AMBASSADORS

Richard Tognetti AO, Australian Violinist, Composer and Conductor

Everyone considers it a right as a citizen to be able to read, to write words in a literary sense. And so it should be in a musical sense. It’s fine to aim to have a computer on every child’s desk. But why shouldn’t a violin be there too?

Maggie Beer, Celebrity Cook

"Here in the Barossa we have quite a few parties and I realised how much I loved singing so I decided to get a group together.  You just get better and better with practise but the sheer joy of it is amazing.  I have always loved music, classical, opera, jazz; music goes to the very centre of my being. Happiness is when I'm singing with my group of friends every Wednesday night. It is such a joyful thing to do!"

Peter Cousens, Leading Australian Musical Theatre Performer

Why should Music be part of a student’s education today? Music encourages rigorous self expression and a visceral thrill; it teaches long term focus and disciplined creativity. It is without doubt a calming and enriching influence on mood and attitude. It contributes to an empathetic understanding of others. It is a thread that connects us to History, Ancient and Modern, Literature, Art and Philosophy… It is a subject in its pure form that has the potential to put students on a career path as esteemed as science, sport or the law. Let us stop undermining Music in schools and avoid a ‘Karaoke Society’ of easy mediocrity and shallow success.

Robyn Archer, AO, Musician, Director, Arts Advocate

“I have been singing in public since I was four years old and haven’t stopped ever since. Songs have taken me around the world many times and I have performed from Bogota to Berlin, from Honolulu to Halifax, from New York, Paris and London to Darwin, Hobart and Kangaroo Island. I began with my voice and I progressed through ukulele to guitar to rock bands, cabaret bands and orchestras. I have sung everything from folk to rock to pop to jazz to classic European cabaret of the 20s and 30s, to country and yodelling and my own songs. Singing has brought me joy and a career – and because I had asthma from an early age, I know it kept me breathing and increased my lung power and allowed me to survive and thrive. I owe my life and my livelihood to music, and I want to know that every kid has the kind of opportunity I had. My great grandmother was a performer, my Dad was a great singer and a stand-up comedian, my Mum sang too. I was lucky; I got music as my birthright. But for those whose families are not musical, they too deserve the opportunity. Someone needs to open the door and let them hear the joy and give them the skills to make music of every imaginable kind. Music education is vital – good for the brain, good for exercising the creative muscle in all of us. I’m still singing, on stages around Australia and the world, and in the shower, in the car. It makes me happy just to make up songs wherever I am. It’s a gift for life, and it should be shared.”

Paul Greene, Music: Count Us In Mentor and Troubadour

“I devote my life to music. It is the one constant that grows with me, understands what I am going through, accompanies me as I travel and connects with other people, my community and in a way the rest of the people on the planet. Music has rescued me on many occasions and taught me some of life's most important lessons. But, the thing that constantly astonishes me about music is that although it has a universal effect on people, each individual can have their own unique take on it.”

Joseph Tawadros, Musician, Freedman Fellow

"Since childhood music has been a very important part of my life, so I know first hand the joys of a musical environment and education early on. It develops many aspects of growth and connects us with a spirituality and inexplicable magic which we may start to understand more and more as we grow older. It is a gift - but you don't have to be gifted to receive it! It should be passed on as early as possible to children, who in essence are our future. Then it should be further nurtured so that the benefits of early music education can be had and shared by all of us."

Audius, Music: Count Us In Mentor, Writer/Producer

“Music like poetry and literature is a form of expression. With music you can speak directly to the soul; share experiences and communicate purely through sound and lyric. I couldn't live without it."

Russell Robertson, Melbourne Football Club

"Music has always played an important part of my life. I’ve sung and played guitar for many years and it has always provided me with another avenue for fun and friendships outside the high pressure life as a professional footballer. I’m grateful that I was given the opportunity to explore and develop my music, and think that every child deserves that same opportunity, whether they be in a remote, rural or metropolitan area. I’d also say to kids who play music - don’t give up as you grow older! If you’re lucky enough to have discovered music, you should play for life."

John Foreman, Project Ambassador and Songwriter

"We can do even more for our kids by giving each one of them an effective music education at school. We're all the richer for a society which values music as part of every child's education."

Jonathon Welch, Founding Music Director, Choir of Hard Knocks

"I am thrilled to be involved with this program. As a once shy child, music is something that not only gave me a great sense of satisfaction, but also gave me a greater self confidence. To this day I am forever grateful for the opportunities I had to learn music at school, the skills from which remain with me today and which I will have for the rest of my life.

Music in performance and education gives us a sense of belonging, cohesiveness and interaction that can teach us so many life skills - working as a team, building individual confidence and a sense of purpose and achievement - as well as having great fun: the most important ingredient of all!

And if you are fortunate to have a career in music, I hope that you will feel as I have done for nearly 30 years: I have never felt like I am going to work, but rather that I am following my passion, having the chance to meet and work with some of the most interesting people in the world.

Life IS a song - and I hope that you enjoy it's melodious journey for ever and a day!"

Kate Ceberano, Singer

"I totally support this program. If it hadn't been for music education for me, I don't know what I would have done with my life. Even if your field of interest doesn't involve music, just to hear others and experience the joy of creation.... it's wonderful!"

Shane & Brett Lee, Cricket Players 

“Music has always been a major part of our lives. As kids growing up on the South Coast of NSW, most afternoons were filled with playing cricket in the backyard followed by singing songs around the piano in our living room. Our mother Helen was the major influence in shaping our musical interests. I can remember sitting on the piano stool with Mum and my brothers Brett and Grant playing ‘you are my sunshine’ at a very young age.

Brett always dreamed that one day when he had enough money to buy a house, the first thing he would buy to furnish his home would be a Grand Piano. I can confirm Brett did do this - even before he brought a lounge - and is now the proud owner of a 1950 Bosendorfer Grand.

Whilst I must confess we are not the world’s best musicians, music has given us endless hours of fun and entertainment. Whether it be playing in our band ‘Six and Out’ or sitting at home in front of the fire with the guitar and a few mates, music is one thing we could not live without. I would encourage anyone no matter how young or old to pick up an instrument today and start playing. I guarantee it will put a smile on your face”