Parkhurst State Primary School in Queensland has won first prize in the 2011 Flame Awards and received $10,000.

The awards are the Music Council of Australia’s national scheme to highlight and reward the most inspiring school music programs.

The schools were picked from a pool of 23 national finalists in the Awards which this year set out to highlight schools using creative ways to engage children in music making and singing.

Read Parkhurst’s winning entry here

HERE you will find the new 2011 Lobby Kit for more music in Australian schools. The current version (just uploaded) has no photos … look out for the pictorial version, coming soon.

NOW is the time to lobby school Principals and Parent/Teacher Committees to get MORE and meaningful music into your school. Use the new Lobby Kit for ideas, statistics, models, quotes and inspiration.

www.moremusictoolkit.org.au/advocacy-tools/62

In September 2011, NAMM created an 8-page “music education advocacy” lift-out included for the Washington Post!

www.namm.org/files/WashPostInsert.pdf

http://www.mca.org.au/research/research-reports/research-reports/16764-strategic-utilisation-of-the-national-broadband-network-to-expand-opportunities-in-music-education

http://www.bellingencourier.com.au/news/local/news/general/ann-phelan-rewarded-for-music-leadership/2217342.aspx

Congratulations to Ann Phelan, who has just been awarded a national ASME award for excellence in music education. Ann unites her entire community of young people, both public and private school students, along with a broad base of supporters from all reaches of the Bellingen community.

www.asme.edu.au/ASME_Standards05.pdf

Under the following headings: Professional Knowledge, Professional Practice, Professional Values, Professional Relationhips

Register your school in Australia’s biggest music program

Our program song has been recorded and is now up on the website for your listening pleasure. There are already 500 schools registered to take part in this year’s program which will unite more than half a million students in the performance of ‘We’ve Got The Music’ on Thursday, 1^st September at 11.30am. Don’t forget participation in the program is FREE. The audio files, arrangements, lyric sheet and classroom activity kit: it’s all downloadable once you register your school.

So listen to the song, register now and get your school community on board!

Go to resource: ACSSO is the national peak body representing parents and school communities of 2 million public school students, Australia-wide. ACSSO distributes a regular music bulletin to its members, titled Ensemble. Read more…

Go to resource: The Australian Music Association is the peak body for music products in Australia. Read more…

Music groups are looking for rehearsal space, in return for FREE tuition or concert tickets for your students!

If you have a new (BER) school hall at your Australian school, please fill in the following survey.

You will be helping local community music groups!

docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDk2SmNJMXVDUmpFNXlPUndfcjFnN3c6MQ

THIS IS SO COOL!!

An Orff-inspired plastic cup dance to go with “We’ve Got the Music” MCUI 2011. Thanks to Kristie Fudge (SA) for the free offering. The document also includes lesson plans for teaching the song.

click here for download link

Go to resource: Early Childhood Music Education (ECME) is under the International Society for Music Education (ISME) umbrella. Read more…

FLAME AWARDS: This year’s theme is: ‘creative and engaging ways of delivering music education’. Entries are open to Primary and Secondary schools across Australia in 2011.

Visit the Flame Awards website for entry information

http://www.musicplayforlife.org/index.php/campaigns/flames

Due 22nd August, 2011.

2011 Flame Awards have announced 23 finalist schools. This year’s finalists use technology and social networking to engage students, teach ukulele during class music lessons, promote song-writing to reinforce literacy, employ music therapists to work with special needs students, and timetable music lessons for every day of the school year.

More details of schools and attributes will soon be here.

Due to so many schools preparing for State Choral/Instrumental festivals, we’ve extended the FLAME AWARDS submission date until Monday 29th August, 2011.

ANY Australian school can enter – just tell us about your creative and engaging MUSIC programme. $15000 prize pool.

FLAME AWARDS WEBSITE

One Song. One Day. Your School, More Music.
Thursday September 1, 11.30 am

Have you registered you school for Music. Count Us In yet? Visit the websitewww.musiccountusin.org.au <http://www.musiccountusin.org.au/> to register and access recordings of the song as well as FREE choral, band and classroom arrangements!

FREE teacher workshops will run early next term to introduce teachers to the song and all of resources and support material available.

