YOU’RE INVITED
AN
EVENING
WITH
MAX
COOKE
7pm Thursday 20th April
Join us for a close up evening
with Professor Max Cooke, an
icon of the Australian piano
world. Hear about Professor
Cooke’s colourful life journey
and experience him perform a
selection of his favourite piano
works.
ATELIER OWNERS
MASTERCLASS
2pm – 4pm, April 3rd & 17th
An exclusive owners
Masterclass series with Tony
Fenelon, exploring popular
playing styles, flourishes,
arrangements and user tips.
PLAYERS AFTERNOON
2pm Thursday 27th April
Theme: Swing and Big Band
TONY FENELON IN
CONCERT
2pm & 7.30pm Thurs 15th June
Join us for to hear the world’s
greatest theatre organist, Tony
Fenelon in a spectacular new
performance event. Witness
Tony perform a series of piano
concertos and accompany
himself with stunning orchestral
arrangements. Breathtaking!
BOOK NOW: 9872 5122
♪�♪
MusiClub Newsletter AUTUMN 2017
Dear MusiClubbers,
Massive thank you for the patience on waiting to receive this
edition. In summer, as well as having the lovely warm weather,
we worked exceptionally hard for a massive January and
February, which you can read about in this edition.
Congratulations to the Team of Pianists on the success of their
Piano Marathon on Australia Day. The ballroom at Rippon Lea is
a superb location to celebrate piano performance and we were
proud to support this event (two pictures on the right).
It was wonderful to celebrate at the wedding of our warehouse
team members, Alecs and Jacqueline in February (pictured
right). We wish them a future of happiness and blessings.
The top right picture is my grandson Bradley (age 2, third of four
grandchildren) testing the newly arrived Schimmel Nouveau!
We are starting our renovation process and focusing on allowing
space for the trade people. Hence, there are lots of autumn
clearance bargains for you on the enclosed specials flyer.
More and more people are realising the benefit of making music
themselves. Studies are showing how music can help the brain
and relax the body too. The beauty of a piano or electronic
keyboard is that when you look at the keyboard you see music...
low to high tones. At Bernies, we tailor our programs to
encourage you to play, plus give you support to develop and
encourage others as well. Already this year we have been
inspired by so many educators and guests, and our upcoming
Dateline is full of events not to be missed.
At this time of the year, I often meet with schools and institutes
who naturally want to produce the best musicians. No one has
ever taken the time to explain that to have a good musician, you
need a good instrument. Most people have little knowledge about
what makes a piano different; the dynamics of tone, the variation
in volume, and the weight and repetition of the action. And
particularly having the right instrument for the right use;
otherwise it’s like trying to drive a Barina on a race track. At our
Inside the Piano workshops we explain how to test the
difference. If you or your friends are considering updating your
piano please come to the workshops or ask one of our team to
explain the categories to you.
Special thank you to Michelle for her amazing talent in putting
this newsletter together. Big thanks also to our contributors;
Craig Douglass and Rob Gee.
