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Brisbane Workshop schools treated to performance at Powerhouse

The Song Room first started running in-school workshop programs throughout Brisbane Primary schools at the beginning of 2009. Over that time it has worked in over 12 mainstream and special needs schools. Due to the success and support of the Song Room programs and the high number of children reached a professional performance for Brisbane schools was planned for the 24^th of November at Brisbane Powerhouse, Brisbane’s premier performing arts venue nestled on the banks of Brisbane River.

In addition to working with some great schools in Brisbane over the last 12 months, The Song Room has also been able to develop and extend relationships and partnerships with a range of organisation, businesses and communities throughout Brisbane and greater QLD. One organisation in particular with which it has developed a strong and effective relationship is PASS Australia.

PASS Australia is a not-for-profit organisation that aims to improve the lives of young Indigenous Australians through a mentor and leadership program. The program employs over 450 Indigenous youth undertaking school based traineeships to deliver a sports and games program to Primary School students. The program objectives include an emphasis on assisting youth at risk, reducing school truancy and criminality, promoting employment and further education while teaching life skills required for both of these pathways.

Earlier this year The Song Room and Pass Australia were looking for synergies between the organizations and discovered a song had been specifically written for PASS Australia. PASS agreed that this song could be used with one of our school programs with a performance outcome.

The Song Room also joined with PASS Australia in their mentoring program, where one of the PASS trainees worked with Song Room Teaching Artist Heather Fairburn in the delivery of her choral program at Cannon Hill State School.

Cannon Hill State School

Teaching Artist Heather Fairbairn began working with Cannon Hill State School at the beginning of semester 2, 2009. It was the school’s objective to develop a whole school choir to engage all students and also to increase confidence and communication skills throughout the school. Before long Heather had the entire school singing together and they were looking for performance opportunities to showcase the choir to the wider community.

Following consultation with the school and PASS Australia it was decided that The Song Room would work with the whole school choir on a brand new arrangement of the PASS Australia song and that the official launch would be performed by the students at the Brisbane Powerhouse performance in front of 400 students along with other friends and supporters of The Song Room.

On Tuesday the 24^th November, accompanied by local Aboriginal Musician and Artist, Anthony Walker and Marcus Corowa, a music teacher from The Aboriginal Centre of Performing Arts, the 300 strong Cannon Hill State School choir debuted the new and uniquely Australian arrangement of ‘PASS with Flying Colours’, the official song of PASS Australia. The choirs performance on the day was both recorded and filmed and this new version featuring students from Cannon Hill Sate School will become the official song version for PASS Australia.

The event also included students having the opportunity to experience a performance by renowned professional drummer Grant Collins in his hit solo show, ‘The Power of One’. This performance-based presentation received rave reviews from both students and teachers on the day, with one young boy from Redlands special School proclaiming to the whole audience that ‘…Grant is my number 1 drummer!’.

Over 800 students came together for this free performance event exclusive to Song Room schools in Brisbane and all came from diverse geography and backgrounds. Schools included Grovely State School, Mt Gravatt West Special School, Cannon Hill State School, Harris Fields State School, Zillmere SS, Geebung Special School, Redlands Special School, Regents Park State School, Fortitude Valley State School, Darling Point Special School, Woodbridge North State School and Logan Village State School.

The response from teachers, students, friends and supporters of The Song Room to the performance event has been inspiring. One teacher from Redlands Special School commented that she “had never seen some of the students so excited about anything and they haven’t been able to wipe the smiles of their faces since.”

Another teacher from Regents Park State School commented that “it’s so important that our students have the opportunities to be exposed to events such as this. It’s not just the performance that’s important it’s the whole experience of coming to a venue like the Powerhouse and being able to experience the arts.”

The family members were all very proud of their children, and were excited to see them perform so well. Teachers have reported that the students benefited greatly from performing in a beautiful theatre space, for other schools, an opportunity rarely afforded to them.