Turning up the music for youth in Queenstown
Today, we’re shining a light on Turn Up the Music Trust and all they do for our Queenstown community. Turn Up the Music has fostered, nurtured and supported music in our district for over 4 years, giving hundreds of young students the opportunity to experience music and the wonderful ways it benefits life.
Now with 19 music teachers, over 14 instruments being taught and around 200 students currently enrolled (with many more on the waiting list!), Turn Up the Music is doing a fantastic job of spreading music throughout our community. For more information on all that the Trust is doing in the lives of our younger generation, read on!
“The benefits of music education are well-established and profound, providing skills that foster creativity, strong memory and adaptability – as well as resilience and social integration.”
A charitable trust and music school in Queenstown, Turn Up the Music is dedicated to giving our younger generation the opportunity to enrich their lives through music. They provide quality music teaching, music making, performance opportunities and events, showing youth the value and benefits of learning music with a practical, hands-on approach.
In short, music improves people’s lives. And it’s their goal to help all children make music by providing lessons for all ages. Children can progress from preschool groups to subsidised group instrument lessons, to after-school individual instrumental lessons and onwards to bands, orchestras and choirs.
Their flagship initiatives include:
A music school catering for the diverse music learning needs of the local community
Music outreach programmes in primary schools and at Wakatipu High School
Annual performances for the students
The establishment of subsidised group instrument lessons
Financial support for families in need towards music lessons for children
The provision of specialist music teaching
The support and provision of work and performance opportunities for local musicians.
This year, Turn Up the Music is focusing on increasing its reach in the community and offering opportunities to a wider range of ages and abilities. But many may not be aware of all they do, the real benefits of music education and how best to support their efforts.
TRY OUT THE MUSIC
In Term One, a new programme called Try Out the Music launched. This was aimed at children aged 4-10 years with little or no music experience. During the programme, the students learn the fundamentals of music theory and try out a range of instruments taught by qualified music teachers.
This term the group of 20 students had the opportunity to experience the following instruments:
Saxophone
Violin
Trumpet/brass
Guitar
Recorder
Flute
Drums
Glockenspiel
After receiving 38 responses for Term One, there will be two programmes running in Term Two. To make this happen, Turn Up the Music has received partial funding from Community Trust South and Aotearoa Gaming Trust, and has made up the rest with funds from generous donors.
GROUPS
Turn Up the Music is currently running eight different group lesson options:
Magical Music with Erica for ages 2-5
Beginner Guitar for ages 8+
Advanced Guitar for ages 8+
Ukulele for ages 7+
Sing, Move, Play & Groove for ages 5&6
Turn Up the Music Junior Band
Turn Up the Music Orchestra
Concert Band
All of these groups are subsidised to make them affordable and accessible to all children in our community. In total these groups currently have about 70 students registered for Term One. Youthtown and the Creative Communities Scheme partially fund these groups, with generous donors providing additional funds.
INDIVIDUAL LESSONS
Turn Up the Music has 18 teachers currently providing individual lessons, and 13 of them are fully booked with students for Term One. In total, their teachers are teaching about 130 students and offering lessons for 14 different instruments.
SCHOLARSHIPS AND SUBSIDIES
Turn Up the Music is proud to support three more students this year with a full scholarship. These students are Maia, aged 7, who is a singer and songwriter; Mitchell, aged 11, who is a guitarist; and Rina, aged 10, who is a pianist. All three of these students have been identified by their teachers as having a natural musical talent, have proven to be passionate and committed, and are considered to be up-and-coming musicians in our community.
The applications for financial support this year increased by 50% from last year. Last year, Turn Up the Music supported 31 families in Term One. This year, that increased to 47 families. All of these families are experiencing financial strain and would struggle to keep their children in individual lessons without this support. The trust is able to offer these scholarships and subsidies thanks to generous corporate and private donors.
EVENTS
Turn Up the Music is supporting the Wakatipu High School Musical, Rock Apocalypse, running from 29 March – 1 April. They will also run a showcase again this year where the public can meet some of the teachers, watch teachers and students perform, and try out some instruments. Final details to be confirmed.
In short, Turn Up the Music is a trust enriching the lives of around 200 children, their families and the community at large. If you would like to support the trust, make a donation or get in touch with the team for more information.
“I would teach children music, physics, and philosophy; but most importantly music, for the patterns in music and all the arts are the keys to learning.” – Plato
Posted: 13 April 2023
