Communities
WITH COMMUNITIES
FOR COMMUNITIES
BY COMMUNITIES
The Queensland Music Festival works closely with communities across the State to ignite artistic potential and make the joy of music accessible to all.
Over the next three years, six long-term projects are being undertaken, from the iconic Hidden Republic event that opened the 2009 Festival, to the final Song Trails concert at the end of the road. This diverse group of projects in Cooktown, Charleville, Thursday Island, the Whitsunday Coast and Song Trails and Score IT! is all about helping communities tell their own stories.
The performance events for these projects only tell a small part of the story. Both before and after the 2009 Festival, teams of creative professionals including musicians, composers, producers, technicians and teachers are spending time in communities to unearth compelling stories, identify local talent and develop skills.
Bowen Sing Sing is the first chapter of a three-year project tracing the rich heritage of the Australian South Sea Islander community. Inspired by the incredible history of this community in Queensland, QMF is working with ASSI communities in the Whitsunday Region towards developing a major music theatre work for the 2011 Festival.
In Charleville, The Road We’re On, for example, has had an incredible community response, the rich tapestry of local lore and local talent culminating in something far greater than what could have been imagined.
The Island Song Workshops with Torres Strait Islander artists have been taking place on Thursday Island since April.
Secondary students, emerging and established community artists have had the opportunity to work with some of the nation’s best-known talent — including members of the Black Arm Band gaining valuable experience in songwriting, performance and recording. Over the next three years we will be able to see this progress, as plans unfold for a major Torres Strait Islander performance at the next Festival in 2011.
Secondary students in remote regions of Western and Far North Queensland have benefited from workshops on film composition, to encourage participation in Score IT! Providing skills development opportunities that are generally only accessible in major metropolitan areas is another way of working with communities to ensure their voices are heard. Similarly, Song Trails brings top singer songwriters to regional communities, where aspiring artists can develop their craft and gain inspiration.
In Cooktown, Laid in Earth is a particularly proud achievement, as QMF was invited back by the community following the 2007 creation of the Musical Ship, to help build skills that will ensure the longevity of the local choirs in Cooktown and Hope Vale. During the months leading up to the Festival, Musician in Residence Daniel Rojas prepared these community choirs to perform alongside Sarah Blasko in the very successful world premiere Laid in Earth production in August.
