Reviewing the Christmas events – did you have the right music equipment?

With the Christmas shows, carol services, concerts and other musical events over, time to take a quick review. How effective was the production? Did we have the right equipment? What could be improved in time for the Easter concert?

Christmas is a busy time for school choirs. After months of rehearsal how was the presentation? For those who haven’t already equipped their choir or orchestra, a nice presentational touch is to have matching choral or orchestral folders, particularly if customised with the school crest gold-blocked on the covers. 

Staying front of house with the orchestra were the music stands doing their job, or were they showing their age and creaking and ratling at just the wrong moment? How about smooth operating rattle free music stands next time? Did you know there are some smart clip-on LED  lights on the market now and the great thing is that not only do they illuminate the sheet music beautifully, but thanks to battery operation there are no trailing cables to trip over. Sitting down for a long time can be demanding, so do you have ergonomically designed music chairs to support your young musicians with the correct posture?  

How was the staging? Many venues offer only a flat floor or stage, but this can be transformed by the use of risers. Risers can provide  three or four tiers which is great for choirs with everyone able to see and be seen and their music projected into the auditorium. What is really clever, the risers fold up to move and store away and great if your choir is visiting another venue. There are complete staging systems too that can be configured  to suit the available space.

Could everyone see the conductor? Ofen conductors struggle with wobbly podiums and inadequate music  stands. Yet there are perfectly affordable, dedicated conductors’ stands available to enable conductors to organise and store their sheet music. Elegant looking, robust conductors’ podiums are also available at surprisingly affordable prices.

Finally, how were things back stage? A portable make-up station is great for shows and concerts and how about costume storage racks to keep clothes tidy, ready for a quick change and not take up valuable space?

All these items and more can be supplied from  Black Cat Music. Sign up to join their Education Discount Programme and qualify for a discount on future purchases of  Black Cat Music products. There is no fee to join, so call Freephone 0800 072 7799 or email sales@blackcatmusic.co.uk to join.