Annual Report 2015
We can all make music
CMVic Annual Report 2015
Table of Contents President’s Letter ........................................................... 2 CMVic’s Vision and Goals ............................................... 3 Board of Management ................................................... 3 Contract Staff.................................................................. 4 Volunteers ...................................................................... 4 Programs......................................................................... 5 Highlights of 2015 ........................................................... 5 New Projects for 2016 .................................................... 8 Financial Supporters ....................................................... 9 Financial Reports 2015 ................................................. 10
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CMVic Annual Report 2015
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President’s Letter 2015 already seems so long ago at time of writing, but it was a great year for CMVic. Our stable team of volunteers and contractors once again put in so much effort to deliver our programs. The public consciousness is definitely increasing: More and more often I see articles about the positive impacts music making has on health and well-being, and its uses as a tool for community connectedness. During 2015 we continued to slowly progress towards our overarching goal of enabling all Victorians to have the opportunity to take part in music making: we completed the second year of our triennial funding award from Creative Victoria; we consolidated our part-time Coordinator roles; our new website and associated blogs and social media presence were extremely well received and I want to thank Deb Carveth for her creative and inspiring work on this; we held two music camps Treetops music camp in autumn and Singing Camp in spring, both of which had record attendances; we pulled out all the stops and with the invaluable help of Jane Thompson, James Rigby and Fay White published our new singing resource – Sing It!; we were successful in gaining funding for our exciting Singing from Country program, and a successful partnership with Creativity Australia was launched. Our StreetSounds project established new community street bands and we presented a singing leadership skills day. We also gave practical support to all the music making and singing networks out there who held song-swaps and peer exchange gatherings from Gippsland to Wodonga. CMVic is truly a volunteer-driven organization. Since 2008 we have not only survived but flourished on minimal funding and this is entirely due to the work of our volunteers, whether they be working in the office, members of the Board of Governance, members of our project steering groups or people who apply for grants or lead workshops and wash dishes at our events. I’d also like to extend my appreciation to our financial donors, members and participants. All of you bring CMVic ever closer to delivering our mission. Thank you and may 2016 bring more music into communities.
Jane Coker President, Board of Management
“…More and more often I see articles about the positive impacts music making has on health and well-being...”
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CMVic’s Vision and Goals Vision CMVic was established in 1994 as a not-for-profit membership-based association to support, promote and facilitate music-making among Victorian communities. CMVic envisages a society that has music-making as a natural and assumed part of Australian daily life and as a key component for happy, healthy, socially-connected living. Our vision is for participatory music experiences to be available to all, whatever their background or ability.
Goals Leadership: To significantly increase the number of great community music leaders with the ability and credibility to sustain and support music/singing groups and activities, to initiate new such groups, and to bring creative approaches to securing funding so their projects become independently sustainable. Participation: To draw substantial numbers of new participants and artists into community music making, focusing particularly on younger people, marginalised groups, remote Victorian communities, and those completely new to music-making. Advocacy: To be a powerful and trusted advocate for community music, fostering understanding of the value of music making in daily life, establishing participatory music making as a common element of arts organisations’ strategies and a valued part of community health programs.
“In a society that worships experts, excellence and consumption, we've forgotten that the most valuable aspect of music is actually making it. There's nothing wrong with concert-going, CD buying and downloads, but it’s through actively making music that the most profound joys and fulfilment can be found.” CMVic website
Sustainability: To build on CMVic’s proud history as a leading organisation for participatory music-making in Victoria, increasing our long term sustainability with diverse funding streams, a substantial and engaged membership, and a strong core team delivering our goals. CMVic’s Values
Board of Management CMVic relies heavily on the volunteer members of its Board of Management, which makes key decisions for the organization. The Board of Management met six times in 2015. President Jane Coker Music Teacher
Secretary John Howard Body Voice Centre
Treasurer Bridget Roberts Clear Horizon Consulting
Margaret Crichton Music Leader
Heather McLaughlin Primary School Teacher
Oliver Hinton University Professor (Rtrd)
Gillian Howell Melbourne Polytechnic
Libby Price Speech Pathologist
Jessica Roberts Energy Efficiency Council
Aaron Silver Music Teacher
Bruce Watson Singer Songwriter
Creativity Empowerment Generosity Inclusivity Integrity Joy Leadership Participation
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Contract Staff CMVic employed 8 part-time Coordinators during 2015 to help deliver our core activities, amounting to a total of 0.9 EFT of paid time. In addition, all our Coordinators offer substantial volunteer time to support many aspects of the organisation. CMVic and Evaluation Oliver Hinton
