North Tyneside Music offers a wide range of musical activities for young musicians of all ages and standards. Our groups meet weekly in term-time and all opportunities are fully funded and free of charge to families. Whatever style of music you are into, we have something for you.
Our Saturday Music Centre, Wednesday Grade 5 Theory support session, Youth Choir and Emerging Artists sessions are held at John Spence Community High School.
Our Sounding Out! project is based at the John Willie Sams Centre and you can join the Rock School at Traxx Rehearsal Studios.
See below for further details on each of our weekly groups.
To find out more, or to enrol on behalf of a young person to attend an activity, please email us at:
music@northtyneside.gov.uk
You can also find all dates for our 2025-6 activities in our Activity Planner below,
Our activities are open to all young people aged 5-18 who live or attend school in North Tyneside. Our Saturday Centre activities are run in partnership with Newcastle Music Service and are also open to young people living or attending school in Newcastle. We are very happy to welcome children and young people from other areas to join our activities, or to find out more about musical activities in other areas of the North-East, please visit North East Music Hub.
Saturday Centre Activities at John Spence Community High School
Music Theory Drop-in Session
Time: 9.00-10.00am Group Leaders: Peter and Abigail Tickell
Music Theory drop-in sessions are open to all students from beginners to those working towards Grade 5 theory and beyond. Join this session as a standalone, or as part of your wider Saturday morning experience.
Mixed Beginner Orchestra
Time: 9.00-10.00am
Group Leaders: Fran Harris, Gareth Miller and John Rudkin
Our Mixed Beginner Orchestra is suitable for any beginner instrumentalist who is keen to play in a group with others, even if they can only play a few notes!
Beginner Recorder Group
Time: 9.00-10.00am
Group Leader: Sarah Teoh
Our Beginner Recorder Group is open to those with some initial experience of playing recorder in school and for those who have been playing for a while.
Youth Training Band
Time: 9.00am-10.45 am
Group Leaders: John Flood and Daisy Hayes
Youth Training Band is for brass, woodwind and percussion players who are currently playing at around Grade 2-4 standard.
Concert Band
Time: 9.00am-10.45am
Group Leader: Selwyn Thompson and Alex Lewis
Concert Band is a group for more advanced brass, woodwind and percussion players working at around Grade 5 standard and above.
Beginner Strings
Time: 10 to 12 noon
Group Leader: Rebecca Rawlinson
Beginner Strings is suitable for those just starting out on any orchestral string instrument up to around Grade 2 standard.
Children's Choir
Time: 10.00-11.00am
Group Leaders: Gareth Miller and Brittany Farrow
A choir for any young singer aged 6-11 who would like to opportunity to rehearse on a weekly basis with others and work towards performances and events.
Jazz Training Ensemble
Time: 11.00am-12.00pm
Group Leader: John Rudkin
A training ensemble for young musicians working around grade 2 - 3 who are interested in playing jazz music and learning the basics of improvisation.
Youth Training Strings
Time: 10.00am-12.00pm
Group Leader: Abigail Tickell
Youth Training Strings is for orchestral string players working between Grade 3-5 standard.
Senior Strings
Time: 10.00am-12.00pm
Group Leader: Peter Tickell
Senior Strings is designed for orchestral string players working at around Grade 5 or above.
Recorder Consort
Time: 10.30am-12.00pm Group Leader: Sarah Teoh
This is a group for more advanced recorder players moving on from the beginner level.
Symphony Orchestra
Time: 11.00am-12.00pm
Group Leader: Alex Lewis
Our flagship ensemble, performing orchestral music and suitable for young musicians working at Grade 5 standard or above.
Midweek Activities
Newcastle Youth Choir
Day: Tuesday
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Group Leaders: Liz Milner, Charlotte Galloway, Eleanor Boehringer
Newcastle Youth Choir is a group for young singers aged 10-18 who would like to sing with others and work towards a variety of performances and events: www.newcastlesings.org/nycp
Venue: Newcastle University
Emerging Artists
Day: Wednesday
Time: 6 to 8.00pm
Group Leaders: Phil Richardson, Brittany Farrow
Emerging Artists is suitable for those aged 11-18. The project aims to develop a wide range of music-based skills around performance to build the confidence and creativity of each young person involved.
Venue: John Spence Community High School
North Tyneside Youth Choir
Day: Wednesday
Time: 4:30 to 6.00pm
Group Leader: Heather Gunn, Brittany Farrow, Damien Grazzer
North Tyneside Youth Choir is suitable for any young person who would like to come together on a weekly basis to sing with others. Members can also choose to attend the Emerging Artists project.
Venue: John Spence Community High School
Grade 5 Music Theory
Day: Wednesday
Time: 4:30 to 5.30pm
Group Leader: Phil Richardson
If you are an instrumentalist or vocalist approaching Grade 5 standard and want to work towards your Grade 5 Music Theory qualification then this session is for you. Suitable also for those taking music qualifications at Key Stage 4 or 5.
Venue: John Spence Community High School
Sounding Out!
Day: Wednesday
Time: 4.00-5.00 / 6.00-8.00pm
Group Leader: Ashleigh Lowes
The Sounding Out! Project offers young people aged 8-18 the opportunity to take part in a variety of musical activities and opportunities with no experience required. This project is supported by our partner charity, mo4y, and funded by UKSPF and the North-East Combined Authority. Email ashleigh.lowes@youngsounds.org.uk for further information.
Venue: John Willie Sams Centre, Dudley
Rock School
Day: Friday
Time: 5.30-7.00pm (Group 1), 7.00-9.00pm (Group 2)
Group Leader: Traxx Rehearsal Studios
Our Rock School runs on Fridays in term-time and offers young musicians who play guitar, bass, drums or sing the opportunity to forms bands with others. Rock School bands perform at gigs throughout the year at different venues across the region. Please note that this activity is currently oversubscribed. Your child will be placed on a waiting list until a place becomes available.
Venue: Traxx Rehearsal Studio
Participate
Steel Pans
North Tyneside Steel Band are partners with North Tyneside Music. They recently celebrated their 30th birthday and are one of the most active steel band groups in the North East. They love performing at public events, with recent highlights of performances at the London and Rotterdam Carnivals. The band offer a range of classes for different levels. Please note: there is a charge for these sessions
Volunteers
North Tyneside Music has a number of volunteers who support the work of the hub on a regular basis. We can also facilitate work experience placements and put you in touch with other local arts organisations who can help.