by Stephanie Kerr | Oct 14, 2022 | News
A popular music shop in Leamington is marking 36 years of trading with a move to bigger premises.
Presto Music, one of the UK’s premier sources of sheet music, classical and jazz recordings, musical instruments, accessories and music gifts, is relocating to new premises.
Presto Music opened in 1986 as a specialist classical recording retailer, loved by many and visited by thousands of customers. The store has seen a number of locations: its most recent, 7 Park Street, is where the business has grown into what it is today.
The current shop will close at 1pm on 20 October and, after the move, customers will be able to find the new store at 23 Regent Grove, CV32 4NN, from 24 October.
The new site is a 7,000 sq. ft purpose-built location and will continue to stock the wide range of instruments and accessories, recordings, printed music and gifts that music lovers have enjoyed throughout the years, with an expanded range of next-step instruments, specifically curated for the advancing beginner and beyond.
Phyllida Martignetti, Shop Manager of Presto Music, said: “We are so thrilled to be able to offer our very loyal customer base a new, vibrant store in the form of our Regent Grove location. The new store will bring with it expanded instrument ranges, such as Pearl flutes, Yanagisawa saxophones, Blackstar acoustic amplifiers, Faith guitars and several instruments from Conn Selmer, catering for all students and players up to a semi-professional standard, which is incredibly exciting, along with the reintroduction of our events, concerts and album launch series.”
The store will also house a multipurpose space for community focussed events and experiences such as: masterclasses, product launches, demonstrations, workshops, group music lessons and a performance area for album launch events and local concerts. The offices, where the editorial, content and customer experience teams operate, will also be located on the new premises.
The current rental scheme will also be available on a selection of string, woodwind and brass instruments: the perfect solution for those who want to make sure a new instrument is the right one before committing to a purchase.
The store will continue to offer a repair service, carried out by our two experienced instrument technicians working in store, particularly focused on the areas of brass and woodwind.
Jonny Brading, Commercial Director of Presto Music, said: “Our vision is to offer an inclusive, enhanced musical environment for our customers, where they can visit and benefit from our newly created in-house team of instrument specialists. It’s an exciting time to bring something new to the music retail industry”.
Chris O’Reilly, CEO of Presto Music, said: “We believe passionately in the power of music to enrich lives, and are very excited by the opportunities our new expanded store will bring to the people of Warwickshire and indeed the whole Midlands area. We’ll be bringing world class musicians to Leamington Spa to launch their new albums and inspire the next generation”.
Opening hours: Monday to Friday: 9.30am to 5.30pm and Saturday: 9am to 5.30pm.
About Presto Music
Based in Royal Leamington Spa in the UK, Presto Music is the UK’s leading ecommerce site for classical and jazz recordings (CDs, DVDs, high quality downloads and vinyl), printed music, music books and musical instruments. Founded in 1986 as a small high street shop, the Presto Music website was started in 2001 and has grown into one of the most significant online sites for music products in the world.
With over 160,000 classical recordings, over 70,000 jazz recordings, over 800,000 sheet music titles, more than 35,000 music books and over 30,000 musical instruments to browse and purchase online (of which tens of thousands are in stock and available for immediate dispatch), Presto offers an extensive catalogue to suit musicians and music-lovers, accepting payment in 15 different currencies and shipping to over 200 countries worldwide.
Alongside its wide-ranging catalogue, decades of experience, excellent customer service and staff with expert classical music knowledge, Presto prides itself on outstanding data and unique editorial content, ranging from reviews of new products to exclusive interviews with artists and composers, researched and written by the in-house editorial team.
by Stephanie Kerr | Oct 13, 2022 | News
Leamington’s Pumpkin Path returns this month for a ghostly glowing programme of events.
This interactive event for all the family, which is organised by BID Leamington, has two trails where families can search for clues that appear on little orange pumpkins in 66 of Leamington town centre’s shops windows from Saturday, October 22 to Monday, October 31.
The clues will reveal the place to find the ‘Scary Post Box’ where pumpkin hunters should post their entry form for a chance to win some fabulous prizes in the prize draw.
In the Prize Draw, visitors have an opportunity to win over £1,000 worth of prizes, which have been kindly donated by Leamington’s businesses.
