Merrie Music

Great news!

ISM welcomes the refreshed National Plan for Music Education The National Plan for Music Education has been released. Read Deborah Annetts' response.

🇬🇧We’ll be open over the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday!🇬🇧

Come and visit us to see instrument demonstrations, speak to us about our fantastic Music School offering music lessons for both children and adults - and our popular musical instrument rental scheme. We also service and repair instruments - so there’s much to talk about! 🎼

While you’re instore, check out our range of sheet music, gifts and accessories - forget TN Card members receive 5% discount on these too! Just show us your The TN card membership to benefit!

A wonderful concert this afternoon- everyone played so well 🎶
So lovely to hear them perform and to see all the parents.

I love my treble clef plant support!

So true.

I will be listening and watching as much as I can!

Start the countdown! ⏰ Just one week to go until the 2022 season launches!

Full programme and season details will be announced on Tue 26 April, so keep your eyes on our website 👀 bbc.co.uk/proms

Did you know…

With 52 Academy Award nominations to his name, John Williams is the most nominated person alive, and is second only to Walt Disney, who received 59 during his lifetime.

His first nomination came in 1968 for Valley of the Dolls, and his first of five wins came four years later in 1972, when Fiddler on the Roof won Best Scoring: Adaptation and Original Song Score.

Despite being nominated 21 times since, Williams last won an Academy Award in 1994 for Schindler’s List.

The highly-decorated composer has also won seven BAFTAs, four Golden Globes, 25 Grammys (from a whopping 72 nominations) and three Emmy Awards.

Looking forward to this concert!

Home - Mayfield Festival Choir Mayfield Festival Choir and Mayfield Baroque Orchestra directed by Jeremy Summerly with Peter Davoren as the Evangelist, Angus McPhee as Christ and Martin Johnson as Pilate and soloists Charlotte Bowden, Emma Roberts, Ted Black and Daniel Barrett, all from the Royal College of Music.

Glyndebourne opera house has announced a special one-off concert on Sunday 3 April to raise funds for the people of Ukraine.

Some great opportunities to go and hear this talented harpist play locally!

Can’t wait 🎶

*Save the date(s)!*

We are delighted to announce that the programme for the 2022 Mayfield Festival of Music and the Arts is now complete!

🎶 Tickets will be available from Saturday 12 Mar

🎶 The Festival will take place between Saturday 23 April and Sunday 8 May

Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition 2022 The sixteenth prestigious Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition will take place for the first time in both Rye Creative Centre (Stage One of the competition) and in Hastings from 24 February to 5 March 2022.

🎼 Some notes on encouraging children to play in-between lessons:

🎹 The more children play their instrument at home, the more they'll achieve, and the more they'll enjoy music!

⏰ Choose a time that you are able to stick to. This could be before school in the morning, after school, after homework is finished, just before dinner; any time that you can be consistent about. Then it will become the 'norm' and won't become a battle ground!

👏 Be positive and enthusiastic, giving praise as much as you can.

TODAY IS THE DAY!!!
Our return to live music performances is finally here! The first concert in our Midsummer Music Weekend features the Jeremy Summerly and Victor Lim performing Beethoven’s legendary 5th Piano Concerto ‘The Emperor’. Alongside works by Schubert performed by the Primavera Chamber Orchestra lead by the fabulous Ryan Drucker.

Some in person tickets still remain, but we are also broadcasting this, and all concerts this weekend LIVE on our YouTube Channel. Just search for ‘Mayfield Festival’ or follow the link on our website and tune in at 7:30 this evening for what promises to be an enthralling experience. We do kindly encourage a donation for those viewing the livestream as there is no inherent cost to the ‘ticket’. This donation is purely voluntary but would be very much appreciated.

Best wishes,
The Mayfield Festival Team.

Could be something in this.

An exciting concert to look forward to-in Tunbridge Wells.

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra: Spotlight on Wind Assembly Hall Theatre brings an exhilarating range of theatre, music, comedy, dance, family and entertainment events from around the world to south east England – encouraging everyone in our thriving community to participate in the arts. Collaborating with local, national and international organis...

Excited for Finals of Young Musician of the Year tonight 8 pm BBC4
It’s been a long wait for the soloists.

Exciting that everything is reopening today!

Good news!

We are delighted to announce that the 2021 will take place from Friday 30 July to Saturday 11 September at the Royal Albert Hall and on BBC Radio 3, BBC TV and online.