Geelong, Mt Waverley, Bendigo, Swan Hill, South Gippsland,
Mornington Peninsula, Mitcham, Mildura, Cheltenham,
South Melbourne, Lilydale, Caulfield, Carlton,
Ivanhoe and Wangaratta

For details visit the aMuse website: http://www.amuse.vic.edu.au <http://www.amuse.vic.edu.au/>

Or

Order FREE teaching kits for your school
by emailing Sue Arney MCUI@amuse.vic.edu.au <mailto:MCUI@amuse.vic.edu.au>

To download ‘We’ve Got The Music’, and to register your school, go to www.musiccountusin.org.au<http://www.musiccountusin.org.au/> or check out the wiki http://musiccountusin2011.wikispaces.com<http://musiccountusin2011.wikispaces.com/>

www.jozzbeat.com/MCUI2011/home

This is a fun way to learn / teach the Music: Count Us In song for 2011 (We’ve Got the Music). In fact, the song will teach itself, all ready for the massed-music-making MCUI event on 1st September, 2011.

If you don’t yet have a free login, and have registered for Music: Count Us In, please send an email to mcui.admin@mca.org.au requesting a Jozzbeat login.

ENJOY!!!

One Song. One Day. Your School, More Music.
Music. Count Us In, 2011
Thursday September 1, 11.30 am

‘Music. Count Us In’, run by ‘Music Play for Life’, is on again encouraging teachers and students to sing! Each year the project sees more than 250,000 students, teachers and parents throughout Australia come together to sing and play the same song. It is Australia’s biggest ever simultaneous school music event, and we want to make this year’s event even bigger.

We have a fabulous new song for this year. The title is: ‘We’ve got the Music’. It emerged from a songwriting workshop day involving secondary students which was mentored by some of Australia’s best songwriters: Clare Bowditch, Rai Thistlethwayte (Thirsty Merc), Kav Temperley (Eskimo Joe) and Holly Throsby.

Music. Count Us In is encouraging all teachers to participate by offering FREE professional development online and/or face-to-face teacher workshops to primary schools throughout Victoria. We want to encourage all generalist primary school teachers to participate in this event by giving some simple music teaching ideas to assist in teaching the song.

We invite you and your staff to attend free workshops that will run in the following areas across Victoria:

Geelong, Mt Waverley, Bendigo, Swan Hill, South Gippsland,
Mornington Peninsula, Mitcham, Mildura, Cheltenham,
South Melbourne, Lilydale, Caulfield, Carlton,
Ivanhoe and Wangaratta

For details visit the aMuse website: http://www.amuse.vic.edu.au
Or
Order FREE teaching kits for your school
by emailing Sue Arney MCUI@amuse.vic.edu.au

To download ‘We’ve Got The Music’, and to register your school, go to www.musiccountusin.org.au or check out the wiki http://musiccountusin2011.wikispaces.com

FREE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AVAILABLE IN ALL STATES OF AUSTRALIA – open to Generalist and Specialist teachers. Contact schools.mpfl@mca.org.au

READ ARTICLE HERE

“Harmony is the key to national sing-along” – an article from NSW DET home-page.

‘Hearts in Harmony’ – a ‘fun’tastic community music day for all ages at ACU in Fitzroy, presented by the School of Education, Australian Catholic University (ACU).

This day is open to all ages, backgrounds and abilities – no musical experience is required. Join Jon Madin, Geelong’s local teacher/composer/instrument inventor and play some of his wonderful and wacky instruments such as marimbas, echo cellos, shaker rings and musical bikes.

We are working hard to secure repeat funding for MCUI 2012 … if it proceeds again, it will be Thusrday 6^th Sept, 2012.

Join with us in crossing fingers re. repeat support from the Australian Government.

Go to resource: Horizons is an arts advocacy program run by Youth Arts Queensland. Read more…

The IMC Musical Rights Awards are programmes or projects that support in an exemplary way one or more of the five musical rights enunciated by the International Music Council. The overall 2011 winner of the IMC Musical Award, chosen from a  number of highly praised projects, was MCA’s Music. Play for Life. READ MORE HERE

MCA’s Music: Play for Life program was the outright winner of the International Music Council’s Musical Rights Awards for the biennium 2010-11. The IMC’s platform is based on five musical rights which in turn are based upon UN covenants such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and various subsequent offshoots. They include the right to a music education, to participation in one’s own culture, to freedom of expression through music.

Music: Play for Life supports most of those rights through its programs to build opportunities for music education and musical opportunities in communities.

Music: Play for Life Manager Tina Broad travelled to Estonia to receive the award. She gave a vivid presentation of the program. It succeeded against competition from a number of other wonderful programs, including the ‘Polifonia’ Network of the European Association of Conservatoires, the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq, Hearts in Harmony project in Barcelona, Espace Akto in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Hong Kong Institute of Education’s program, Teaching Cantonese Opera in Hong Kong Schools.

