WorldWinds

When Starland expanded from a keyboard-based company to a broad-base educational supplier, the range of brass and woodwind instruments expanded to its current extensive selection.  Although we had been supplying recorders and woodwind instruments since 1990, this covered only a few dozen products. and it wasn't until 1998 when we did a thorough assessment of the brass and woodwind range.

A new division was formed, named WorldWinds, and this tradename was registered with the European TradeMarks associations.  The purchasing and management team of Emma Opie and Nick Kilby recognised that the traditional manufacturers, Buffet, Besson, Bach, Yamaha and others, had not modernised their product presentations, so an individual "mini-review" was written for each of the major student instruments.  We had done this previously with keyboards and software, but WorldWinds was the first company to produce a catalogue with consumer advice for student brass and woodwind players.

At the end of the 1990's, the first Starland website was launched, and this provided the guidance to our customers which has proved invaluable ever since.  Of course, nowadays the manufacturers provide a lot more information themselves on their own websites, but in some cases it was the Starland catalogues and websites which shamed them into action!

The WorldWinds section of our website now includes a wonderful selection of brass and woodwind instruments for beginners and intermediate players, together with accessories for orchestral players.  This section of the website is scheduled for a further expansion during 2011.