THE BARTON GRANGE TROPHY FOR MUSIC

For the year 2023, the trophy has been awarded to

MONTGOMERY CLEMINSON

Monty is 17 and attends Lancaster Royal Grammar School in the Lower Sixth Form.

Monty has always had a great interest in classical music – when he came to me as a beginner, he already listened to Radio 3! He has made very swift progress over the past few years, and gained a Distinction for Grade 6 Piano last year. He is about to sit Grade 7 in a few weeks. He has worked incredibly hard and with a great deal of focus – in the space of a few short years – to get to where he is.

CONGRATULATIONS MONTY!

Good luck to all my students, who are sitting exams on this Friday,  4th July.

It’s a very special day as we are having a private visit from the ABRSM examiner. Just a reminder to all candidates: come in through the front door to the main house as we will be waiting in the old part of the house. There will be a chance to warm up too.

I hope you are all raring to do – I am looking forward to it, and there is going to be some great music played with a varied repertoire. I’m having the piano tuned on Thursday, so it should feel fabulous to play.

Anne

Today my piano was expertly serviced by Jim Titterington and Maurice Peck. The hammers were reshaped after years of wear and tear, it was regulated, tuned and voiced and given a really good clean out. It’s as good as new again now! Here are the master technicians in action:

To contact Jim and Maurice for tuning or other piano maintenance visit this link: www.homehandbooks.co.uk/listings/James_Titterington/46/

The new music studio is now up and running!

I shall be breaking up for the Christmas and New Year holidays a little early this year – the final lessons of the year will be on Saturday 14th December. Lessons will be starting IN THE NEW STUDIO on Monday 6th January 2014!  🙂

Here are the latest pictures of the new studio and waiting room, which is almost ready to move the piano into! I am very excited:

You can view more pictures on the Anne Topping School of Music Facebook page. 🙂

LATEST PICTURES OF THE NEW STUDIO, 23rd SEPTEMBER 2013

There is still a way to go, but we are getting there! I hope that we will be in before Christmas. 🙂

The exterior door that leads to the waiting room stairs:

The waiting room:

The music room:

The most recent pictures of the new music room under construction! 🙂

Coming soon …….

• New music room specially designed for inspirational acoustics and view
• Comfortable waiting area and facilities for parents and students
• Easy off-road parking

We are all set to go in the new temporary teaching room. Thanks to Gilberts Piano Transport – the people I would always recommend to move a piano in an expert way:  http://www.pianoremovals-manchester.co.uk/

The next move will be back to the newly built studio, hopefully later this year. The temporary teaching venue is only about a third of a mile from the present one, and there is ample parking. I’m looking forward to teaching looking out over the fields! 🙂

Update – we will be moving to the temporary teaching premises on Tuesday 16th April. It is still in Barton,  a 5-10 minute walk from the current studio. Anyone who hasn’t received a copy of the map and address should be getting one soon. There will be car parking in front of the house, and toilet facilities, but please note that there is nowhere to wait inside, so please don’t arrive too early for your lessons! (Those who do may be forced to play duets!) I’m not sure how long we will be in the temporary venue, but the good news is that I am taking my Yamaha grand piano with me, so some things will be the same. Building work for the new studio starts on May 6th, all being well. It’s exciting!

The planning permisson for our extension was approved in December, and I am very excited to be able to tell you that we now have a starting date for building the new music room. It will have lovely views over the garden and the fields and will be purpose built for making music. When building work starts in May, for a while I shall be teaching from a temporary venue close by, so that lessons are still peaceful and undisturbed. More details to follow.

With Christmas fast approaching, I have been busy concocting my usual fun and games for the season! 🙂 This year’s Christmas Quiz for all the family is to do with musical instruments from a wide range of eras and countries, and the secondary school challenge (to take place in end of term lessons) is an exciting “Guess the Year” listening challenge. The instrument Quiz will be handed out in next weeks’ lessons and will be due back in January for entry. In due course, I will also publishing the Instrument Quiz on this site too for anyone else who wants a go!

ALSO………..Good Luck to all who are taking ABRSM exams next week!