Music education blog:
After the black summer bushfires that devastated so much of the bushland and wildlife in our region and beyond, we embarked on creating a video for the members of our Bega Valley Youth Orchestra and Bega Valley Youth Choir and this is what we came up with. So proud of our students!
I dreamed of rain - Bega Valley Youth Orchestra and Bega Valley Youth Choir:
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During the Covid-19 lockdown in our region we decided to make another video with the Bega Valley Youth Orchestra and Bega Valley Youth Choir. This song is called "The sound of our home". We really wanted to stay connected with each other musically so we decided to do it virtually from our own homes. This is what we came up with :-)
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We are so thrilled to be playing music and rehearsing together face to face again. And what a treat for our Bega Valley Youth Orchestra to be playing with some of the members of the Sydney Youth Orchestra. They had a wonderful rehearsal with the SYO and got to perform together with them at the fabulous Four Winds Youth Festival in Bermagui! Check out the video below:
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Summer Strings Camp:
We are feeling very fortunate to be able to host a summer strings camp this year. It's 2021 and we are in the middle of a pandemic but luckily we have no cases in our area. Our students had a great time playing chamber music, improvising and playing in an orchestra together. Hopefully this is just the start of many more wonderful things to come.
Summer strings general rehearsal:
See video below for the full video of our summer strings concert:
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We made the news!! Here is a lovely article written by Lisa Herbert for About Regional
Link:
Nurturing Bega Valley's music one string at a time
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Monday 29 March 2021:
The year 3 class at Mumbulla Steiner School in Bega started learning violin, viola and cello this year. I decided to teach them the tune Boogie Bass by David Brooker. In just 6 weeks they learned how to play it with some support on melody from year 4, year 5 and year 6 students. It was a blast! I provided scaffolded parts and mp3's to practice with and taught the students to read and learn by ear. So happy to see their enjoyment and eager to learn faces. An absolute delight!
Thursday 24 June 2021:
The Sesame Street Theme Song played by years 3, 4, 5 and 6 Mumbulla Primary School strings program. Here's a snippet from the end of Term 2 concert.
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Bega Valley Youth Orchestra:
The Bega Valley Youth Orchestra is a brand new orchestra founded in 2020. It has been a successful year. We now wish to grow and be able to offer instruments and scholarships to students in need.
The Bega Valley Youth Orchestra was founded in February 2020. It currently consists of two string ensembles: a beginner ensemble and an advanced ensemble (highschoolers). We meet weekly and are working towards a Youth Festival performance in November.We are looking to expand the orchestra by attracting more kids to string instruments as well as holding extra masterclass days.
We need funding to offer scholarships for families in need and to provide smaller instruments to kids just starting out. Kids go through 3 different sized instruments before they can purchase a full-size, and even 1/4 size instruments can cost over $1,000.
Having access to quality teachers, instruments and high level ensembles is incredibly important for kids, especially in regional areas. Having this orchestra in the Bega Valley means that local families are no longer having to consider sending their kids to Canberra or Sydney for lessons (3 or 6 hour drives!).
A youth orchestra gives young kids and teenagers alike a cohort of like-minded peers and mentors to look up to. It is a safe environment for kids to grow and learn.
Many regional families cannot afford the cost of lessons, instruments or extra-curricular activities. We offer scholarships to kids who would not otherwise be able to attend, instruments for families to borrow, and scholarships to families who have trouble affording lessons.
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