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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.
26.03.2021
Yes, we are on target to open once more for lessons in person, and will welcome the first of of students back into tha Academy building on schedule on Monday 12th April, subject only to any last minute change in regulations.
This is long awaited, and it has indeed been both lonely and echo-y in the nma building. We have missed you. Really missed you!
We feel it is very important that things happen at a pace you are comfortable with, so while you can be assured that our building will be a safe space in the coming weeks and months, due to the many and careful rules and precautions we put have in place, you can of course continue to take your lessons online if you prefer, in nearly all cases at your usual lesson time, or you can attend in person most weeks but still have the odd lesson at home – just keep us informed as to where you would like your next lesson.
We will relish seeing you again in April; it’s been a long, long time.
News: 27.02.2021
To update you, our latest understanding on the easing of lock down and how it may affect students is that music lessons at nma for those who wish to attend in person will be possible from 12th April, at the earliest.
Please be advised, easing is dependent on being well handled by everyone. For useful advice on the staying safe yourself, there is an excellent Guardian article available, covering important things not mentioned in the government guidance. Just paste the following address into your browser:
For essential information on staying safe as Britain’s lock down is gradually eased, the following article is highly recommended reading:
Feeling a little like Robinson Crusoe here, having been all around the island and worked out who those footsteps belong to. That’s the effect on again, off again lock down is having, with so little change of environment we might as well be stuck on a deserted island.
But there are good points. Whether playing or listening, music is feeling better than ever, and I’m starting to get the itch for new instruments. At least it’s something to think about.
Outside of music, we are avidly waiting for weather warm enough to begin seed sowing, and to see if we can improve on last year’s crop, when we grew not a lot of but nevertheless very tasty food. When you pick your produce and eat it soon afterwards, even just a lettuce, the taste is beyond compare.
Having a hobby is really helpful, and a lot of you seem to be turning to jigsaw puzzles to ‘get away’ and de-stress. My thing is making the best possible coffee at home, and I have been making significant progress in this area. I find two such cups a day is a sensible limit.
What are you doing to help you get by? Whatever it is, I hope you are having fun. Congratulations to the many students who have confounded any difficulties of remote lessons to make really outstanding progress. It is a credit to our students that they have achieved so much.
Looking forward to when it is safe to get back together at the Academy again.
Darrell Priestley