News Updates

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.

Explore the transformative power of music!

Seven Case Studies in Music Therapy

NEW! From Music: Play for Life and the Australian Music Therapy Association, a resource which provides insight to the work of seven music therapists, each working in diverse ways in different locations across the country. Each case study also provides a research summary about why music works so well in the particular context - for example in palliative care or in special education.

You can find the case studies here available for download as as easily shared .pdf files.

Enjoy!

MiCN Mentor recognised as Festival wins APRA award.

Moorambilla Voices and the Moorambilla Festival, have won the inaugural NSW State award for excellence for an organisation at the 2011 APRA/AMCOS Australian Music Centre Art Music Awards at a Gala Event held in Sydney.

Artisitc Director, Michelle Leonard, founded the festival over 6 years ago and from humble beginnings the festival has experienced remarkable growth. “We had no idea! it was such a fabulous honour.” says Michelle, “It’s so wonderful when something so lovely turns up to remind me it's all worth it!”