June 10, 2010
June eNews – click to view.
Winter is upon us (even here in Brisbane) and with chilly temperatures, the shorter days and longer nights comes another time of year, tax time. Before we throw ourselves into counting stock and archiving paperwork we are eager to clear as many lines as possible rather than count them. See our great EOFY deals on cello bags and cases as well as some other great clearance items.
We also know that tax time can be a stressful and anxious time for many of us working in the music industry. Unlike many careers, most musicians source their livelihood from numerous incomes including private teaching, performing, and permanent positions. If you’re interested in better tax preparation as a musician, we have a great blog article on the subject posted this month – read it here.
This month also brings with it a long awaited holiday for me to the UK and Italy, not only to practice my Italian but to source some new instruments for the store and meet some new makers along the way. I’ll also be visiting the medieval town of Spoleto and attending the famous ‘Festival dei Due Mondi’ (festival of two worlds) a great annual festival celebrating some of the best opera, music and theatre from Italy and around the world. I’ll be sure to post some stories on our blog along the way.
One of our team members and luthier, Adrian Petrino is currently in the EU on a buying trip sourcing instruments and bows to add to our collection – we have had word that he has already found over 7 instruments as well as some gorgeous bows. We eagerly await Adrian’s return at the end of this month and will be sure to let you know of his finds. We invite you to make an appointment with Adrian upon his return if you would like to view this collection.
Happy playing,
Toby Cumpstay
April 27, 2010
Simply for Strings in association with Hopscotch films has 10 2 for 1 passes to the beautiful new film ‘The Concert’ to give away with the next 10 online orders. For more information on this sensational new film or to view the trailer, click here
Click here to start shopping for great instruments and accessories
April 19, 2010
Sunday April 18th 2010
Simply for Strings had the opportunity of being involved with AUSTA Q’s Baroque Style Workshop presented by Louise King and held at Somerville House on Sunday. We took along a selection of baroque instruments and bows for people to use and a stack of urtext and facsimile editions to browse. Louise presented a range of aspects of historical playing and interpretation and we all had the opportunity to play through some well known baroque repertoire (Corelli’s Christmas Concerto among others) with ‘new eyes and ears’. It was a delightful day with everyone getting involved and sharing thoughts and ideas about the baroque style and interpretation. It was a real treat to have Catherine Stirling accompany us on the harpsichord for the day too. Below are some photos Shannon Luk took of the days activities.
April 14, 2010
It’s finally here. After weeks of editing and many exciting designs we are proud to show off the new store. The new layout is easier to navigate and much faster to load, so please enjoy and let us know your comments/feedback. You’ll find all our sheet music, instruments (violin, viola, cello and double bass), as well as a huge range of accessories to choose from.
We have also chosen to group all of our string orchestra/full orchestra music by grade, this should make it a lot easier when choosing new repoertoire for your orchestra’s level.
April 1, 2010
We have been listening to ABC Classic FM’s, Classic Breakfast with Emma Ayers and have been delighted by her Happy Childhood Project. So here’s the scenario: Emma has selected two beginner cellists; Jess 14 years old and Peter 60 years, and follows their progress to see how each of them progresses and how their attitudes change. The idea is to provide an interesting comparison on the learning styles and rates of different ages. Whilst it is still early in the project, Emma has spoken with both participants who each have limited musical training but ample enthusiasm to make up for it.
I was lucky enough to meet Peter in our store and help him find his first cello. His enthusiasim and excitment was definately memorable and after listening to the podcast of his interview I must say I am so pleased to have made a lasting impression on him. Peter described me as more than a sales person and described the passion for music which we at Simply for Strings all share. As professional musicians and teachers with qualifications it is so nice to be seen as more. To be recieved as a source of knowledge and inspiration is exactly the experience we want all of our visitors to have when coming to our store.
You can follow The Happy Childhood Project at ABC Classic FM Breakfast
Click to listen to Peter’s First Interview
Shannon – Violin, Viola, Cello
March 18, 2010
March Newsletter 2010
Click the link above to download and read our latest newsletter.
March 9, 2010
The Rock Strings workshop celebrates the diverse performance possibilities of stringed instruments. Quartets from all schools are invited to come and perform rock or pop music and have their performance workshopped by Shenzo Gregorio. Shenzo is a violin virtuoso with incredibly eclectic stylistic capabilities. Just check out his “How to Play Rock Viola” series on the web for an example;
Shenzo Demonstrates Rock Viola
Schools are invited to check the details at the Moonmusic website and contact Mike for more info. Free repertoire is available at the Moonmusic webpage for your string quartet to use.
www.moonmusic.com.au/rock
January 13, 2010
If you haven’t already received your copy of our new 2010 catalogue you can now view it online or download it as a PDF. The new catalogue offers great new accessories and crystal clear images of all our instruments. If you’d like a copy sent to you please email us with your address and we will get one out ASAP. If you would like a bunch for your school you can also let us know and we will send a package to you.
December 14, 2009
Christmas/New Year Opening Hours
We will be closed for our annual holiday from December 25th through to January 11th (Open as of 9am on January 11th). If you are in need of spare strings, rosin or fun sheet music to play over the Holiday season we reccomend a trip to the store before Christmas.
All online orders placed after the 24th of December will not be shipped until we re-open on the 11th of January 2010.
December 9, 2009
Mr. Gary Noodles on Facebook
A jewel amongst other 1.6l pregnant rice bubbles, Mr. Gary Noodles can be seen high-tailing around the bayside suburbs with one string-happy (and a little crazy) driver. Watch out kids!
