Our current training band began in September 2009, led by Ian Harvey who has had great success with training bands in the past. It has a mix of children and adult members. You can see photos of their first concert here.
The band practises on a Monday evening from 6.45pm to 7.45pm at Stowmarket Middle School . More experienced members may be invited to join the main band for some or all of the night (the main band continues until 9.15pm). They also have a joint rehearsal with the main band on the first Monday of every month.
If you are interested in learning an instrument or have played one in the past and would like to start again, we can provide tuition and instruments.
We do currently have quite a high demand for the training band, so space may not be available for you straight away, although as players progress and instruments become available, we will be able to take more players. Please give us a call to see what space we have free. Anyone with previous experience of playing and reading music can probably be accomodated at any time.
We are able to provide free tuition, free instrument loan and free music to anyone who wants to join. All we ask for is a £2 a month payment towards the various costs of running the band, such as the hall hire, insurance etc, as well as some commitment from players to practice when they can.
Anyone with an SCB instrument is welcome to use it in other musical groups as long as they are attending the training band. We can also offer interest-free payment plans for people wishing to purchase their own instruments if they have been members of the training band.
Our training band volunteers are CRB checked and we encourage parents to stay at practices and learn with their children if they are interested. We also welcome adult learners or returning players and now perform CRB checks on all members of the Band who are over 18.
Read our policies on child protection here
Email the band with a query about joining the training band or simply about learning music. For specific queries about joining the training band you can also speak to Ian Harvey on 01473 461859.