For Your Information

11.05.21 – Darrell Priestley

Decisions in this business tend to get made after a good natter at the Priestley kitchen table. The latest developments in the pandemic are no exception, and so my wife Eileen and I sat and watched with interest the Prime Minister’s latest briefing on the easing of rules, and took time to digest what was being said.

To summarize, I would say that this is a very welcome relaxation, but with caveats. Reading between the lines, this would seem to amount to a subtle shift in responsibility for containing the pandemic toward the public, which of course means you and me; and to be fair, it’s still quite a lot of responsibility.

Of course, there are vaccines, though it’s true that far from everyone has had one yet, and crucially, though they have been proven to do a good job of protecting many people from becoming very ill, it is still possible for a vaccinated person to both carry the virus and to pass it on to others.

Since we have a duty of care to everyone attending, which includes students, any family members, and our terrific teachers, for us being responsible means continuing with the efforts we have made since the very start of the pandemic to ensure that no one will suffer from Covid as a result of attending our Music Academy.

For this reason, we have chosen to stick with our current Covid rules and etiquette for the present time, and will continue to monitor the situation closely.

A Choice of Lesson Formats

11.05.21 – Darrell Priestley

nma is pleased to be offering a mix of in person and online lessons from our Ropergate base once more.

You can usually rotate from in person to online lessons whenever you need to, subject to giving us notice, and with the exception of class lessons you can normally keep the same time when doing so.

We hope to reintroduce singing lessons in person at the Academy in the near future. For now, lessons continue online for singing and woodwind instruments, and as an option for anyone else who prefers to study remotely.

In Person Lessons Under Way

16.04.21

Longing to learn music? We totally understand, and we would love to help you get started. Please note, music lessons are very popular right now, and we are dealing with many new enquiries, but be assured we are working hard to get new students started as quickly as possible with one of our excellent, experienced and highly qualified music teachers.

Music has the power to change your life. It can put a spring in your step, and give you something to look forward to each day. It is our continuing privilege to work with so many aspiring musicians, and we can’t wait to meet you, and introduce you to your new teacher.

Back with you from Monday 12th April

11.04.21

After what seems a very long time, we will once again be receiving students for in person lessons from Monday 12th April. All students, with the exception of singing and woodwind students, will now have the option of attending in person or taking lessons online. With only a few exceptions, no change will be required to the timetable whether you to attend in person of continue to take lessons online for now. You also have the option to take the occasional lesson online if you need to, say for instance if you have a cold or are told to isolate. Just let us know if you need to switch from live to remote lessons if you need to.

Don’t forget, it’s as important as ever that we continue to do our utmost to keep each other safe, so just when we opened last autumn, strict rules apply to access, handwashing, and masks are a must.

Congratulations to everyone for sticking with the practice, and wew look forward to seeing you again soon.