ON TRACK, a school holiday music program run through St. Albans Secondary College will go into its 16th iritiration in the upcoming April school holidays.
The program developed by Mushroom Group and supported by the department of education and training, will host a four day program where students will be able to connect through music creation.
The program invites neighbouring secondary students from the area to join the free event, which includes turning their experiences into music and lyrics, creating a collaborative track and film clip, undertaking creative workshops and watching live artist performances and interviews.
Project director Rebecca Schaefer said it was a great platform for people to connect and express their thoughts through music.
“What they get out of it is really meaningful, not just from a music and songwriting perspective but just from creating friendships from people they wouldn’t necessarily see otherwise,” Schaefer said.
“Getting these kids together and using creative expression in songwriting is really important and key to talking about some of the things that they want to talk about that is going on in their lives.”
Some highlights from the event include the inclusion of some of Australia’s best artists who mentor, train and share tricks of the trade with the students in an inclusive warm, fun environment..
The program is designed for students to engage with industry specialists and music, in order to learn new skills, instill confidence, have a voice and make new friends and connections through creative collaboration.
Students experience specialised song writing workshops, where they learn to write, rap and perform their own music and more.
On Track mentor Ed Moon said he “cannot wait to be back mentoring with On Track in April. It’s such a great opportunity for young musos to learn how express their musicality and make a direct impact! Cya there!”
Prizes are also up for grabs every day that includes music gear, gift cards and merch.
Participants also receive travel vouchers, lunch and refreshments every day.
Expression of interests can be taken at ontrack@mushroomgroup.com.
Max Hatzoglou