Remember what we say at Bernie’s... please bring some more
music into your lives every day! Bernie Capicchiano
Around Town Events Sponsored by Bernies
The Team of Pianists’ Twilight Chamber Music at Rippon Lea Estate Sunday 9th April, 6.30pm Sunday 21st May, 6.30pm Sunday 18th June, 6.30pm Sunday 16th July, 6.30pm Sunday 20th August, 6.30pm Sunday 17th September, 6.30pm Ph: 9527 2851 www.teamofpianists.com.au When The Rain Stops Falling A play by Andrew Bovell with musical composition by Bruce Rowland. Wednesday 26th April – Saturday 6th May At Metanoia Theatre, Brunswick www.trybooking.com/book/event?eid=248865 Melbourne Opera presents HMS Pinafore Saturday April 22nd, 7.30pm At Robert Blackwood Hall, Monash Uni Clayton https://mapa.monash.edu Maroondah Symphony Orchestra Concerts Sunday 18th June, 2.30pm Sunday 10th September, 2.30pm Sunday 26th November, 2.30pm At: George Wood PAC, Ringwood Tickets at door. Enquiries: Elaine 9720 8575 www.maroondahsymphony.org.au Dandenong Ranges Orchestra Concerts May 6th, 7.30pm at The Gem Arts Centre, Emerald August 20th, 2.30pm at Burrinja Centre, Upwey November 19th, 2.30pm at Tecoma Uniting Church December 3rd, 2.30pm at St Margarets, Mooroolbark Tickets $15 / 10 at door. Preston Orchestra Auditions Thursday 8th June, 7pm at Bernies Music Land, Ringwood Enquiries: 9481 8810 Peninsula Music Society Full 2017 program now available at: www.pmsmusic.asn.au Ringwood Eisteddfod Gala Concert Saturday 15th July, 8.00pm Hear the winners of this illustrious Eisteddfod at this exciting concert. All welcome! At Karralyka Theatre, Mines Road, Ringwood Tickets: book at Bernies Music Land 9872 5122
Australian Directors of
Music in Independent
Schools Conference 2017
The peaceful location of Torquay was a
great spot to gather and discuss our
future music leaders. To help make this
event in March possible, sponsors like
Bernies Music Land have a display of our
instruments and services for their music
departments. Bernie and Jon Wade (our
Hammond Specialist and Artist) were
thrilled to meet and chat with so many
Music Directors and to see how we can
support the good work they do.
381 Canterbury Road, Ringwood, Vic, 3134 P:03 9872 5122 www.musicland.com.au
BERNSTEIN
NEWS
Bernstein Australia is proud to
announce the launch of two
stunning new catalogues.
The Platinum Series is now
complete; with award winning
upright piano and grand piano
models.
With already over 10,000 proud
Australian owners, Bernstein
has a proud history and the
future looks even better.
Please drop in or phone us on
9872 5122 for a copy.
Travel Tips – Hire Cars
How many of you go on trips and spend
endless time queuing up for buses, trains
and taxis?
Well, have you checked out the cost of a hire
car recently? In Australia, it is really can be
cheaper and more convenient than you think.
Tip 1: never book the cheapest. Usually the
next level is not a great deal of difference
and you are sure to be treated with a bit
more attention on collection. For example, I
usually book the Camry category and not the
Corolla, and end up with a Calais!
Tip 2: sign up with a Hire Car Company
loyalty club. They will be happy to see you
back.
Tip 3: don’t always accept what they give
you. I have a profile preference for white or
silver cars and do not like the large SUVs
that they try to give you. Why white or
silver? Because they are easier to see! The
truck in Brisbane did not see the grey
Mitsubishi I was driving. So whilst merging,
he collected the mirror and ran me off the
road. The dark green Commodore in Sydney
was even better. While parked near an
intersection, I watched a truck reverse from
an underground carpark, then proceed to
turn left while running over the front of my
car... I don’t think you ever forget the sound
of metal crunching like that! Happy travelling.
Bernie C.
Ringwood Eisteddfod 2017
Great news for this year’s Ringwood Eisteddfod is
the move to Federation Estate in Ringwood,
where the eisteddfod will enjoy the best in comfort
and performance facilities for their events.
Ringwood Eisteddfod has proud 63 year history
and offers a broad range of divisions. Heats run
from June 2nd to June 26th and the grand final
concert is on 15th July, held at Karralyka.
This year, bookings can be made online for your
convenience, for both competitors and audience,
and also for the grand final concert.
Collect schedules at Bernies today or please visit:
www.ringwoodeisteddfod.org.au Bernie C.
NEW Silent Piano System
Are there times when you would like your piano
to have headphones? Now you can add a
Genio silent system to almost any upright or
grand piano, and play your piano without
disturbing anyone!
The new Genio Essence system is a sleek,
slimline box fitted to your piano that
incorporates the latest optical sensor
technology, capturing the notes that you play,
plus the velocity of your playing. Your piano
becomes muted and the sounds you hear
through headphones are very accurate to
traditional piano sounds.
