Jam With Melbourne Orchestra

MSO Community Outreach Director Gillian Howell said “This is the first time that we’ve been able to take the JAM WITH MSO concept into regional Victoria. Through the generous support of the Victorian government through Arts Victoria, children and adults are able to participate in creative exchanges with members of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in a smaller community setting.”

Over the course of an hour participants will develop an original piece of music, using whatever instruments and ’soundmakers’ are to hand. Voices, instruments, hands and feet, newspapers, chopsticks, car keys and other paraphernalia will be put to musical use in afternoon workshops for families led by Sheldon King and Timothy Phillips, Teaching Artists with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Community Outreach program. At the end of each workshop, participants will perform the work they have created over the course of the hour.

Highly successful ‘JAM’ workshops have previously been held in Melbourne in collaboration with Federation Square. Feedback from participants has been overwhelmingly positive:

Kim (mother of 3) said “The five members of our family who attended had a wonderful time and were buoyed by the experience. We look forward to more!”

"You have made musicians out of me and my daughter, who have only been playing cello a very short time. It is the first time we have felt like this". (JAM participant 2006)

The MSO Community Outreach Program explores the capacity of a symphony orchestra to contribute to the lives of all members of the wider community beyond the concert platform. It looks at the power of music to connect people, and creates opportunities for groups and individuals to interact and collaborate with musicians from the Orchestra in diverse ways. The MSO Community Outreach program is the only one of its kind in Australia, and brings diverse groups of people, of all ages and levels of musical experience, into mutually creative exchanges with musicians of the Orchestra.

Registrations are essential for JAM WITH MSO so book your place early by calling the registration numbers below for each town/venue detailing name(s), age(s), instrument(s) (if any) and a contact number of each participant. Children under 12 years are to be supervised by a parent/guardian throughout the workshop, and there must be one adult for each group of three children.

JAM WITH MSO, MARYBOROUGH – Saturday 18 August at 2pm, at Maryborough Town Hall, Neill St

MSO musicians: Sheldon King-Teaching Artist; Timothy Phillips - percussion/Teaching Artist; Lynette Rayner-violin; Julian Bain-trombone

GEELONG – Sunday 26 August at 2pm, at Geelong Performing Arts Centre, Studio Alcoa 1

MSO musicians: Sheldon King -Teaching Artist; Timothy Phillips - percussion/Teaching Artist; Lynette Rayner – violin; Greg Lee – flute; Charles MacInnes – trombone; Lauren Segal – viola; Sonia Baldock – violin

FRANKSTON – Sunday 16 September at 2pm and 4pm, at The Cube at Frankston Arts Centre (cnr Davey&Young Streets)

MSO musicians: Sheldon King – Teaching Artist; Timothy Phillips – percussion/Teaching Artist Sonia Baldock – violin; Sharon Draper – cello; Greg Lee – flute; Roman Ponomariov – French horn Melissa Chominsky – cello; Charles MacInnes – trombone

BALLARAT – Sunday 23 September at 2pm, at Wendouree Centre for Performing Arts

MSO musicians: Sheldon King – Teaching Artist; Timothy Phillips – percussion / Teaching Artist Sonia Baldock – violin; Andrea Keeble – violin; Greg Lee – flute; Melissa Chominsky – cello Charles MacInnes - trombone

WARRNAMBOOL – Sunday 30 September at 2pm, at Warrnambool Entertainment Centre

MSO musicians: Sheldon King – Teaching Artist; Timothy Phillips – percussion/Teaching Artist Sonia Baldock – violin; Andrea Keeble – violin; Greg Lee –flute; Roman Ponomariov – French Horn Melissa Chominsky – cello; Charles MacInnes – trombone. -- www.mso.com.au