**Long Post Alert!** Happy New Year Everyone! Here's what's coming up for our Music Box kids, as we continue to plan and grow and give them the best opportunities possible as musicians, singers and performers. Just this past month, we received Funding that will benefit all our students. We now have access to high quality voice recorders, and a great camera for videos and stills. It’s a great opportunity for us to improve our confidence levels, work on individual & group performance and see where we can improve. GUITARISTS (especially older classes) will have continued/expanded access to additional teachers, to further work like power & barre chords, theory, scales and chord variations, and we’ll really be drilling those scales etc to create more independent & creative musicians. Our beginners are a really smart crew and they are moving fast so far so they will be well ready for a show in summer 2018. SINGERS will work more harmony, our posture, performance, singing exercises etc and continue to up our game and become more professional! I’m hoping to be able to line up a special performance for each of our singing groups this year in addition to our regular summer shows, and of course the recording plans above will be a big part of their year too! WE ARE WELCOMING NEW MEMBERS NOW ALSO! BOOGIE BUGS have grown so much, and I’m excited about the prospect of sharing more of what they learn through music, and their amazing input into the songs with our new recording equipment. You’ll be surprised what they know, how they take part and hopefully we’ll be able to share some great things with you! We also continue to add new instruments and props, which also travel with us to area preschools. As we approach Summer, classes will continue as always till the end of June, with the help of some great additional teachers – many we’ve worked with before. I hope to work until the end of May myself, by which time all shows and plans will be in place. I’m looking forward to our new baby co-operating timewise so I can at least attend the summer shows 🙂 :-). With some of our Wee Glee original members graduating to Secondary School, it’s an important one for me, as they move on to their next big choirs and our hard working younger singers take the lead into a new year. Of course we’ll still have our MUSIC BOX SUMMER SCHOOL, with lots of music making and songwriting opportunities with myself and visiting tutors and guest speakers. This summer school books out ever year and is a very unique opportunity for children to take part in meaningful and creative work. We learn so much, and those skills and the confidence to use them stay with us for life! I continue to learn also, taking part in songwriting workshops to see what new ideas I can bring to the children to simplify the process for them, and make it accessible to everyone. I also hope to challenge many of our capable musicians to pick up a different instrument that week and try out something new. I’ll have a great selection on hand!! Thanks so much for being part of The Music Box, we’re getting better all the time, learning from each other, taking cues for our future from the children and what they need and want to learn. I can't wait for this year, it’s going to be a special one!!! ❤

Our yearly round up of what lies ahead - there's LOADS!!! :-)

soooooooo lazy........zzzzzzzzzz

It's finally here <3 Hope yours is full of friends or family or fun or food or folly - or maybe even all of those things! From me to all our wee musicians and singers, happy happy Christmas xxx

Music classes and all our lovely Christmas shows are wrapped up for the year! May I thank you all for continuing to send your kids to learn guitar and sing and make music with me, it's a great privilege to have them return year after year, and I'm so proud of them all. <3 Happy Christmas, I hope you all get a wee break for a few days to enjoy the best of the season xxx

WEE GLEE!!!! Remember tomorrow is our performance with the Gateway Singers in St. Mary's Oratory. We have to be in our seats at 7.15, and will stay for the entire show so we can join the big choirs later in the event too. Don't forget your Santa hats!!!!!

Next week it's show week for singers and guitarists. One more, here are the details of each classes show time. Please pm if you need clarification. SLIABH SNEACT CENTRE CLASSES Guitar Academy – regular class at 4pm (bring a snack, you’ll be in for a couple of hours – your show is not till 6.30pm) Sliabh Sneacht Singers – regular class at 5pm, combined show for singers AND guitarists at 6.30pm sharp (guitarists 6.30-7pm, singers @ 7pm). We hope this show timetable will work for parents of children who attend singing AND guitar, so they don’t have shows at different intervals. THE EXCHANGE CLASSES WED 6PM GUITAR CLASS: This show is changing from changing from Friday 22nd to Wednesday 20th of December. Students pls come to class at your usual time of 6pm for final run through and guitar tuning. Can parents pls be back for 6.45pm for the show to start and it won’t take more than a half hour. THURSDAY 5PM GUITAR CLASS - Final class on Thursday Dec 21st @ 5pm, show the same evening at – 6.30pm WEE GLEE SINGERS SHOW @ The Exchange STILL ON FRIDAY DECEMBER 22ND : Students in at 6.30pm, and show is now at 7pm. (parents are welcome to have a wee cuppa upstairs instead of leaving while we get prepared) WEE GLEE @ Oratory, Buncrana with the Gateway Singers Sunday 17th, in seats by 7.15, music at 7.30pm. They’ve asked that we stay for the duration as they want us to sing with them for a few songs as well as singing our own songs.

REMINDER: Wee Glee have an extra practice today in the exchange from 12-2

Extra practice is ON this Sunday from 12 - 2 in the Exchange for WEE GLEE SINGERS ONLY!!! Hope to see as many of you as possible for the two hours or any part of that you're free to attend!