These include an afternoon tea experience at Enchanted, fitness treatments from Therapy and Fitness, and gift vouchers and prizes courtesy of Middletons, Hotel Chocolat, Bistrot Pierre, Esquires Coffee, Ember Home, Cotswold Trading, and Hart Restaurant as well as a £200 gift voucher for Lee Longlands and a £200 Gift Experience at Venture Photography plus many more.
Everyone who collects ALL the clues will be entered into the Grand Prize Draw to win £200 of treats for the family.
The ‘Scary Post Box’ closes at 5pm on Monday, October 31, with people still able to post their entry forms to BID Leamington in Park Street before Wednesday, November 2.
As well as the Pumpkin Path, there are plenty more spooktacular thrills around town including the Spookysaurus Dinosaur Show.
It features two 30-minute shows on the Upper Mall in Royal Priors on Sunday, October 23 plus an opportunity to experience roaring dinosaurs up close and personal during their walkabouts around town (check website for times).
Or if you want to strike a pose, the Royal Priors Shopping Centre has set up a Spooky Selfie Station in their Lower Mall from 22 until 30 October, for all your showstopping spooky needs.
There will be a giant spider, inflatable pumpkins and spooky stilt walkers in Regent Court on Saturday, October 29 and Sunday, October 30 and a face painter and scary stilt walker at the Sunday Market on Parade between 11am and 3pm at on October 30.
BID Leamington also has lantern packs in readiness for the Lantern Parade on Sunday, December 4 which can be collected from their office at 35c Park Court, Park Street, between 10am and 3pm from Monday, October 23 (Monday to Friday only) as a half-term activity for £5 each.
Alison Shaw, Project Manager at BID Leamington, said: “It’s lovely to mark the spooky season in Leamington with so many different events and activities.
“With a range of amazing prizes to be won in the Prize Draw, the Pumpkin Path over the two routes is fun for all the family.
“We are looking forward to families exploring Leamington’s town centre for spooky clues to uncover the mysterious post box.
“We hope that these events will attract families into the town centre and bring plenty of fun and laughter this month.”
Download the form HERE or you can pick up a copy from the Royal Priors Shopping Centre or Visitor Information Centre between 22nd to 31st October.
by Stephanie Kerr | Oct 13, 2022 | News
The OPEN 2022 exhibition is now open at the Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum. A Private View took place on Thursday 6th October and the overall Winner selected from a total of 350 pieces, was revealed as Mark Elsmore, with his stunning painting entitled ‘Playlist’ – Watercolour Gouache. Warwick District Council’s Chairman, Mini Mangat was in attendance to present the lucky winner with his £1000 prize.
Mark said, “Listening to music, deep in thought. The Playlist she is hearing is the soundtrack of her life.” I was in Vienna with an aim to paint architecture, but it was impossible not to notice the young woman looking so interesting and painterly. I spotted her from a distance, she was sitting outside a church. She seemed lost in her thoughts, but getting closer I noticed her red boots tapping to the rhythm of the beat from her earphones… Lost in music?
She was a tourist like me, enjoying the sunshine. I tentatively asked if she would mind me taking a couple of photos for a possible painting. Bemused she shrugged her approval. The spell was broken as soon as she looked up but eventually I managed to get her to resume the original pose.
I worked on the painting back at home.
Her likeness is good. I’ve altered a few things to help the narrative. The image is quiet, a good contrast to the lively sounds and thoughts within her head. I’ve changed her hair a bit to suggest a breeze and give an almost ethereal feeling. I’m trying to capture more than a still image.
I have a theory that the music you imagine she is listening to will colour your own thoughts about her story.
The independent judging panel (Stacey Barnfield, Victoria Smith and Otto Saumarez-Smith) awarded some ‘Highly Commended’ pieces and these along with all of the chosen entries are now on display in the temporary gallery at the Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum. Visitors to the gallery can also vote for their favourite artwork, which will receive the coveted People’s Choice Award of £500 and will be announced towards the end of the exhibition, in December.
Last seen in 2019, the Open has been a regular popular feature of Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum’s programme since the 1930s. OPEN 2022 is an eclectic mix of artistic forms, with previous Opens featuring, amongst others, sculpture, photography, installation pieces, computer generated imagery and textiles
Both prizes are kindly donated by Friends of Leamington Art Gallery (FLAG).
Admission to the Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum is free. Opening hours are Tuesday – Sunday, 10am – 4pm
(Photo: Open Winner Mark Elsmore with Warwick District Chairman, Mini Mangat)
