The Rotary Club of Boronia recently celebrated the success of the “Knox Rocks” youth music therapy pilot project. Proposed by Boronia Rotarian Mark Smith, himself a local musician, this initiative is aimed at giving participants an increased sense of confidence, empowerment, achievement, engagement, mastery of skills and self-expression through the medium of music.
The program comprised of a series of six song writing workshops/musical sessions over several weeks where the participants, local year 9 and 10 students, wrote songs and music through which they expressed their personal feelings. The songs were then recorded professionally and given to the young artists as tangible results of their participation in the program.
At this celebratory event, each of four participants (one was unable to attend) spoke of their experience before the audience listened to each of their creations. All songs/music were of a high quality and left many in the audience emotionally moved.
The pride and passion demonstrated by the students and their parents was amazing, and a clear demonstration of “mission accomplished” for this new endeavour!
Thanks go to Sadie Mustoe for leading the song writing sessions and helping compile the musical arrangements; Lucy and Ivor Santurni for the use of their studio for the workshop sessions; and Les Marton of Lightwavez Design for recording and production of the finished songs, along with supporting members of the Rotary Club of Boronia, without whose input the project could not have proceeded.
Given the success of the pilot project, it is now planned to develop further programs on a similar and/or larger scale to further serve our local community. Watch this space!
You can experience the results of the participants’ creativity here:
- Easy as Breathing by Joshua
- Gliding Stars by Chloe*
- On the Run by Mitchell
- Christmas by Keisha*
- Fading Away by Tatiyana*
* Songs performed by Sadie Mustoe
February 2023