Finance and Administration John Howard
Communications and Web Presence Dina Theodoropoulos (part year) Deb Carveth (part year)
Volunteers Deb Carveth
Younger People Aaron Silver
Victoria Sings Jane Coker
Victoria Makes Music Lyndal Chambers
Vic Sings & VMM Support Margaret Crichton
CMVic also employed contract staff to coordinate delivery of the following three projects in 2015. StreetSounds Lyndal Chambers
Making Marimbas Making Music Dave Paxton Ian Chambers
Songbook Production James Rigby Jane Thompson Fay White
Volunteers CMVic is hugely indebted to the group of wonderful volunteers who have provided support throughout 2015, and the many others who have shared our vision and values within their own community. Over the course of 2015 we recorded more than 2600 hours of volunteer input, which is phenomenal. Without the help and support of our volunteers we would not have been able to deliver our programs, maintain our database or disseminate news and information. Volunteers underpin every aspect of the work of the organisation. As well as the following people who volunteered throughout the course of the year, we would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all of the singers who contributed to the recording of the new songbook, Sing It, Songs of Wisdom, Hope and Laughter. Anne Algar, Dina Theodoropoulos, Michelle Morgan, Kass Mulvany, Chris Teuma, Bernadette Clancy, Ele Mason-Sakkas, Anne Watson, Rachel Morgan, Rodger Smith, Caitlin Pheasant, Jaz Stutley, Shani Holmes, Tony Bentley, Louise MacDonald, Jacquie Valles, Jane Thompson, James Rigby, Carol Kunert, Barb McFarlane, Stuart Ashburner, Polly Ashburner, Terry White, Jessica Nabb, Shannon Anderson, Kerry Clarke, Donna Pearce, Cathy Ran, Paul Paton, Fay White.
“there is a general climate of appreciation of our efforts… it’s a good self esteem lifter” cmvic volunteer
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Programs Alongside our four major goals we continued to focus activities around two long standing programs. Working alongside local networks throughout the state, we helped develop leadership skills and sharable repertoire, encouraged new groups to form together with promotion support, and we organised events where it was all put into practice. Victoria Sings is a state-wide initiative designed to weave community singing into the cultural fabric of Victoria. The work is based on the knowledge that singing together is a wonderful and effective way to develop and sustain social connection, and to improve health. Victoria Makes Music was established in 2011 to promote and encourage community-based instrumental music making throughout Victoria, thereby reaching those who found playing an instrument to be a more accessible route to shared music making.
Highlights of 2015 A guide to Community Singing Leadership This amazing resource was finally published in December 2015. Michelle Morgan is an experienced community singing group leader and ex CMVic board member. A Guide to Community Singing Leadership was written to provide answers to some common problems and questions that arise around the practice of leading a community singing group or choir. It suggests ways to sustain, celebrate and encourage individuals in their work. Woven into the fabric of the book is a variety of testimonials in many familiar voices from across the CMVic network, including a foreword written by Fay White. “I’ve been lucky enough to preview this lovely book. As well as being a really intelligent and practical guide to leading sustainable, accessible group singing, it’s also a social history in that it tells the story of the Victoria Sings network and leadership development program from it’s earliest days. Fabulous reading.” Jane Coker, Chair of Community Music Victoria
Sing it, Songs of Wisdom, Hope and Laughter Published in December 2015, this was the culmination of many people’s dedicated work and input, brought to fruition by the skills, time and editing of Jane Thompson and James Rigby, and supported through the publishing, copyright and printing process by Fay White. It features 45 songs written by community singing leaders for community singing groups and choirs and is accompanied by full notation of parts and double CDs of the songs to learn by ear, recorded by a dedicated team of volunteers from across the CMVic network. The book is dedicated to the memory of Karen Roben, community music activist and long time supporter of Community Music Victoria.
“Music-making needs no audience. In fact, it is the participants rather than the listeners who reap the most significant benefits.” CMVic website
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Treetops Music Camp Following on from the inaugural signature event in 2014, Treetops 2015 was another success for CMVic. The attendance rate increased and in spite of the weather, over 157 people attended the two day residential event. Open to everyone, whether a CMVic Member or not Treetops brought together choirs and street bands, young and old, beginners and experienced community music makers. There were leadership skills sessions for both singers and instrumentalists too. Great workshop leaders from all over Victoria ran a wonderful variety of sessions, and the camp provided lots of space for enjoying all the free time people wanted. There were opportunities to participate in workshops with members of The Bombay Royale, The Horns of Leroy and The Scrims. (Formerly The Scrimshaw Four.) These well known names attracted more young people in the under 25s bracket than we had seen previously at a CMVic event. Treetops 2015 attracted some very positive comments in the feedback such as: “It's like seeing a family but one you want to see” and "This is the only space that I can be myself freely.” People clearly enjoyed the spirit of inclusion and participation that we work hard to bring to all CMVic events: "It was such a fun filled weekend and we felt so welcome and included which I think everyone at the camp did. I really like the way the younger generation seem to be getting involved and enthusiastic about it all." "It was so lovely to be among musical friends and have all those incidental conversations, info exchanges and inspirational things happening all around!”
