NAMM 2025 Best Tools for Schools

WindStars Pre-Band Curriculum and NUVO instruments awarded Best Tools for Schools at NAMM 2025

The entire NUVO team is thrilled to learn WindStars Pre-Band curriculum and NUVO instruments were awarded Best Tools for Schools at NAMM 2025. This is a testament that the combination of our range of Pre-Band instruments and the WindStars curriculum is the perfect tool for getting young kids into playing in band and better prepare them to later transition to beginning band. It is our hope that WindStars and NUVO instruments can continue to positively impact young lives by kickstarting their musical journey.

Below is an excerpt from SBO Magazine’s April issue:

“Many years ago, kids started band in 4th grade. Now that many begin in 6th grade, these innovative brass and woodwind “bridge instruments” can help elementary students (ages 4-12) develop real instrumental skills with smaller durable and waterproof instruments that build actual embouchures and fingering skills. Don’t let the various color options fool you – these are not toys. They are real instruments with mouthpieces to transition students into traditional band instruments.”

Compact Drum Set for the Classroom

NUVO is also extremely excited to share that a new product also received the Best Tools for Schools award – the NUVO ZIP-KIT!

The ZIP-KIT is a portable drum set designed for the classrooms. It is the brainchild of Dave Wish, founder of Music Will, a charitable foundation that provides free music lessons and instruments. Dave spent years developing the concept and after he met with the NUVO team at the 2024 NAMM Show, the ZIP-KIT becomes a reality.

“Our partners at MusicWill introduced us to the ZIP-KIT. If you have lots of young percussionists who want to play drumset, how can you afford to accommodate them (and stand the noise!!)? The ZIP-KIT packs up into a small carrying case. It includes quiet versions of a snare, tom-toms, cymbals, bass drum, hi-hat, and a throne perfect for home practice or a busy classroom. It can be sized for 4-5 year olds or for adults! We heard several pro drummers sit down and wail on this (but quietly!!).”

You can read more about the ZIP-KIT on Music Will’s website.

This ZIP-KIT will be launched as a new brand and will have its own website very soon. This marks the third brand under the Nuvo Instrumental umbrella, with NUVO in Pre-Band, NUVOBand in beginning band – which we have launched this year, and finally, the ZIP-KIT in percussion.

We are proud and grateful for the Best Tools for Schools awards our products have received. They remind us of why we do what we do. It is our genuine hope that kids of all ages and backgrounds will be able to experience the joy of making music, and they can thoroughly enjoy this journey when we equip them with the right gear.

Read the full article on SBO website: https://sboplus.net/best-tools-for-schools-from-namm-2025/

Remembering Graham and his Music

It is with great sadness, we announce the passing of Graham Lyons on 13 June 2024.

Graham was our Founding Father. An eccentric visionary, inventor and brilliant musician who pioneered the use of plastics in musical instruments when he launched the Lyons C Clarinet back in 1988.

After seeing his students struggle with the weight and size of traditional instruments, he set about creating instruments that were more suitable for the task of inspiring children to play and practice more. This remains the underlying philosophy of NUVO, a company he founded with Max Clissold in 2008.

Graham is very fondly remembered by all who knew him and we encourage you to check out some of his compositions that can be found at https://cliftonedition.com.

You can see Graham’s Sonata for Clarinet and Piano performed below.

WindStars Workshop at VanderCook

VanderCook College of Music

August 3-4, 2024

Chicago, IL USA

Join us for a weekend workshop at VanderCook College of Music

Receive 1 graduate credit!

What Can I Expect?

Expect to have FUN with hands-on learning through active participation! Instruments will be provided for use during the weekend workshop. We will move, sing, play, and create while designing activities to address all learning styles.

Suitable for upper elementary music educators (general or beginning band)

Presented by Brittany Bauman
Author of the award-winning WindStars pre-band curriculum

ABRSM Adapted Instrument Policy

We are excited to share that as part of the revised adapted instruments policy from ABRSM, starting today on September 6th 2021, the NUVO Clarinéo, jFlute and jHorn can now be used for Grades 1 to 8 examinations!

