|  | | Plymouth Musical Activities Club in concert. |
| |  Seventeen years ago, at the age of nine, I joined PMAC as a beginner guitarist.
Now, after appearing in well over 30 concerts at the Devonport Playhouse, I take the electric group at MAC.
Justin Walder tells us about PMAC..... |
| | | Ability is irrelevant at PMAC. The main objective is to have fun. If you're willing to put the effort in you'll find that some of your best memories will be with PMAC.
The emphasis with Plymouth Mac is on keeping music live in Plymouth. The club achieves this by being divided into various sections including groups for guitars, woodwind, keyboard, electric and bass, percussion and singers.
 | | Learning together |
In these small groups, adult volunteers guide the young musicians with the aim of playing two pieces of music in a class performance evening during March.
Parents and relatives are invited to share in the evening where our younger members have the chance to experiment with new material, including solos, lead guitar breaks etc. in a friendly and informal environment.
Summer fun
The summer months at MAC see the participation of the club in various musical events all guaranteed to provide some good times.
One of these events is the annual Lord Mayor's day celebration, where each year we submit a float, dress up in particularly stupid costumes and tour the streets of the city on the back of a lorry!
No, it doesn't always rain! But a good sense of humour is required!
 | | Justin Walder: "It's about making friends too" |
The majority of the club sing on the day supported by a small group of musicians and together we have won numerous awards; for the float and also the community award.
June sees us travelling to various locations in support of local school fetes such as Weston Mill and Elburton.
In July we are invited to Polperro, to play for one usually scorching afternoon, in the festival of the Cornish fishing village.
Sell out shows
After a summer break we rehearse for our autumn concert.
Taking place on two nights in October at the Devonport Playhouse, this collection of familiar songs attracts near sell out audiences on both nights.
 | | Relaxing at The Dartmoor Centre |
Still humming the tunes from our autumn concert, we commence rehearsals for our Christmas Concert, working towards two evenings of Carols and Christmas songs. But not before we visit the Guildhall and the Mount Batten centre to join in their Christmas Celebrations.
The year finishes on a high at our concerts where we acknowledge the enthusiasm and commitment of the young people with the nominations and the presentation of the Alison Tonkin and David Ashley Awards.
In response to all of the hard work during the year, young people and staff have the opportunity to come together on bowling and quasar evenings, quiz nights and - probably the most enjoyable of them all - the weekend at the Dartmoor Centre!
Light the fire and relax with numerous cups of tea or engage in activities such as football, cricket, walking, orienteering and swimming if you're brave enough!
It is clear that PMAC is not just about making music but about making great friends too!
Justin Walder | | | |
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