Course Directors Stephen Watkins Consultant Jerry Lanning

Although many 'flexible' arrangements can be bought, their flexibility rarely caters equally well for all instruments. This course is aimed at helping you to tailor your own arrangements in a way that gives your players parts that are appropriate for their particular instrument, and also makes genuine musical demands whatever their present level of achievement.
The course will cater for a wide range of ability, as the numbers will be kept low, and applicants will be able to discuss their personal requirements with Mr. Watkins before hand.

The course will therefore appeal to:

• The music teacher who has pupils of considerably varying aptitude, and who play widely different instruments.
• The musician, experienced in other fields but new to arranging.
• The experienced arranger who wishes to explore new ideas.

Please add a note to your application form giving an outline of your personal standard and requirements.

You may use traditional pencil and paper or a computer system for your scores (but please bring your own manuscript paper or computer setup). A single computer and printer system with 'Sibelius' scorewriting software (our system of choice) will be available, as well as a midi keyboard, and some instruction will be given on their use for those less familiar with this way of working. If you wish to use other software (Finale, Notator etc.) please mention this on your application.

It is hoped that by the end of the week, all students will be able to take away a printed copy of an arrangement they have produced.
The main session will take place from 9.15 to 10.45, and participants can plan their day in a number of ways to suit themselves, e.g. working at their own arrangements throughout the day and singing with the evening choir, or playing or singing with other groups in the second or third sessions, using the 2pm slot (when Mr. Watkins will be available), for personal work. (The course classroom will be available throughout the day). If suitable, it is hoped that that some arrangements can be performed during the week, e.g by class members themselves, by 'Play More Notes!', or by specially invited players from other courses. Please bring any instruments you play to the course.
Please note that all initial material used must be non-copyright

Stephen Watkins trained at the Guildhall School of Music where his main instruments were piano, trombone and recorder. While there he won a scholarship for singing but later specialised in composing and conducting. For the last twenty years he has worked in Germany and is currently director of a music school in Lower Saxony. He has comparatively recently taken up the cello, and his compositions for the instrument are used extensively in the Cello studio of the Hochschule fuer Kunst und Musik in Bremen and has been played in Sydney and Melbourne. His publishers include Lake music (Holland) Helbling (Austria) Ovation press and Thomson (USA) and Moeck Verlag (Germany)