Victoria Sings Amberley Singing Camp In October, over 60 community singers from all over Victoria gathered at Amberley on the outskirts of Melbourne for a weekend of singing and fun. Singers and singing leaders of all levels and experience were welcome. The program was built around the fabulous skill share model, based around the requests and offers of participants and included big singing circles, song swaps, improvisation and Alexander Technique for singers, among many others! Workshops were structured for people who just wanted to sing as well as offering support and extension to more experienced singing leaders looking to build skills and extend their repertoire.
StreetSounds StreetSounds is Making Progress! It is fantastic to see the new Street Bands popping up around Victoria! Each new band has a different character and a different operational model. Seven new groups have been established, 2 in regional areas and 5 metro. The CMVic residential camps, both at Treetops in April and Amberley in October, supported and progressed the project enormously, providing workshops in: group leadership, instrument building, skill development, improvisation and networking among others. Partnerships have been established with: ‘The Welcome Group’, Brimbank Council, Club Tivoli, Macleod College and the Kyneton Neighbourhood House, Rose’s Gap Music Camp, Royal Children’s Hospital’s ‘Festival for Healthy Living’, the ‘Linking Melton South’ network and the Wonthaggi Secondary College’s VCAL program. Strong networks and cooperation have also been established across CMVic’s programs with shared activity planned with the 4 M project and possibly Singing from Country.
"It was so lovely to be among musical friends and have all those incidental conversations, info exchanges and inspirational things happening all around!”
CMVic Annual Report 2015 One residential weekend specifically for Street Band Leadership teams occurred in November 2015 with another planned for 2016. The CMVic website has been used for: the promotion of the project in general and each band in particular, group communication and resource collection and some documentation of the progress of the project. Radio, print media and social media have also been used for promotion and documenting the progress of each group. Leadership advice and resources have been supplied to each leader/leadership team as well as logo development and press releases. A successful appeal was mounted for donated instruments and an instrument library has been established. The StreetSounds project is supported by grants from Helen Macpherson Smith Trust and RE Ross Trust.
4M – Making Marimbas Making Music This great new project started in 2015. Working with Men’s Sheds we are starting 5 new marimba groups around Victoria, each one making its own marimbas and joining up with local schools so the whole community can join in. Watch out in 2016 in case any of these groups are near you! The 4M project is supported by a grant from Australian Unity.
Program of Events An extensive program of events throughout 2015 provided 138 separate workshop sessions offering a range of opportunities for leadership skills sharing and development, music making and community singing. A total of over 900 people attended these sessions.
Event Date Network / skills gathering Jan 2015 Big Sing Feb 2015 Treetops Music Camp Apr 2015 Regional Gathering May 2015 Facilitator Development Aug 2015 Regional Skills Gathering Sep 2015 Skills Gathering Sep 2015 Victoria Sings Camp Oct 2015 StreetSounds Band Groups All year 4M Groups All year
Location Daylesford St Kilda Riddels Creek Mirboo North Common Ground, Seymour Wilsons Prom Jika Jika, Westgarth Amberley Across Victoria Across Victoria
Youth Initiatives Of the 138 separate sessions organised directly by CMVic in 2015, all were designed to be attractive for youth in one way or another, and around 10% of these were specifically planned by our Youth Coordinator to attract young singers and instrumentalists. A number of new ideas were trialed at our music camps, and the Treetops Music Camp alone attracted 51 under 25s who enjoyed a wide range of workshops.
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CMVic Annual Report 2015
Website and Social Media Our website has continued to prove an effective tool for sharing participatory music making news and information, providing online resources and research findings and listing music groups and music making opportunities. Bookings for CMVic events were effectively streamlined with the vast majority of orders and purchases made online. In 2015, the number of music groups listed on the CMVic website increased from 463 to 522; the average number of unique visitors to the CMVic website was 2,700 per month, with many visitors living overseas; and our monthly eNewletter Shout! was delivered to over 2,000 recipients with the remarkably high ‘click through’ rate of 38%. The CMVic Facebook page also gained popularity over the course of 2015 achieving 219 likes and taking the total to 793. A tram holds 60 people. The CMVic blog was viewed about 3,300 times in 2015. If it were a tram, it would take about 55 trips to carry that many people. This was great news! At the end of 2015, we had published 45 stories of inspiration around the practice of community music making.
