Who are we?
We are Rugby Music Centre! We are the future of music in Rugby. At Rugby Music Centre, we believe music should be for all, and we strive to keep access to music education available to every child who wants it. All of our classes and lessons are conducted from the centre of our town, at Lawrence Sheriff School.
Our staff team is made up of experienced industry professionals with a passion for teaching the next generation. Currently we specialise in strings, guitars (both electric and acoustic) folk music, music theory, choral singing and teacher mentor development. Over the past 2 years we have built a peripatetic teaching team also, delivering 1:1 lessons in piano, guitar and singing. We now offer 1:1 lessons for adults too!
We established our new and reformed Rugby Music Centre in September 2021, and we have been working tirelessly since we launched to bring opportunity and access to music education for all. Every term we grow bigger, encouraging and nurturing the talent of the amazing young musicians in our town.
Check out our awesome events here.
Musical Opportunities at RMC
Details on our classes, 1:1 lessons and teacher mentorship scheme
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Electric Guitar Orchestra
Headed up by our very own rock god and music production whizz, Andy Walker, the Electric Guitar Orchestra and its junior counterpart meet on a Tuesday evening to create incredible medleys of popular music.
Everything is learnt by ear and memorised, and EGO members have a hand in arranging their performances. This gives them a great grounding for forming their own bands.
The Music Centre also provides a space for bands formed from EGO to rehearse on a Tuesday.
So far EGO have covered everything from Michael Jackson to Star Wars. We can’t wait to see what they come up with next!
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Classical Guitar Ensembles
The world’s most energetic guitar genius, Steve George, runs our amazing guitar ensembles on a Wednesday evening.
These groups cater to all abilities, with the junior ensemble able to take on new members as soon as they have mastered their first few notes.
Last year the guitar ensembles were engaged to play at various chamber music concerts in the town. With their versatile repertoire encompassing styles from all over the world (not just classical music!) we love to show off our guitarists as much as possible.
Steve’s ambition is to have an army of 100 guitarists playing in our concerts, and he’s already well on the way.
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Choirs
Rugby Music Centre offers two choirs, both conducted by singing sensation Emma Butler.
Our senior choir covers just about every genre you can think of. Last year they performed West End favourites, sacred music and 2000’s rock - sometimes all in the same concert!
The junior choir, as well as being very cute, is full of talented primary-school-aged musicians who are constantly developing their aural skills through games and song.
Both choirs welcome instrumentalists who want to develop their passion for singing, as well as experienced singers. There are lots of solo opportunities too!
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Folk Band
Our folk band is being led by the awesome multi-instrumentalist Ralph Iles from September 2024, as our usual group leader James Grady is taking a short break.
All Music is taught “off copy” in the folk music tradition in our folk band. This means our students have the opportunity to free themselves from sheet music and learn new tunes by ear.
We were very proud to have the folk band representing us at a Rotary celebration in the town centre last year, as well as performing at Rugby’s local Irish bar, Quigleys!
In our concerts so far, we have been treated to some really invigorating arrangements, which are often a collaborative effort by members of the band. You wouldn’t believe how fast these musicians can move their fingers in some of their jig and reel arrangements!
We also encourage new members to try out new instruments. So far a few of them have found hidden percussion talents, and we have discovered a promising young double bassist!
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String Orchestras
Marvellous Melody Coupe, the string sensation has been running our two string ensembles since our launch in 2021. This group has grown so much we now have an RMC Orchestra featuring brass and wind players too!
Our senior string orchestra is for confident players from around Grade 3 upwards. The group love to explore chamber music works as well as more modern repertoire.
They manage to strike a great balance between learning the traditional disciplines of a classical ensemble, whilst not taking themselves too seriously! They are no strangers to smashing out a rock tune backed by a drum kit!
The junior string group welcomes players from almost total beginner to roughly Grade 2 level. They focus on boosting their note reading skills, listening to their intonation and keeping in time with each other. We are so proud of the energy and pizazz that they bring to Music Centre concerts.
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Music Theory
Our music theory group on a Saturday morning provides support for musicians taking the ABRSM Grade 5 Theory exam and/or GCSE Music. We are very lucky that our groups are taught by theory guru Zoe Hogan, with the help of our very talented student helper Ellen Goodwin.
Although lots of students dread the theory exam (it’s a prerequisite for the advanced ABRSM instrumental grades), theory lessons at RMC are far from boring!
Our students are encouraged to apply their new-found knowledge to their instruments, creating chord sequences, accompaniments and compositions.
For students who are really interested in the way music is put together, the group offers tuition beyond the confines of the Grade 5 syllabus. This is a great introduction to parts of A Level Music. More importantly, it’s great to see students developing a deep understanding of classical music and its composition.
1:1 Lessons with RMC
At RMC, we currently offer 1:1 lessons in Piano, Guitar and Singing. We cater to all styles and capabilities, and we teach adults too!
We run 10 lessons per term with performance opportunities along the way. We have prepared students for grades with different exam boards, including ABRSM, LCM and Rock School.
Our amazing team of peris work on Tuesday evening, Wednesday evening and Saturday mornings. Drop us a message if you’re interested in signing up!
Teacher Mentorship Scheme
In 2022, RMC launched a teacher mentorship scheme whereby we place one of our fully qualified, experienced teachers with a post Grade 8 trainee teacher to mentor them in teaching skills. For the student, this essentially means 2 teachers for the price of 1, and for the trainee they get hands on teaching experience for 6-12 months, ending in taking a teaching qualification exam.
We are really proud of this scheme. It gives RMC another avenue to take our students down, giving us opportunity to continue supporting our students post Grade 8. This has been an invaluable asset and qualification which some of our teachers have taken with them as they have gone on to further study music at University.
So far, we have trained up 4 teachers who all achieved their Teaching Diplomas with RMC in 2023, 2 of which are now part of our 1:1 Teaching Team.
If you are a post Grade 8 musician thinking of training as a 1:1 teacher, drop us a message on enquiries@rugbymusiccentre.co.uk