As the Royal Albert Hall marks its 150th birthday today, we can confirm we hope to welcome live audiences back to our glorious home this summer, in line with government guidance.

We are looking forward to a summer of world-class music making. Further details of the festival will be announced in due course.

What music has been making things better for you lately?? 🤔❤🎶🎶🎶🎶

This sounds like a wonderful concert!

Today we introduce the first concert of our Mid-Summer Music Weekend. On Friday 16th July. Jeremy Summerly will conduct the Primavera Chamber Orchestra in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, op. 73 (The Emperor). The soloist will be the piano winner of the 2018 Tunbridge Wells International Music Competition, Ryan Drucker. In the first half of the concert the orchestra, leader Paul Manley, will perform Schubert’s Octet in F major, D803.

Beethoven’s ‘The Emperor’ piano concerto and was his final completed piano concerto, written between 1809 and 1811 in Vienna and dedicated to the Archduke Rudolf Rainer who was a pupil of Beethoven’s and a regular patron of his works. The première performance took place in January of 1811 at the palace of Prince Joseph Lobkowitz in Vienna, with the Archduke as the soloist. Interestingly enough, the epithet of ‘The Emperor’ was not of Beethoven’s own choosing, but rather coined by Johann Cramer - the English publisher of the concerto. In three movements: Allegro, Adagio un poco mosso and Rondo - Allegro, and lasting approximately 40 minutes ‘The Emperor’ is considered by many to be Beethoven’s finest work for piano and one of the greatest Piano Concertos in history.

In the first half of the concert Paul Manley will lead the Primavera Chamber Orchestra in a performance of Franz Schubert’s Octet in F Major. This work was commissioned by Ferdinand Troyer, a renowned clarinetist who requested a work similar to that of Beethoven’s Septet Op.20. Written in early 1824. The work consists of six movements and takes almost an hour for a full performance. The first performance was performed at the home of Troyer’s employer who, incidentally, was the Archduke Rudolf mentioned previously as the Soloist for the Beethoven. The piece contains many themes derived from other works by Schubert. For example the first movement is derived from Schubert’s song ‘Der Wanderer’ and the variations in the fourth movement are based on a theme from ‘Die Freunde von Salamanka’ from one of Schubert’s singspiels.

We look forward to the performances of these two great works on the 16th July 2021. In the next few weeks we will also be introducing the soloists for this concert and the programmes of the accompanying concerts in greater detail so stay tuned!

You can watch BBC Live Lessons Winterwatch live on the BBC Teach website or on the CBBC channel on 28 Jan at 11am!

A valentines treat like no other!

Just a little thought peeps - it’s not long until smooch time and if you’re wanting a personalised Valentines treat, let me know... I can arrange a private Zoom Concert for you and your loved one over this romantic period... email me for details :)

Dates of local music festival changed to 2022.

The 2021 Festival was announced as being “in celebration of musicians and artist”, so it is with great regret that we have come to the decision to postpone the Festival to April/May 2022.

Happily, there will be a Music Weekend in June 2021 and ‘The Cantata of St Dunstan’ in November 2021 so the year will still have its musical highlights. The Tunbridge Wells International Music Competition is moving with the Festival to 2022. But they will be offering their young talented competitors some form of opportunity to prepare and perform for judges in 2021. Details of these arrangements will be announced in January.

The '2020' Mayfield Festival will now run from Sunday 24 April to Sunday 8 May 2022. We apologise for the continued changes in dates etc. But with the circumstances being as they are we are attempting to adapt to new challenges as best as we can to allow us all to indulge in the fabulous Mayfield Festival in all it’s glory.

Music shop now open

Great to see the libraries open again.

Happy Friday! All of our libraries are now open again, and it is lovely to see visitors enjoying them. There are many measures in place to keep you and our staff safe, including:
-social distancing
-new layouts
-perspex screens
-hand sanitiser
-changes to services on offer
-extra cleaning
-signs and instructions
-quarantined books
-mask wearing

We look forward to seeing you back soon, and our eLibrary is also available 24/7.

If you’re looking to buy a flute this is a great offer.

We have a special offer on wind instrument rental. You can rent a brand new Yamaha instrument & get one month free - with up to 100% back if you purchase.
Get your child off to the perfect start on a quality instrument. Do it easily online anywhere in the UK. https://www.ackermanmusic.co.uk/rentals/