News
MIA gives old hands second wind
Andy Barrett Mar 15 2007, 5:30pm
The MIA and Noel Sheehan of Sheehan’s Music in Leicester are planning a new initiative, Second Wind, that will give lapsed brass and woodwind players the chance to pick up their instruments again.
The schme has een inspired by the hugely successful Weekend Warriors program. “In America, NAMM’s equivalent programme, New Horizons, has seen a success somewhere in the region of ten times that of Weekend Warriors,” commented Sheehan. “Transferring that means that Second Wind could have around 200 programmes going in a similar time frame. When you take into account the quantity of children who played in bands and orchestras at school, the numbers are significant.”
The pilot scheme will be watched closely by the MIA’s band and orchestral committee, which will then be responsible for rolling the programme out should it prove workable.
Paul McManus, the MIA’s CEO, said that the association felt very confident in the project, based on the success of the Weekend Warriors. “We have shown that the so-called ‘silver’ market can be inspired to start playing again, so we are going to try to create a similar package to get the brass and woodwind players along,” he said. “This is only a pilot, but if this comes off, then it will help the whole industry.”
The pilot project is due to begin in September and anyone from the trade who is interested in helping or finding out more should contact the MIA.