Read the updated policy below.
https://www.abrsm.org/en-hk/more-information/policies/adapted-instruments-policy

Make Music Day 2021

Join the worldwide celebration of music!

Nuvo Instrumental and Slippery Rock University are hosting a FREE online event as part of Make Music Day on Monday June 21st from 10AM-4PM EST. We hope that you will consider joining us and tell your friends!

Activities will alternate between general music experiences and an introduction to NUVO instruments.

All ages are welcome and you can join this interactive virtual event at any time.

To register, email brittany@nuvo-instrumental.com.

What is Make Music?

Make Music is a free celebration of music around the world on June 21st. Launched in 1982 in France as the Fête de la Musique, it is now held on the same day in more than 1,000 cities in 120 countries.

Completely different from a typical music festival, Make Music is open to anyone who wants to take part. Every kind of musician — young and old, amateur and professional, of every musical persuasion — pours onto streets, parks, plazas, and porches to share their music with friends, neighbors, and strangers. All of it is free and open to the public.

This virtual event is sponsored by NUVO and Slippery Rock University.

Ananda’s Musical Journey

“You Will Have to Wait”

This was what Ananda heard from her mother when she first begged to play the flute when she was only three years old, “you will have to wait.” Even though she was enthusiastic to learn, traditional metal flutes are too heavy and large for young children. Therefore, her mother began giving piano lessons to Ananda at the age of four to fulfill her eagerness to make music.

The Cool Discovery

When Ananda was 5 years old, she discovered the NUVO Toot and was thrilled and exclaimed, “it was so, so, so cool!” The NUVO Toot allowed Ananda to begin learning flute fingerings as it was light and with keys that are easy to reach. The Toot also features a Firstnote lip plate which is a unique, recorder-like mouthpiece developed by NUVO, allowing Ananda to make a sound immediately! Building upon the musical foundation Ananda developed in piano lessons, she quickly learned to play “Hot Cross Buns,” “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” on the NUVO mini flute.

Transition was Easy

Ananda could soon play the C scale and various articulations so she quickly stepped up to the NUVO jFlute. She learned to play the entire range of the flute in just a month. With the shortened Donut headjoint and again with the Firstnote lip plate, Ananda was able to get a beautiful sound right away and she was able to focus on her fingerings. As she grew, she progressed from the Donut to the straight headjoint. With the straight headjoint and C foot joint attached, the jFlute measures the same length as a student flute, yet it is much lighter than a standard metal flute because it is made of plastic. Ananda does not have to worry about straining her arms and can continue to focus on learning new music. When she is ready, she will start learning the flute embouchure by swapping out the Firstnote lip plate to a standard flute lip plate.

Great Start at an Early Age

Ananda’s mother said “we are grateful to NUVO for the wonderful products that allowed Ananda to begin the flute at an early age and have a great start.” Indeed, she has had a brilliant start and in less than a year has already received numerous national and international awards. Her latest accomplishment is winning the London Young Musician Fans’ Favorite Award in the Talent Category. In late 2020, NUVO appointed Ananda as one of their youngest ambassadors.

Inspiring Other Children

As Ananda continues to grow, she will soon progress to a silver flute. At that time, she will have already learned correct fingerings, breathing and posture using the jFlute and those skills will directly transfer to the silver flute. We hope Ananda’s story is an inspiration for other young children who are eager to learn an instrument but are limited because of the size and weight of traditional instruments. To date, Ananda has already placed in 16 international competitions on the jFlute. We look forward to watching Ananda continue to grow as a musician. Take a moment and watch Ananda performing Paul-Agricole Génin’s Theme and Variation No. 5 from “The Carnival of Venice”.

Follow Ananda on Social Media!

Follow Ananda’s musical journey on her mother’s Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/premagrace/

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