The advantage of this new system is that it
operates via MIDI, so you can connect it to your
computer for recording, scoring and editing.
The Genio Essence has the ability to record on-
board plus the premium model includes a
number of high resolution orchestral sounds.
These sounds can be sent via audio to your
sound system or keyboard amplifier, so they
can be played as additional sounds with your
piano playing.
Now on display at Bernies is the new Genio
Essence Premium unit, fitted to the Bernstein
Platinum series 178cm grand piano. Priced very
reasonably from $2200 for upright pianos
(including installation) and from $3600 for grand
pianos (including installation), you can now
bring your treasured piano into the 21st century.
Drop in for a demonstration today!
Bernie C.
Review: Leslie Speaker
Leslie is a name that is synonymous with organ
speakers. Ever since Don Leslie designed his
first cabinet with a rotating speaker, it has been
a stalwart in blues, jazz and rock organ sounds
and continues today as a brand name that
delivers nothing but quality and innovation in
loudspeaker design. So, it was with great
pleasure that I got to test out and hear the new
SPA-150R-L Ensemble Speaker from Leslie in
recent weeks. As I was trying a Hammond stage
piano, it only made sense to hear how it sounds
through one of these speakers; the two being a
true match made in heaven.
A WORLD OF POSSIBILITIES
The team at Leslie have really thought this
speaker system through, making it very usable
for a range of instrument applications, not just
keyboards or organs. Whether used as a single
speaker cabinet, or linked as a pair, there are
several ways in which you can make use of the
inputs for harmonica, melodion, vocals, backing
tracks and keyboards. The four inputs have a
somewhat unusual setup in that they do act as
mono inputs, however each of the two pairs
share an EQ circuit. So, using the inputs in the
correct configuration will give you better control
of the sound. A switchable reverb circuit can
also be engaged across the master output,
which starts off very subtle, but gets very wet
when you increase the effects pot all the way.
Finding the balance to best suit all your inputs
with this reverb is the key to a great sound.
STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN
Let’s face it; we are not going
to judge a book by its cover
when it comes to speaker
design. After all, it really is all
about how it sounds in the
end. With that in mind, the
Leslie SPA-150R-L is a very
impressive unit. The front
ported three-way speaker
design is ideal for full range
amplification, but it has been specially designed
to work best with keyboards and organs. For
those of you looking for a keyboard amplifier,
you will no doubt know of the trouble finding a
PA speaker that doesn't break up, or deliver
physical speaker distortion when playing notes
in the lower octave range of your instrument.
This isn’t usually noticeable at low volume, but
when you crank it up, the low frequencies tend
to go south very quickly. This is not the case
with the SPA-150R-L. The cross over range and
speaker design allows the low and low-mid
frequencies to hold their own with this unit. Big
organ sounds with effects on them sound like
big organ sounds with effects. You get to hear
everything and don’t feel like you need to turn
the speaker down for fear of damaging it. This is
the keyboard amplifier that many of you have
been looking for.
Reviewed by Rob Gee for Mixdown Magazine.
Schimmel Shines
At Chinese New Year The Australian Chinese Events Committee
proudly presented the Chinese New Year
Charity Ball on February 4th and Bernies Music
Land / Schimmel Australia were very proud to
be sponsors.
Held in the ballroom at Crown Palladium, the
event was a massive fundraiser for Very
Special Kids. As part of our contribution, we
placed a white Art Nouveau special edition
grand piano in the welcome drinks area, and
provided fabulous piano entertainer, Peter
Sullivan, for pre-dinner entertainment.
Our advertisement with the picture of the
mahogany Schimmel Pegasus grand created a
lot of interest and many new Schimmel fans.
The white Art Nouveau is on stage here at
Bernies Music Land and ready for a wonderful
home, so please visit us today.
Piano Educators Day:
The Best Yet!
The eighth annual Piano Educators Day was the
best yet, with a sell-out crowd and more guests
involved than ever before. Even our air
conditioner was in a good mood and kept up with
the heat, as we welcomed almost 90 teachers to
the store over two days.
