I've been giving some thought to the Leeds concert, particularly in the light of the thread having been put into the sub-forum instead of remaining in the body of the General Music forum - I've always thought it was extremely important to have the thread in with all the other threads and I've said so publicly on a number of occasions.
QUOTE
"The main reason why I haven't asked for the thread to be pinned is because when I first joined the forums, it was weeks and weeks before I looked at the pinned threads. Being a complete novice on internet forums, and also being not much more than a novice on an instrument, I (wrongly) thought that the pinned threads about concerts looked very "elitist" for want of a better word - well above my level anyway, so I never looked at them. So I've wanted the Leeds thread to look like any other ordinary thread in an attempt not to discourage new members who might have got the wrong impression as I did."The above post was made before a separate sub-forum was created for forum events. I understand why it was done, but it's had the effect of making them even more remote - and in my opinion, off-putting to newbies.
Before the Playday thread was put into the sub-forum, I had a number of enquiries about it from new members or new performers, and a number are coming to the Playday. Since the thread was moved, I've had no further enquiries about it, and this reinforces my concern about the Concert thread no longer attracting many of those people who it is aimed at.
One of the principles behind the Leeds concert, in addition to providing a venue where forum friends can come and mix music-making with socialising, is to encourage new or nervous performers to come and try and get over their performance nerves. In view of the fact that, in my opinion, it has now become more difficult to reach forum newbies, I'm planning to extend the format of the concert beyond forum members to the local community - in other words, I'm planning for it to be a cross between forum members and adult learners.
So if anyone is thinking of coming to the concert and wants to bring a friend who isn't a forum member, but who would like to try and gain more performance confidence/experience, please feel free to invite them
I'm in the throes of sorting out some small ensembles, and if anyone knows at this stage that they would like to take part in any ensemble, it would be helpful if they could let me know.
DETAILS OF THE CONCERT ARE GIVEN IN THE FIRST POST IN THE THREAD... JUST CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINK:http://forums.abrsm.org/index.php?s=&s...st&p=625675IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COME AND PLAY, WHETHER IN ENSEMBLES OR SOLO, WITHIN A FRIENDLY AND MUTUALLY SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT, PLEASE CONTACT ME BY EMAIL OR PM
(just remember to bring some fingerless gloves with you, yes even in May!)
