Dear Friend of Music

Welcome . . .

Welcome to this Autumn edition of Musicnotes - we hope you had a happy and safe Easter break. So the year is well under way and we're sure that you are enjoying your teaching and that your students are singing, dancing and playing!

What's been happening?

We have been busy little beavers as usual - we were recently in Singapore conducting workshops for the lovely teachers and children from 'Pat's Schoolhouse' who we are pleased to see really embrace music as an important part of their program. We also whipped up to Kuala Lumpur in the middle to present 'The 7 Keys to a Successful Music Program' for the Opus Academy of Music, as well as a full day workshop for teachers. So it was full on but also very rewarding and we look forward to going back to both Singapore and KL in the future.

Susie and Phil with friends during their recent visit to Singapore (click any image to enlarge)

On the day we returned from Singapore, Susie presented at the 'Living Music and Dance' conference put on by VOSA, which was well attended given it was on Thursday and Friday this year, rather than Friday and Saturday.

Susie has also been teaching Tertiary students at the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne on most Fridays and will be continuing this during term 2, while Phil is doing weekly music classes for babies up to 5 year olds at the Clarendon St Child Care Centre in South Melbourne.

Warren Wills, world-renowned composer, arranger, pianist and musical director from the UK was in Melbourne in February and he conducted a fabulous improvisation and composition Masterclass which was enjoyed immensely by the lucky participants. Of course being Susie's younger brother helps to explain Warren's talent and passion for music!

We had the pleasure of presenting a show for 5-9 year olds at the Concorde school in Bundoora recently, which is a special day school for children with mild intellectual disabilities.  The children totally embraced the music and were singing, dancing, laughing and playing, and it's fair to say we all had a lot of fun! (see What People are Saying below)

Fun activities at the Concorde School (click any image to enlarge)

Vale Jenny Fogarty

Some of you may have known Jenny Fogarty - founder and director of 'Mini Maestros' - who passed away recently after a very short battle with cancer. We have known Jenny and her family for many years and she was a true pioneer in the field of music programs for children, and a great inspiration to us and many others. She will be sadly missed. We are looking to set up a scholarship in her name through VOSA, to be presented at this year's ECCPA. Our warmest wishes and sincere condolences to the family which not only includes Jenny's husband and children but the entire Mini Maestros family, who we know will continue all the great work that Jenny started all those years ago.

What's new?

Our new album 'Sing, Jam & Jive' is now out and about and if you haven't got a copy yet you can now hear 'soundbytes' of some of the songs here on our website.

Our new compilation series 'Take Orff with Jazz' is also proving very popular as each of the three albums contain a stack of jazzy selections from the 'Welcome to Music' series which a lot of teachers find very convenient.

What's coming up?

In Victoria, we will be presenting professional development 'PLAYshops' at Croydon in May, Oak Park in June, Brunswick in July - Improvisation course (see below for details) and Bendigo in August.  We will be in Sydney in May, and we will be presenting at the Maryboroough teacher's conference in Queensland in July and then in Brisbane in August. The it's over to WA in September. Please check out our calender below and remember to register early and take advantage of the early bird savings!

ECCPA

The 11th Early Childhood Conference for the Performing Arts (ECCPA) is on in June (16 and 17) at Gennazzano College in Kew and once again promises to be a fabulous weekend.This a must for preschool and primary teachers, caregivers, family day care workers, therapists, parents and anyone working with young children up to 8 wanting to know more about teaching music and/or drama. There will be some of Australi's top presenters plus special international guests, a fabulous Saturday evening dinner and entertainment and a comprehensive trade display.  

Register now and save -  Early bird closes May 18!

For more information or to register click here..... www.vosa.org      

‘The Joy of Jammin’ –
an ORFF based Improvisation Course

Sun 1st – Thurs 5th July, 2007    
Venue in Melbourne – TBC
presented by Susie Davies-Splitter         
9.30 – 4pm, 25 hrs

Would you like to;

• Overcome the fear of improvisation
• Develop simple strategies for effective improvisation using pentatonic scales, modes, the blues scale and pieces with simple harmonic progressions
• Make sense of simple lead sheets and chord symbols
• Understand the role and function of the rhythm section
• Learn about bass vamps and the 12 bar blues
• Learn how to arrange in an Orff style
• Take your aural skills to a new level
• Feel confident and experience the joy of jammin’ in any situation
• Feel confident to help others create and express themselves through improvisation in your work place

Anyone can do it –all you need is a basic music background.

Who can do the course?
Teachers and student teachers from a range of teaching settings – studio or classroom at preschool, primary, secondary and tertiary level. Also, Music Therapists, caregivers, parents, community workers, health and performing arts practitioners and anyone who has some basic music background and has the desire to improve their improvisational skills, knowledge and musical confidence.

Assessment will include written, practical tasks and peer teaching.