Music: Play for Life includes programs such as Music: Count Us In, the Flame Awards, the musiceducation.edu.au website, the More Music Toolkit website, the Music in Communities Network, and Awards, the Making Music Being Well national event, and more. A pretty formidable line-up.

Go to resource: The International Music Council, founded by UNESCO in 1949, advocates for musical diversity and cultural rights worldwide. Read more…

Community Music SA has invited MiCN to host a meeting in McLaren Vale. Along with Pat Rix (founder and artistic director of Tutti Ensemble and winner of 2008 MiCN Awards) MiCN mentors will present on a range of music leadership topics including music and wellbeing.

Email: tony.micn@mca.org.au

June 25th, 2011 from 10.30am

McLaren Vale, South Australia

http://musicincommunities.org.au/register/coming-events/mclaren-vale

Have you signed up yet to be part of Making Music Being Well?

This national initiative, which takes place from 16 – 22 May, is a collaboration between
Music: Play for Life and the Australian Music Therapy Association and it’s all about a grassroots celebration of the links between music making and wellbeing.

When you register to participate – it’s FREE – we’ll send you event posters, stickers and brochures and you’ll get access to lots of downloadable resources including event planning and promotional tips.

How you participate is up to you.  The best way to be involved is to take something you may already have planned for that week and hitch it to the national wagon of Making Music Being Well 2011. You don’t have to do something on every day during the week – one event is enough. Your event will be outlined on the MMBW website and you and your group members or students will be helping to shine the national spotlight on an important fact: music is good for you!

Here are a few ideas based on previous years:

• Open the doors to the community for your rehearsal that falls within the MMBW week and turn it into a free performance.
• Take your choir or group to a nursing home, hospital or school.
• Organise a big sing at your workplace.
• Turn a school assembly into a musical celebration and tell students and parents about the value and benefits of making music.
• Convene a drum circle in your school playground.
• Run an open mic session at your local pub or club.
• Organise a gathering of community music leaders and organisers in your area and discuss how you could pool resources and share skills.

Register to be part of it at www.makingmusicbeingwell.org.au

Don’t forget – registration for our biggest school music initiative, Music: Count Us In, opens soon too!

Have you signed up yet to be part of Making Music Being Well?

This national initiative, which takes place from 16 – 22 May, is a collaboration between Music: Play for Life and the Australian Music Therapy Association and it’s all about a grassroots celebration of the links between music making and wellbeing.

When you register to participate – it’s FREE – we’ll send you event posters, stickers and brochures and you’ll get access to lots of downloadable resources including event planning and promotional tips. How you participate is up to you.

The best way to be involved is to take something you may already have planned for that week and hitch it to the national wagon of Making Music Being Well 2011. You don’t have to do something on every day during the week – one event is enough. Your event will be outlined on the MMBW website and you and your group members or students will be helping to shine the national spotlight on an important fact: music is good for you!

Here are a few ideas based on previous years: Open the doors to the community for your rehearsal that falls within the MMBW week and turn it into a free performance. Take your choir or group to a nursing home, hospital or school. Organise a big sing at your workplace. Turn a school assembly into a musical celebration and tell students and parents about the value and benefits of making music. Convene a drum circle in your school playground. Run an open mic session at your local pub or club. Organise a gathering of community music leaders and organisers in your area and discuss how you could pool resources and share skills.

Register to be part of it at www.makingmusicbeingwell.org.au

AND … don’t forget – registration for our biggest school music initiative, Music: Count Us In, opens soon too!

March 2011 Newsletter from Music. Play for Life:

http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=c1f6cd5eedcfc179f2fbf0c0a&id=48151e0899&e=5c175b5519

Resound, Count Yourself In (Sept 1st, 2011), Community Music Leaders Awards, Music Network for community musicians, Music and health, Musicians with disability, Stickers & posters

conference details

9 – 13 July, 2011

Maryborough, Qld

Knowledge Base – a searchable treasure chest of articles and information on all topics to do with the Music Sector in Australia. Use the search bottom in the far left column to search (ie. type ‘education’ in the search box).

Music-related topics include education & training, copyright, funding, venues, research and information services.

A FREE online tool to help teachers/parents get MORE music in Australian schools.

http://moremusictoolkit.org.au/

Just launched – check it out!

Includes case studies from award-winning Australian schools, as well as practical advice on overcoming potential hurdles.

There are now 50 schools written up on the More Music Toolkit. Browse away! Be inspired!!