New Projects for 2016 Several new projects have been taking shape during 2015 and will be taken forward into the next year or two. Please contact us if you would like to know more or get involved in any way! A collaboration with Creativity Australia: Leading "social inclusion" choirs. In partnership with Creativity Australia, and with funding from the RE Ross Foundation, CMVic will be developing and delivering a leadership skills development program specifically aimed at people who are or want to be leading singing activities or choirs where social inclusion is the number one priority. Explore ways of creating inclusive, functional, creative singing activities, which include people who do not speak much English, have mental health issues or other disabilities or who are often shunned in social situations. This project is supported by a grant from the RE Ross Trust. Sing English: This project aims to build confidence and skills among EAL (English as an Additional Language) teachers who want to get their students singing. The program is on the cusp of receiving funding and we very much hope to be rolling it out in partnership with the Ethnic Council of Shepparton before the end of 2016. The project has been designed in partnership with the wonderful Urban Lyrebirds, who produce great classroom resources to enable EAL teachers to use singing as a language-learning tool. This project is supported by a grant from the Ethnic Council of Shepparton. Singing from Country: This project will address one of the key challenges of our time: the increasing loss of ‘land literacy’ amongst our peoples. It will do this by bringing community music makers and song writers into contact with land care custodians (field naturalists, indigenous people, bird observers, ecologists) in each of Victoria's major bioregions. The outcomes will be twofold: firstly, a body of new songs that brings understanding to the community of their own part of the country so they feel responsive to it and responsible for it; and secondly, that builds a new, diverse and sustainable community network that continues to build on these values. Funding has just been obtained and we are in the process of appointing a project manager. This project is supported by a grant from Regional Arts Victoria.
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CMVic Annual Report 2015 Up Hill, Down Dale: Leah Marlowe, Libby Price and Barb McFarlane of the Up Hill Down Dale team have been plotting and planning some exciting events for singers and leaders in the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges. They've also been focusing on strategies for starting a local network and making it sustainable in the long term, seeking guidance from their funders, the Shire of Yarra Ranges, and other networks such as the Gippsland Singers Network and continue to be inspired by the CMVic model. This project is supported by a Yarra Ranges Community Grant.
Financial Supporters CMVic is a not-for-profit, membership based, volunteer driven association. We are hugely grateful to those bodies and individuals who have contributed financially throughout 2015. Without their continuing support it would not be possible to deliver CMVic’s vision or to develop new projects and ideas for the future.
Granting Bodies During 2015 we were fortunate to receive grant funding from the following bodies. Along with ongoing funding from Creative Victoria – the second year of triennial funding – and from the Helen MacPherson Smith and RE Ross trusts – the first full year of the 3-year StreetSounds project – 2015 saw a grant of $25,000 from the Australian Unity Foundation for Making Marimbas Making Music (4M) and a grant of $10,000 for the Unsung Heroes project driven by Board member Bruce Watson. Awarding body Creative Victoria triennial award St Kilda Festival (Big Sing) Helen Macpherson Smith Trust (StreetSounds) RE Ross Trust (StreetSounds) Australian Unity Foundation (4M) Veteran’s Affairs Dept (Unsung Heroes)
Total awarded $180,000 $1,300 $80,000 $25,550 $25,000 $10,000
Drawn in 2015 $60,000 $1,300 $21,804 $6,190 $1,920 $10,000
Donors CMVic has been encouraged by the generosity of those individuals who made cash donations during the year. A total of $4,718 in donations from 21 donors was recorded in the accounts and this made a big difference to the organisation’s capacity to deliver its projects and pave the way for new ones. A huge thank you to you all! (Names have been withheld for reasons of anonymity)
Members During 2015 there were 260 registered members of CMVic of whom 42 were active volunteers. As a membership organisation every one of our members is extremely important to us: your support and feedback is vital to keep the organisation on track, and you provide tremendous encouragement for all our volunteers, including Board members, Coordinators, and everyone who gets involved in whatever capacity. We are always keen to receive feedback or ideas – do get in touch!
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CMVic Annual Report 2015
Financial Reports 2015
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CMVic Annual Report 2015
Balance Sheet
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CMVic Annual Report 2015
Profit and Loss Statement
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Ross House 247 Flinders Lane Melbourne 3000 T: 03 9662 1162 F: 03 9662 1187 E:
[email protected] W: https://cmvic.org.au/
Membership: https://cmvic.org.au/membership Donations: https://cmvic.org.au/donations
Fundraiser Registration No: 13144 Incorporated Association Number: A0029645Z ABN: 76 301 015 584 Registered with DGR Status