First time guests included examination board, St.
Cecilia School of Music, and author Angela
Turner (pictured top left). It was an honour to
also have representatives here from AMEB,
ANZCA, Trinity London and ABRSM.
In the biggest program ever, four keynote
speakers (Robert Chamberlain, Angela Turner,
Mark Gibson and Samantha Coates) were
received with great enthusiasm. Thanks to Music
Sales, Accent and Hal Leonard for their support.
A popular inclusion is the session Maintaining
Teaching Pianos and it was great to have
Vincent Tarin, Schimmel Master Technician, to
present this.
Naturally, a crowd favourite is the Print Music
Exhibition, where teachers can explore all the
latest publications from Hal Leonard, Music
Sales, Alfred, Accent Publishing, and Encore.
This special day was created by the team at
Bernies Music Land with the aim of giving piano
teachers the information and inspiration they
need to start a successful teaching year. And the
feedback we are receiving is a testament to its
success. Such a huge event is a massive feat of
coordination. Thank you to the amazing team
here at Bernies and to the teachers who come
along and support us throughout the year.
Michelle C.
CLASSIC ORGAN NEWS
The organ department has been very busy in the last few months and our most exciting news since last edition is the signing of the contact to install a new Johannus organ in Avondale Memorial Seventh Day Adventist Church in Cooranbong NSW.
Avondale Memorial is the Australian home to Suzuki Organ Education Australia. About 8 years ago, organist Mr David Clark first floated the idea of us supporting this innovative method of teaching classical organ to students as young as 4 years of age. The Suzuki Method is holistic in its approach to teaching and over the last years we have seen the tremendous success of this program and the exponential growth in the number of students now learning. Bernies Music Land is indeed honoured to be foundation and exclusive sponsors of Suzuki Organ Australia.
In August this year, we will install the magnificent Ecclesia D470 66 stop 3 manual organ with customisations (pictured below). I am a regular visitor to Cooranbong and my last visit was a very exciting one, to complete the audio layout and final specifications. In addition to the 13.3 audio, I have upgraded the subwoofer to a high power large scale mega-woofer and added two extra 2.1 monitor systems for clarity and good dispersion of sound. Keep an eye out for more news.
No less exciting was the pre-Christmas installation of the lovely Ecclesia T370 3 manual organ at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Deepdene which was the culmination of months of planning with some cleverly designed speaker cabinets in the rear gallery and with double subwoofer audio. Recital dates will be announced soon.
Due in the forthcoming shipment is the new LiVE 2T, a 2 manual 44 stop organ based around the leading-edge technology of the LiVE III organ we launched last year. More details including a launch in the next edition.
Keep an eye on our website for the release of an exciting new model. If your excitement becomes too much for you, give me a call after the 3rd of April and I will be glad to share the news. Craig D.
Piano Teacher Seminars 2017
Classical Piano: The T(h)rill Of It All
Renowned educator and pianist, Darryl Coote, will examine matters
of ornamentation such as melodic, harmonic and rhythmic factors,
the way in which music notation has evolved and how to guide your
students to a better interpretation of stylistic trends.
9.30am – 12.30pm Tuesday 4th April at Bernies Music Land
Making Scales Fundamental
Acclaimed co-author of How To Blitz General Knowledge, Abe
Cytrynowski will share techniques and tips for reinforcing and
strengthening scales, and making them fast and accurate. Filled with
plenty of tips and useful ideas!
9.30am – 12.30pm Tuesday 4th April at Bernies Music Land
Bookings: www.musicland.com.au/events
Bernstein® Piano Masterclass
Enrolments now open!
Masterclasses for piano students aged up to 16
years are held at Bernies Music Land with an
exceptional range of guest teachers:
Tuesday 4th July: Kenji Fujimura
Saturday 8th July: Tamara Smolyar
Saturday 15th July: Professor Max Cooke
Saturday 23rd September: Darryl Coote
Monday 25th September: TBA
Reserve places for your students now:
9872 5122 www.musicland.com.au/events