Peebles Concert Band

I’m looking forward to giving the keynote address for the Australian National Choral Association - Queensland and Northern Territory Conference in Brisbane on Friday. I’ll be giving my keynote via Zoom, and anyone can buy a ticket for it. Here is the link: trybooking.com/events/landin…

I’ll never in a million years ever tire of the way making music can bring a group of people together. People of different ages, ability levels, professions, and social groups, all together pursuing the most awesome of common goals - beauty. There’s just no feeling like it.

Producing professional musicians is a bonus. Producing people who have a lifelong love of music and music-making is the ultimate goal. For when they leave school with a love of music and music-making, then everything else in life becomes more manageable. Music is for everyone.

It’s not just the performance. It’s the individual practice, the sectionals, the rehearsals, the travelling to the performance, the preparing for the performance, the pre-performance nerves, and the post-performance elation. It’s the whole package that makes music so special.

Hopefully the plans of the school will also be extended to not only meet the most basic needs of our young people, but also their aspirational needs. As I always say - you don’t save money by reducing the quality of education provided to young people.

My local council are planning to build a new school that my children will one day attend. The plans defy logic and aren’t fit for purpose, with the most concerning aspect being no auditorium or school hall of any kind. I’m seriously concerned for the education of my children.

The sense of family and sense of community provided by choirs and music ensembles is vitally important to the health and well-being of so many people. It provides such an invaluable lifeline. There are so many layers to the importance of Music Education.

When you watch young people making music together, it becomes abundantly clear that young people should be given every opportunity to make music together, as often as possible. The benefits are immeasurable, the joy is immeasurable, and the sense of togetherness is immeasurable.

At the end of each week, I like to take a moment to remember just how lucky I am to be a music teacher. What a pleasure and joy it is. What an honour and responsibility it is. What an amazing job it is to get to bring music into the lives of young people, each and every day.

Babies love music. Toddlers love music. Children love music. Adolescents love music. Teenagers love music. Young adults love music. Adults love music. The elderly love music. From the very beginning to the very end, music is there accompanying our lives. How wonderful it is.

Fill a school with music and it becomes better. Fill an education with music and it becomes better. Fill a life with music and it becomes better. Fill a community with music and it becomes better. If you want to make something better, put music right at the heart of it.

Music undoubtedly has the power to change the lives of our young. When I was at school, I was shy, bullied, and lacking purpose. Music saved me. It filled me with confidence, surrounded me with friends, and lit a passion that still burns today. Music is music, and so much more.

Being involved in any aspect of Music Education is a joy and a delight. Having said that, there is (and always will be) something very special about Community Music. All ages, all walks of life, all coming together to make music together, and to grow together. It’s so wonderful.