News Updates

NAMM Awarded for Supporting Lifelong Learning

On January 20, 2012, The International Society for Music Education (ISME) gave the inaugural ISME Global Sonar Award to the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) and the NAMM Foundation for invaluable support to ongoing efforts to understand, celebrate and promote music learning across the lifespan during the SupportMusic Coalition international webcast at the 2012 NAMM Show in Anaheim, California. Read the article on ISME's website

NAMM supported the inaugural Music in Communities Awards, which has since gone on to become a key part of the Music in Communities Network and an important national award which recognises exemplary work in community music across Australia.  Thanks NAMM and congratulations on the award. 

Click here to read more about the NAMM Foundation.

Click here to read more about the most recent of our Music in Communities Awards.

Australia Day Honours 2012

Congratulations to everyone listed on the Australia Day Honours list this year, particularly those making a difference in their musical community. 

Among them are Mr John Graham CHRISTMASS (WA), recognised for his service to Music Education in Western Australia, and to choral performance. As well as his years of work as an educator he established The New I Voci Singers, Northam Bel Canto Singers, Northam Choral Society, Western Australian Secondary Schools' Choral Festival, and has been involved in many other musical activities in schools and the community.  Another great contributor to community choral music, Mrs Shirley Edith GREEN (QLD), has also been recognised for her years of involvement with the Yeppoon Choral Society, since 1965, including her roles as founding member, Musical Director, President and now a Life Member.

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Monday’s medical myth: play Mozart to boost your baby’s IQ

This article was originally published at The Conversation. Read the original article.

By Michael Vagg, Clinical Senior Lecturer at Deakin University School of Medicine & Pain Specialist at Barwon Health

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Children should be taught to play music themselves rather than just listening to it. Naruco

What parent can pass up the chance to boost their child’s intelligence by putting on some nice classical music?

The popular idea that IQ scores can be raised by listening to Mozart is a case study in how a cultural meme can be created almost overnight, if the right societal and economic factors are in place.

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A response to the National Cultural Policy

One of the recommendations that was conceived during discussions at the recent Music in Communities Network national conference and the community music breakout sessions at the Music Council of Australia Assembly was:

That MiCN feeds a submission into the MCA’s response to the National Cultural Policy discussion paper and prepares its own stand alone response to the paper.

As well as having input into the MCA's response to the National Cultural Policy discussion paper, we have prepared two documents:

These responses have now been submitted but further comment is always welcome. Any comments or feedback can be emailed to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Postcards from our Red Centre: MiCN Mentor Peter Lowson blogs from Alice Springs

2010 MiCN Award winner, Peter Lowson, has been working with Indigenous Youth and Adult education programs since 1983. In 2004 he started Drum Atweme, initially as a means of encourage school attendance. The program uses a variety of percussion instruments. Although primarily Afro-Cuban and Brazilian influenced, the rhythms are worked around the songs and stories of the indigenous participants’ culture. The program has transformed the lives of countless Alice Springs town camp-based children. Far exceeding its initial aims to help ameliorate social isolation and low self-esteem, children also show improvements across all their school subjects. Peter’s strong mentoring and peer leadership program within the drumming project has now resulted in 13 of the children attending boarding schools interstate. It is hoped that these children will return to the Alice Springs community as the leaders of the future.

We join Peter just as he has returned from a week long camp out at Uluru. Follow Peter throughout October as he takes us inside his uplifting and effective program as it changes young lives.

Follow Peter's blog here.

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