Festive song is a big hit for talented kids at Tyrone music club

Celebrating the end of yet another successful year of nurturing and guiding local musical talent, the team at Apex Music Centre in Cookstown has returned with what has now become an annual tradition for them and their students – their big Christmas single!

Released on Christmas Eve, students and teachers at the music centre have, this year, offered up a rather festive rendition of the classic “Merry Christmas Everyone,” which was originally recorded by Shakin’ Stevens in 1985.

The track features music teachers Graham McKinstry on drums and guitar, Oran McGuckin on bass, Cherie Morgan on piano and vocals, and Andrew Linton on guitar. Having laid down the backbone of the track as a platform for their students to shine, the track is led by Abbie McKinless and Cara Conway on vocals, Leyla Rinkute and Andrew Crawford on guitar, and Jordan O’Neill on piano.

“We usually start working on these projects around the start of November,” said Creative Officer Graham McKinstry. “As tutors, we will usually pick a song between us based on the progress that our students have made that year. We will then ask who wants to take part and open the opportunity to everyone.”

As Graham and his colleagues prepare a backing track to their song of choice, they then bring in their pupils to record their parts, often ‘filling in the blanks’ or re-recording their parts on their instrument of choice. “Ultimately, it’s the students’ project,” said Graham. “It’s always a big hit and is a great way to showcase their development, and it’s a nice way for the parents of younger students to see firsthand what they are doing.”

The video to the track, which can be viewed on the Apex Music Centre’s Facebook page, features footage of the team recording the track, with a special appearance from Santa Claus himself, who paid the centre a visit ahead of the big day this year. “The videos always go down well online,” Graham explained. “It was nice to include Santa this year as he paid us a visit when the folks from Radius were using one of our rooms to host their Santa’s Grotto in the run-up to Christmas.”

“Cherie organised a pop-up choir on the night to perform outside, and I got some of the members of the Samba Band that we run to come down too, so it turned out to be a fun night.”

This certainly isn’t the first time that the Apex Music team have showcased their students’ work in such a creative way. Last year saw the team releasing two separate videos – one by the teachers, which was a cover of the timeless Pogues classic “Fairytale of New York” that featured Graham and Cherie taking on the iconic roles of Shane MacGowan and Kirsty MacColl, and one by the students, which was a cover of “Snowman” by Sia.

In previous years, the Apex team has also released a rendition of “The 12 Days of Christmas” that featured a long list of local talent who tackled a verse each, as well as a compilation album which saw over a dozen local artists record classic Christmas songs.

“The whole process is always great fun,” said Graham. “However, before recording songs and making videos became the annual tradition for us, we had previously put on a special Christmas showcase for the families and friends of our students to attend in the Burnavon in Cookstown. It was amazing, and we are really hoping to bring that back again for Christmas 2025.”

Looking ahead to 2025, the team at Apex Music Centre are currently preparing for another busy year. An all-inclusive environment, there are no age limits when it comes to taking lessons or participating in events. To find out more, simply search “Apex Music Centre” on social media.