Introduction

Hello, and welcome to my blog! For some time I've wanted to create a blog of my own, and I have finally taken the opportunity to do so.

A little bit about myself very quickly. I reside in Coffs Harbour, on the mid-north coast of NSW happily married for two years as of yesterday. I graduated from Newcastle Uni with a Bachelor of Music at the end of 2005, majoring in performance (clarinet) and composition. I currently work in the piano restoration/tuning profession in Coffs Harbour, while I teach music at the Clarence Valley Conservatorium at Grafton (about an hour north of Coffs). I am hoping to establish myself as a forefront music tutor in Coffs Harbour within the next couple of years. At this stage I have three students in Coffs Harbour, who are all doing a fantastic job on their instruments becoming leading musicians in their schools in such a short space of time. And if that isn't enough music work already, I also work as a composer currently writing a couple of major works involving wind orchestra. In my spare time I do enjoy the game of indoor cricket every now and then.

For the last four years I have been employed by the DET (Department of Education and Training) to tutor and teach at regional band camps in NSW, including the North-West, New England, North Coast, and Riverina regions. As of next year I have been invited to tutor at the New England (now NW and NE combined), Riverina, and newly founded Western region band camps. If North Coast invite me to tutor it would be a first to attend all four regional band camps in NSW.

The main purpose of this blog is to address, educate, and inspire in the world of music and teaching. There are many issues that are having an effect on the status of music and the arts in different regions and towns around NSW, some being positive and some being negative. As teachers and tutors, we have the capability to cause and influence change with a purpose of doing it for the wellbeing and good for not only the individual or personal benefit, but for the community.

Be prepared for a shift in the arts, because it is coming!