Category: News


WHOLE-SCHOOL OCARINA-PLAYING – SHORTLISTED

30th November 2022

SHORTLISTED for Music & Drama Education Awards 2023

WHOLE-SCHOOL OCARINA-PLAYING handbook gives clear progression pathways for class music with pupils age 5 to 14. Ocarina-playing, singing and curriculum music is sequenced, with reference to the statutory National Curriculum Music Programmes of Study, the Model Music Curriculum 2021, OFSTED research review (12/7/21) and the refreshed National Plan for Music Education 2022. Download here, or request by post direct from Ocarina Workshop. Read more

OCARINA ACOUSTICS – SCIENCE, HYGIENE, AND MORE …

15th July 2020

OCARINA ACOUSTICS – SCIENCE
The ocarina is played with a breath rather than a blow. Unlike other wind instruments, the ocarina cannot be overblown. It has no tube, no column of vibrating air and thus no wavelength – just a mass of air vibrating in a chamber. The resulting ocarina acoustics are remarkably pure, with few upper harmonics. Read more

NEW COLOUR Play your Ocarina BOOK 1 – FREE

31st March 2019

‘Play Your Ocarina – Book 1’ is freshly published in COLOUR with the same great tunes PLUS new teaching pages – and all for the same great price.

When you order Play Your Ocarina – Book 1 from Ocarina Workshop, your order will automatically be up-graded to include the newly published full-colour version at not a penny more. Read more

Ocarina Workshop – CPD, Festivals and more…

13th November 2015

The concentration and delight on the faces of the year 2 to year 6 children, and the sound of their confident, musical playing bore evidence of the success of the Ocarina Programme in Central Bedfordshire Hub.

Last October, thanks to SMA, class teachers from 12 schools were introduced to the Ocarina and trained to lead their own class music lessons effectively. Each school was provided with an Ocarina World Record Legacy Class Set of Ocarinas with accompanying teaching resources and the teachers enthusiastically set about teaching their classes to play the Ocarina using Play your Ocarina – Book 1 ‘Starting off’. Read more

Largest Ocarina Ensemble

5th November 2013

Last night a new Guinness World Records™ Largest Ocarina Ensemble record was created by school children from all over the UK, Jersey and Gibraltar.

1,300 T-shirted children with yellow ocarinas around their necks rehearsed all afternoon. And in the evening, during a wonderfully musical Barnardo’s Supporters Concert, they helped ocarina expert David Liggins to rehearse the whole audience, ready to play the performance piece. Read more

World Record Videos

Royal Albert Hall, London, 5th November 2013. The Guinness World Record for the Largest Ocarina Ensemble was smashed by 3,081 primary school children and their parents and teachers. This is a short excerpt of their performance, which had to be ‘classical’ in nature and professional in execution. At least 95% of those taking part had to play faultlessly throughout. Thank you to everyone who helped achieve this wonderful record and memories that will last a lifetime… Read more

GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ record attempt

23rd August 2013

There will be an attempt to break the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the Largest Ocarina Ensemble, on 5th November 2013 at the Royal Albert Hall, London.

A massed choir of 1,200 children will lead an evening of Music and Ocarina-playing at a Young Supporters’ Concert, organised by Barnardo’s. The audience will be invited to take part in the World’s Largest Ocarina Ensemble. Everyone will play Ocarinas together. Read more

Royal Albert Hall

8th March 2013

Children Star in Ocarina Guinness World Records™ title

Primary School Children at a Barnardo’s Young Supporters’ Concert became Guinness World Records title holders at the Royal Albert Hall on 5th November 2013.

Children as young as five years of age led a total of 3,081 players to form the Largest Ocarina Ensemble in the world, smashing the previous record of 831 set in China three years ago. Read more

Suppliers of the Year 2011

12th October 2011

Ocarina Workshop has been shortlisted in the 2011 Music Industries Association (MIA) Awards, appearing in the Best Supplier (Small) category.

“We are surprised and delighted to be nominated. As a small family business, we enjoy giving a high quality service and are pleased to have been noticed!” commented Ocarina Workshop Director, Christa Liggins. Read more

Return to the Andes: Ocarina Workshop in Peru

1st September 2011

David and Christa Liggins arrived home yesterday after two and a half weeks researching and playing ocarinas in the Peruvian Andes.

“Seeing so many ancient vessel flutes in museums and then playing ocarinas at Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca was a great experience for us. We’re bringing it all back to share with new audiences in schools around the UK” said David. Read more