Course Content
The course will provide an Orff Schulwerk based approach for teaching improvisation through speech, singing, movement, games, playing percussion instruments and the participants’ instruments of choice.

It will cover activities from a range of music styles such as - jazz, blues, gospel, Latin, Klezmer, African and folk music. The repertoire will be applicable to early childhood, primary, secondary, therepeutic and community settings.

The sequence of scales and chord progressions will be followed from the Margaret Murray ‘Music for Children’ Series (brown books) and then extended beyond this. Practice of repertoire and improvisation will be expected throughout the course. Demonstrations by experts in various styles of improvisation will be offered with opportunity for participants to jam.

Presented by VOSA. For more information contact Glenys Gijsbers at glenys@stockdaleacs.com.au  or www.vosa.org

Marimba Camp

20-22nd July 2007 at Candlebark Farm, Healesville

MOSAIC (National Orff Conference)

January 6-11 2008 at Toorak College, Mt Eliza with special guests Andrea Ostertag (Salzburg), Keith Terry (USA), Christoph Maubach (Australia) and Rodrigo Fernandez (Germany)

For more information contact Glenys Gijsbers - VOSA Administrator, at

glenys@stockdaleacs.com.au OR www.vosa.org

Susie and Phil on tour - 2007

We are booking in Professional Development workshops for teachers, Artist in School programs, children’s shows, workshops and classes for preschools and schools, performances for festivals and Musikeynotes for conferences – see below for more info.

We can send you detailed information and a costing tailor-made for your individual situation. If you would like to make a booking for 2007 please contact us at info@welcometomusic.net 

Notes:
Venue details to be confirmed prior to each event.
Workshops marked * are offered by 3rd parties - enquiries and/or bookings should be directed to the email addresses shown.
All details are subject to change and will be confirmed at time of booking.

Susie's soapbox

Susie has come across a really interesting article for you  to read  on 'Upping the Tempo on Music Education'  -  Media Release – by Julie Bishop  6 March 2007

"The Minister for Education, Science and Training, the Hon Julie Bishop MP,
today released the report from the National Music Workshop, which promotes
the benefits of music education in Australian schools.....  "  
For more click here

What people are saying  

29.3.07                      
Hi Susie and Phil,
 
A HUGE thank-you for coming and performing for our students on Monday.  The students thoroughly enjoyed the show, and it was AMAZING to see some of our older boys leaving their inhibitions behind and participating in all aspects of your show.  It is often hard to motivate some of our boys but your show provided the stimulation, humour and active participation that was needed to help them to relax, and enjoy music and performance.
 
We have put up a display of photos from your performance in our performing arts room which has quickly become a popular discussion point!  The staff who attended the performance were most impressed and some in awe!  
 
Thank-you again for visiting our school, and we look forward to continuing to use your music and resources as the back bone to our performing arts program.
 
Kirsten Coulter
Concord School, Melbourne

23.3.07                      
Hi Susie!
 
I was in the Get Orff Singing session that you led
today (Friday 23 March), and I enjoyed the session immensely - I felt so
good afterwards it was like I had been meditating or
had had a massage! The power of song!
 
I really loved the way you began the session and went
what felt like quite a way into it without verbalising
to us, just using your expressions and gestures, with
the few words you spoke being really just a vocal
invitation to us to join in. Somehow it helped to
flatten the inhibitions, and allowed a group of near
strangers to sing their hearts out together! I know
how restorative singing feels, yet like most people I
forget to make time to include it in my daily life,
and the session served as a refreshing reminder that
to sing, especially in a group, is a very healing and
unifying experience.
 
Thanks again!
The session was inspirational!
 
Regards,
Zoe Smith
 (LaTrobe Uni)

"Ask Susie" - question and comments

If you would like to ask Susie about anything relating to music education, send an email to susie@welcometomusic.net  and we will attempt to answer it for you.

On-line shopping now available!

On our website you will also find sample songs and pages from our teacher's  manuals, PLUS we now have on line shopping for your convenience – It's quick and easy and school orders and credit cards are welcome – check it out  here!

Yours in harmony,

Susie and Phil

PS: If you know another teacher, caregiver or parent who might enjoy reading this newsletter, please pass it on to and suggest that they subscribe as well.

What is MusicNotes?

MusicNotes is our eNewsletter for preschool and primary teachers, caregivers, parents, therapists, community members and anyone who loves music and is passionate about music for children and all people - regardless of age or background!

MusicNotes is filled with useful information, music resources updates, workshop and event information, articles on music education and even an Ask Susie question and comments forum.

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Susie and Phil's 'Welcome to Music'  
Susie Davies-Splitter and Phil Splitter
PO Box 268 East Bentleigh  Victoria, 3165, Australia
Ph: 1300 769 803   Fax: 1300 769 805
info@welcometomusic.net
www.welcometomusic.net