Let us know if you like what you see … schools.mpfl@mca.org.au

HERE is some free advice on being a musician in 2012 – from the Music Career wiki.

Go to resource: The Music Council of Australia (MCA) is a 50-member Australian music peak body. Its purpose is to bring together all members of the music community to provide a diverse and active musical life in Australia (including music education). Read more…

http://www.musiccountusin.org.au/remository?func=select&id=45

The 2011 (free) Teaching Kit for “We’ve Got the Music” just went online. It features free lesson ideas and teaching resources for Primary and Middle School classes, as well as brilliant ideas for inclusion and special needs. It is designed for generalist classroom teachers and music teachers alike.

All feedback welcome. Bring on 1st September 2011!!

If you haven’t signed up, please do, then you’ll be able to view the Teaching Kit.

Watch this space – the teaching kit for Music Count Us In 2011 is coming soon. It’s full of free ideas to enhance music education delivery in your school, including cross-curricular lesson ideas. Many free ensemble charts are already on the website www.musiccountusin.org.au . Don’t be scared of signing up – it’s really easy!

Go to resource: The Childrens Music Workshop provides instrumental education programs to schools in the Los Angeles area using CMW curricula.

Read more…

Entries for the 2011 Music in Communities Awards Now Open!

Theme: Local Links – Community Music Connects the Dots

$10,000 prize pool

The Awards salute, celebrate and reward Australia’s most effective and well-connected community music organisations.

Entries are now being accepted for the 2011 Music in Communities Awards. We’ve set this year’s theme in recognition that the best community music making does not happen in isolation. It depends on effective networking, collaboration and cooperation.

This year we are celebrating and rewarding creative and inspiring connections, partnerships and relationships that music groups have nurtured in and beyond their local community.

The Awards are open to all forms of music groups including choirs, bands, orchestras, ukulele groups and drum circles; as well as community and volunteer organisations delivering and supporting music programs in communities; local Councils; schools and individuals.

• Does your music group collaborate with a local organisation to do things you couldn’t have done on your own?
• Have you formed a partnership with your local council?
• Have you negotiated funding or support through a non-arts related government agency to develop projects with social outcomes?
• Has your group shown some ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking when seeking to form partnerships and build relationships?
• Does your group have a mutually beneficial relationship with a local school?

If you can answer ‘yes’ to any one of those questions we’d love to hear about it! You’ll be in with a chance to take your share of $10,000 for your group.

Entries are accepted online at www.musicincommunities.org.au Go here to read more about the awards, read case studies of previous award winners and view the terms and conditions and the entry instructions.

Entries close on Monday 24th October 2011 so hurry and enter now!

Music in Communities Awards: entries close on Monday!

Want to win $10,000 for your community music group or project?

Tell us about the ways in which partnerships and collaborations have made a difference to what you do, by entering the 2011 Music in Communities Awards.

The online entry process closes Monday 24th October at midnight, so be quick.

MiCN (Music in Communities Network) is coming to Wollongong for a jam packed day of networking, professional development and music making! Tour the newly referbished Town Hall and discuss performance opportunities with venue management, join in a marketing workshop, learn how to get your group onto the front page, hear from inspirational community music leaders and learn the strategies and methods behind their success.

Email: tony.micn@mca.org.au

When: May 14th, 2011 9:30 am to 4:30 pm

http://musicincommunities.org.au/register/coming-events/wollongong

Go to resource: The Music Outback Foundation provides music education experiences to remote Indigenous schools.

Read more…

Go to resource: Music. Count Us In is a music advocacy event that draws attention to the value of music education in schools. Read more…

Go to resource: Music. Play for Life is a program established by the Music Council of Australia, in partnership with the Australian Music Association and the Australian Society for Music Education. Read more…

http://www.musiccountusin.org.au/

This year’s program song is about to hit the air-waves. Registration is being accepted by schools for the 2011 massed singing event on September 1st, 2011 @ 11.30am (AEST).

Associated free lesson plans, teaching kits, free MP3, sheet music, and instrumental arrangements will soon be available via the website.

Signing up via the website is free and easy!! http://www.musiccountusin.org.au/

It’s official – Music: Play for Life is a world-beater! The campaign has been named OVERALL WINNER of the IMC Musical Rights Awards 2011, presented in Estonia.

Read all about it HERE.

MusicNSW announcement: one final round of Quick Response Grants is still open for applications

The Quick Response Grants were created to support artists and managers in developing their export and international support opportunities, and has been significant in assisting many artists in achieving their touring and showcasing goals.

