The Centre is established.
The Centre was established in the days of Wallasey Borough Council. The wider national music scene was going through a cultural revolution at the time. It was the age of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones; Cliff Richard and Lulu. Yet in Wallasey, a more traditional movement was getting underway.
Norman Lythgoe, recently appointed as the Music Adviser in the Wallasey Education Department, introduced the peripatetic music teaching service to the local schools. This enabled the schools to build an instrumental tradition, on top of the well established choral tradition within the Borough. The Wallasey Schools Music Centre was born.
Pat Fahy was head of centre then, with Jim Scott, George Egar, Rosemary Miller, and Rodney Allen providing the professional teaching support. Tragically Pat’s time at the centre was cut short, when she died very suddenly from a brain haemorrhage. Lowri Allen was asked to take over the running of the centre.
Over time, the number of instrumentalists at the Centre built up and more staff joined the Centre, amongst them was Ronnie Welsh on percussion and Nigel Gee teaching a GCE class.
All change
In the early 1980’s the Centre moved from Egerton Grove Primary to its current home at Oldershaw. David Straughan became the new Music Adviser to what had by then become the Wirral Education Authority. He opened three other music centres using the Wallasey Centre as the model, thus introducing peripatetic teaching of instrumental music to all parts of the Wirral. To this day, Wallasey continues to be the largest centre on the Wirral.
But change went further. Lowri Allen bowed out at this point and made way for Amanda Leigh(now known as Mrs Keeley).
The Centre today
Numbers attending the Centre do fluctuate, but it continues to be a draw for some 150 young people every week. One of the reasons for the changing numbers is that the Centre acts as a feed to the more mature musical groups within Wirral which includes the Intermediate Orchestra and Senior Orchestra which are only open to musicians by audition. By contrast, the Music Centre welcomes anyone who has musical ability but there is a preference for those who have passed their Grade 1 or Preliminary exams.
Teaching Staff
In addition to the founding staff of the Centre the following have also been involved in the past –
Junior Wind Band Siobhan Waddingham
James Robertson
Sue Giles
Andy Griffith
Senior Wind Band Gareth Hughes
Gabrielle Horne
Lindsay Gregson
Brass Band Gabrielle Horne
Ian Woods
Orchestra Geraldine Fletcher
String Ensemble Jack Davies
Angela Charlesworth
Rona Robinson and Anne Elkington also acted as support staff, helping to tune instruments, administer the repertoire and the movement of the various groups at the time of concerts.
The current staff members are detailed in the section 'Which group for you?'.
Achievements.
A history of the Centre would be far from complete if a look was not taken at what has happened to some of the young musicians that have performed here in the past. Although many of these musicians have gone on in later life to be doctors, dentists, lawyers or research scientists, there are others who have taken to music as a career.
Some have had conservatoire training at the Royal Northern College of Music, the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music. One former member of the Centre is currently studying in her second post graduate year at Geneva Conservatoire having started in the string ensemble here in Wallasey.
A tuba player is at the Royal Northern College and a trumpet player has gone on to be the musical director for West End shows..
The Charity Concerts
One of the highlights of the Centre's calendar is the annual charity concert held at Wallasey Civic Hall. Over the years many thousands of pounds have been raised. The following are some of the beneficiaries -
Eleray Park
St John's Hospice
Clatterbridge Cancer Research Trust
Motor neurone disease
Wallasey to Lourdes
Gait Laboratory at Alder Hey
Claire House
Christopher Johnson Trust (holidays for local terminally ill children)
Wallasey Mencap Youth Club
Chernobyl Children's Fund
Royal National Lifeboat Institution
The Mayors Charity
In addition, the Centre provides its young musicians with the opportunity to perform at the Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool in alternate years for the 'Quids for Kids' concert. Concerts have also been held at the Floral Pavilion Theatre(Spotlight on Youth); the annual Christmas Concert and Summer Showcase held at our home in Oldershaw; the former Glenda Jackson Theatre in Birkenhead; Pacific Road.