CONTACTS:

President

Gordon Sutherland

Mob: 027 636 8589

Email: gosuthgm@gmail.com

Treasurer and Media Manager

Warren Levick

Mob: 029 927 7365

Email: warrenlevick@gmail.com

Secretary

Patrick McMillan

Mobile: 021 141 7507

Email: patrickmcmillan440@gmail.com

Events Manager

Warren Levick

Mob: 029 927 7365

Email: warrenlevick@gmail.com

BACKGROUND:

Welcome to the North Shore Music and Keyboard Club. The Club was established in 1977 to share the joy of music playing amongst a friendly group of like-minded music lovers – both players and non-playing enthusiasts. Originally, the focus was on electronic organs, but this has evolved over time to keep in touch with the modern idiom where we see keyboards and pianos in vogue. The Club owns a state-of-the-art Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809 digital piano. The digital piano allows our acoustic piano enthusiasts to emulate their home instrument but with the added fun of full orchestration and rhythms if they so wish. Additionally, the Club uses a big screen to show the musicians actually playing the keyboard - thus every seat in the house is 'dress circle'. With artists' permission, we also publish on YouTube and our Blog videos of the performances.

The Club publishes a monthly Newsletter with photos and reports on our future programme and past events. This is emailed each month to members.

CLUB NIGHTS:

The Club meets on the first Tuesday each month at 7.00 pm for a 7.15 pm music start at the Takapuna Bowling Club, Bracken Avenue, Takapuna, Auckland. Entry fee for members is $8 and visitors $10 and under 16-year-olds $1 (price includes a free raffle ticket). We have a member playing the arrival music from about 6.45 pm until about 7.10 pm whilst people arrive and settle down. The Committee invites members to play on a rotation basis (playing is optional so you don’t have to play if you prefer to be a listener-type member). All members wishing to play an instrument are given the chance every two or three months. Usually, members play three or four pieces. At about 8.00 pm we break for a 30-minute tea break (supper included in the entry fee) - a good time to socialize. The meetings aim to close at 9.30 pm sharp but a few members may be more comfortable leaving a little earlier and this is perfectly in order. Normally, we aim to have an invited guest play for us and this usually fills the second half of the evening’s entertainment. The guests are usually well-known musicians in the Auckland area and add a touch of professionalism for the members to enjoy and take inspiration from.

COFFEE DAYS:

Usually on the third Tuesday or the month we hold our Coffee Days at Lifestyle Villages using their luxurious lounges and cafeteria facilities and they normally have a grand or upright piano for our piano players to avail. These Coffee Days give us very comfortable surroundings and an informal atmosphere with plenty of room for our instruments which we can bring along. We call these days "Community Music Days" rather than Coffee Days which reflects our ethos: "Bringing Music to the Community". We hold an optional raffle to help with Club funds.

BRINGING MUSIC TO THE COMMUNITY:

The Club also takes music out to the Community whereby our members will volunteer to take their keyboards and PA gear along to Community Groups like Age Concert and Libraries to share the joy of music with as broader spectrum of the public as possible. Some of the events can be seen in the Club's postings.

MEMBERSHIP:

Whilst visitors are most welcome and may visit as often as they wish for those that wish to join the Club the Annual Subscriptions are: $20 individual or $30 for a family. From September through January membership is extended until the end of the following year. Our Financial Year is 1st February to 31st January.