YOUNG people discovered the fun of learning an instrument at a taster session at Okehampton Music Centre last Thursday.

Children took part in a workshop in the Octagon Centre at Okehampton College and afterwards had the chance to try out some instruments and meet music teachers and current students.

The session included the chance to try ‘endangered instruments’ — oboe, bassoon, French horn and tuba — for which the centre hopes to gain new recruits when the next round of music lessons begin in January.

‘We have got a new teacher for oboe and bassoon,’ said Heather Parks from the centre. ‘We haven’t been offering lessons in those for a while and now we are introducing them again. We are definitely looking to encourage people to take them up.

‘We are calling them “endangered instruments” because these are the instruments in every school orchestra struggles to recruit for because they are big, heavy, difficult to learn and expensive,’ she added. ’We want to encourage people to give them a try though as they can be rewarding.’

The Okehampton Music Centre offers children aged from seven upwards the chance to learn to play an instrument at an affordable cost at an after-school session on Thursdays. They are open to all children, whether attending local schools or home-schooled.

‘Generally the children have a half-hour lesson and a half-hour workshop and they also take part in an orchestra,’ said Heather. ‘It is as much about making music fun as learning.’

Supported with charitable funding from Okehampton United Charity and Devon Music Education Hub, the music centre hires instruments to learners at an affordable cost.

‘When we launched five years ago we had over 100 children at the event and Julian Lloyd Webber came down to give a speech,’ said Heather. ‘It was all very exciting and it has gone on from there. Some of our children have been here from the start.’

There are currently 50 musicians ranging in age from seven to sixth-formers. They will be showing what they can do a free concert, open to all, at the Octagon Centre on Thursday, November 28 at 5pm.