This program focuses on attendance at Australian conferences and trade fairs as a means to developing relationships in international markets prior to travelling overseas, and to assist in the development of business skills and a national audience. It is also available to support career-defining opportunities that would otherwise be cost prohibitive to artists, which may consist of major support opportunities or other key showcase events.

Submissions can only be made by artists (and/ or their managers) based in NSW. All applicants must be Australian citizens or have permanent residence status in Australia.

Applications are open now, and are due on October 30, 2011.

www.moremusictoolkit.org.au/advocacy-tools

New PowerPoint just uploaded – please check out the latest music advocacy tool – helping to get more music into more Australian schools.

If you test run it on School Executives and/or Parent & Teacher Committees, please let us know how you go! schools.mpfl@mca.org.au

Dick Letts (MCA) has just published an open letter to the Australian community – calling for more Music education and more teacher training (in music) for Australian schools and teachers. Read it here (top link). Distribute it to newspapers, P&C committees, school executives, blogs …

Go to resource: Professional Development for Teachers, run by WEYA in Western Victoria, consists of workshops on arts education and advocacy. Read more…

Congratulations to the 2 winners of 2011 ReCount competition:

Bill Okwalo – Heathdale Christian College

Jack James Cockerall – Castlemaine Secondary College

Bill’s remix of “We’ve Got the Music” was in the style of space techno with plenty of SFX. The remix was faster, used fragments of the original horn & vocal parts, and added lots of new content.

Jack’s remix featured a new electric guitar opening and a whole new accompaniment, while maintaining the style of an anthem. The original vocal stem files were used but had been carefully cut & re-arranged to create a brand new melody.

The following 4 students were runners up:

Alyx Livingston, Bianca Redfern, Jordan Pezzimenti, Ryan Winslade

These students were rated ‘highly commended‘ by our judges:

Angus Gill, Jedd McCallum, Acacia Coates, Sarah Butler

The judges were impressed by the variety and creativity of remixes – from country to rap, from punk to orchestral fusion. All ten finalists receive Zoom digital recording equipment. Well done!!

Go to resource: Regional Arts Australia represents artists in regional, rural, and remote Australia. Read more…

The intention of the kit is to provide arguments and methods for school parents and school music teachers to establish music programs in schools where there are none, and gain greater support for music programs in schools where they already exist.

CLICK HERE http://www.musicplayforlife.org/index.php/resources/lobby

Here is a list of scholarships available to Australian students (many are music-related).

smag-schoolmusicactiongroup.blogspot.com

SMAG is a Victorian-based advocacy group, pushing for more music in Australian schools. This website contains blogs about their latest activities, and links to policy documents.

Go to resource: The Society for Music Teacher Education (USA) is part of the National Association for Music Education (MENC), and is particularly aimed at music teachers. Read more…

http://www.strikeachordforchildren.org/

“Strike a Chord” aims to provide music / instruments to disadvantaged / disabled Australian students. Why? Because music is SO beneficial!

acmf.com.au/results/

The above website links to the 2011 prize-winners of the Australian Children’s Music Foundation song-writing competition. Categories catered for students aged 5 through to 18. LESSON IDEA: Listen to the winning songs (from the website) for each class’s age-category and discuss the strengths and musical elements of each winning song.

If you are an Australian school / campus wanting to get more music into your school / program, please surf around the following website and email me with feedback (as to how useful the site was or was not!) www.moremusictoolkit.org.au

Emails to schools.mpfl@mca.org.au

THANKS!

Go to resource: The National Association for Music Education (MENC) is a US organisation dedicated to supporting music education in schools. Read more…

Go to resource: The Song Room offers music programs to school students, particularly those who have no access to music teachers, and disadvantaged students. Their aim is to create self-sustaining music programs in schools. Read more…

www.musiceducationonline.org/

Includes a PowerPoint presentation about the benefits of music education.

We’ve got the Music & Music: Count Us In online resources are up and going, Jozzbeat-style. They are accessed via this page:

www.jozzbeat.com/MCUI2011/home

Jozzbeat will give each school a free log-in (after the school has registered for Music: Count Us In at www.musiccountusin.org.au)

OR

Existing customers of Jozzbeat that come through as MCUI registrees can just use their existing JozzBeat website password/username to access the resources.

Grab a group of kids, log on, learn the song, add some percussion, and have a fun lesson

Go to resource: Youth Arts Queensland is an organisation that supports young and emerging artists in Queensland. Read more…