City Music Centre (West)

Year One Children's Music Workshop

These sessions aim to help children to enjoy singing and playing percussion instruments. There is a strong emphasis on practical music making and movement.  There is also a gradual introduction to simple music reading.

Year Two Children's Music Workshop

Through a series of projects, some linked to stories, the children gain confidence with their voices and percussion instruments. Children are encouraged to develop their own compositions and the introduction to music reading is reviewed and consolidated.

Year Three Children's Music Workshop

This course offers a wide range of experiences including improvisation and composition with percussion, singing with freshly created instrument parts and aspects of World Music including percussion from West Africa and Brazil.

Singing Workshop Year 1 and Year 2

Your child can join our singing workshop sessions in primary years' 1 and 2.  These workshops are a new addition to our primary classes and will be led by Mike Reinstein, who is a nationally recognised teacher and published writer of children's songs.
Workshops are 30 minutes long.  They will run alongside our existing Children's Music Workshop classes run by Richard Baker.  If your child is already a member there is no need to apply for these new classes as the teachers will swap classes occasionally to enrich the experience of the children!

Year One Singing Workshop
These sessions aim to help children to enjoy singing and playing games.  This is a different emphasis to our popular Year 1 Music Workshop classes and we shall take the opportunity for the children to have an occasional session with the Music Workshop teacher.

Year Twp Singing Workshop
The children will be encouraged to develop their enjoyment of singing and music making with Mike through a variety of enjoyable activities, including occasional workshop sessions with our Music Workshop teacher.

Who can join Year One Singing Workshop?
Children born between 1 September 2001 and 31 August 2002
Who can join Year Two Singing Workshop?
Children born between 1 September 2000 and 31 August 2001

Where and when?
Saturday mornings year 1 classes will be at 9.00, 9.30 and 10.00am.  Year 2 classes will be at 10.30, 11.15 and 11.45 (30 minutes each) at Blatchington Mill School (lesson times subject to change depending on numbers)

Junior Choir (Year 4-6)

All children in years 4, 5 and 6 are welcome to join junior choir.  The hour long sessions are great fun and culminate in a number of exciting performance opportunities during the year.  A key focus for this choir is playing games to develop voices.  A great variety of works from around the world are learned including songs in several parts. 

Cello/Double Bass Group

Violin Groups

Cello/Double Bass Ensemble

The string ensembles offer a greater diversity of musical styles and further scope for part playing, and provide a stepping stone to joining the Saturday String Orchestra.

Violin Ensembles

SATURDAY STRING ORCHESTRA (Grade 2-3)

This orchestra provides a first opportunity for violin, viola, cello and double bass players to join together to explore the wealth of music written for this medium. Young string players will be able to develop their ability to read music on sight and to follow a conductor. There will also be an opportunity for sectional rehearsals with specialist teachers. Additionally violinists will have the opportunity for specialist viola tuition. Applications are invited from string players who have reached a minimum of grade 2 standard.

Trumpet Group

This group is for players within their first year of learning, and will consolidate and develop the activities covered during weekly lessons.

Brass Group

This is for players of any instruments in the brass family who have been learning for about a year. This group provides a stepping stone to the Brass Ensemble and Wind Band.

Brass Ensemble (Grade 3-5)

Here brass students will be given the opportunity to play pieces in four or five parts in a wide range of styles. This will further develop pitching, sight reading and general ensemble skills.

Flute Group

Flute Ensemble (Grade 2-4)

Students will focus on further developing their ensemble playing in these classes. They will also be given the opportunity to study and listen to recordings of famous repertoire.

Saxophone Group

Saxophone Ensemble (Grade 2-4)

In this ensemble students get the opportunity to play the different members of the saxophone family such as the tenor and baritone saxophones whilst studying music in a wide range of musical styles including contemporary composition, jazz and improvisation.

Clarinet and Saxophone Group

Clarinet Group

Clarinet Ensemble (Grade 2-4)

In this ensemble students will further develop their ensemble skills whilst studying music in a wide range of musical styles. They will also have the opportunity to play the different members of the clarinet family such as the bass clarinet.

Double Reed Ensemble (Grade 2-4)

This is for oboists and bassoonists who have experience of ensemble playing. A wide range of repertoire will be covered, ranging from Renaissance to folk tunes. The ensemble will take part in Music Centre concerts throughout the year.

Recorder Consort

This class will develop recorder skills through playing ensemble pieces specifically arranged for this medium.  Many different styles are encompassed from medieval to modern day.  There are also opportunities for ensemble members to try out different recorders and play percussion. 

Recorders players are welcome to apply for an informal assessment with our recorder tutor.

WIND BAND (Grades 3-5)

Membership is open to woodwind, brass and percussion players. The band plays repertoire drawn from arrangements of popular, television and film music in addition to contemporary compositions written specifically for the concert band medium. The band performs in several concerts throughout the year. From the wind band, students can progress on to one of the City Orchestras and Ensembles.
Applicants may be asked to attend an informal audition.