongress since 2009. It is a conference that never fails to be interesting and enjoyable and is a great opportunity for German music teachers to see and try out Black Cat’s music stands, ergonomic posture chairs, choir folders, staging and conductor’s equipment. 

Based in the UK, Black Cat Music is Master Distributor for Wenger in Europe and Russia. Wenger music equipment is world-renowned for its quality and longevity, and all Wenger products come with a minimum 5-year guarantee. 

Black Cat Music set to announce new payments plan at ISBA Conference next week

A new fixed-term structured payment system which enables customers to spread payments over 1 to 5 years will be announced at next week’s ISBA Conference. 

Marketing Manager, Alice Dagger, said, “we anticipate that our Structure Payment Options will be of real interest to independent school bursars looking to make savings for their school.” The Black Cat Music team will be attending the Independent Schools’ Bursars Association Annual Conference at Torquay next week. Conference delegates are invited to drop by the Black Cat Music exhibition stand where examples from their comprehensive range of music education and performance equipment will be on display and to learn more about the new Structured Payments Scheme. 

The 2013 ISBA annual conference will take place at the Riviera International Conference Centre (RICC) in Torquay from Wednesday 8th May - Thursday 9th May. The ISBA hosts an annual members only two-day conference every year in May. The event, which is held in selected locations throughout the UK, attracts some 400 bursars and senior management staff from member schools and around 100 exhibitors.