MUSIC has the power to change lives, and for three decades the Horsham Music Academy has done just that.
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The academy has been a space where children and adults explore their love for instruments from piano to guitar, flute or even a bit of saxophone.
It paved a way for some students to discover great careers in the music industry.
But for those who decided to follow another path, the academy has still taught essential skills and lessons that could be used in everyday life.
After 30 years of being a vital piece of the Horsham community, the academy has said goodbye and shut its doors.
Horsham’s Wendy Weight founded the academy in 1988. At that time, it was a flat at the rear of Mitre 10.
The venture’s success exceeded expectations and it outgrew the space within six months.
The academy then moved to where it stands today, the building opposite Ss Michael and John’s Primary School.
Five founding teachers – Mrs Weight, Kaye Valpied, Marie Schirmer, Katherine Rathgeber and Lea Crammond – helped the academy get off the ground.
More than 100 students had private piano lessons and participated in group lessons where they learned theory and had fun playing ensembles and games.
Mrs Weight said this was the recipe for great success.
“We had a lot of fun performing at the eisteddfod and the end of year performances and that’s the most important part, because the children learned more when they’re having fun,” she said.
“One-on-one lessons are very important. Often, it was the only time a child had an adult all to themselves.
“The group lessons also made a huge difference.
“If you play on your own, you never learn how to play with others. It taught them that they aren’t the most important person and that is a valuable lesson.”
Mrs Weight said music was a discipline that was important for all children to learn.
“The students who learn music tend to be a lot more disciplined and take on more activities – not just music,” she said.
Students who learn music, they are good at everything and that is one of the most important things
- Wendy Weight
“It doesn’t mean they go into a music career as an adult, but it is the brain development as a child, which is very important.
“Students who learn music, they are good at everything and that is one of the most important things.”
Mrs Weight said the academy had many students who pursued a career in music.
She mentioned a former student Matthew Binion, who was a recipient of an academy scholarship.
Mr Binion has an honours degree in piano from Adelaide University and teaches piano and theory at the Elder Conservatorium. He is also an AMEB examiner.
Other students to purse musical careers included Roslyn Perry, Katherine Fryar, Catherine Spehr, Kristen Brown, Stephanie Adler, Delia Poon, Sandra Kitchen, Neera Kadkol, Penny McCabe, Anna Van Veldhuisen and Louis Hurley.
But, Mrs Weight is certain that there are many others who she does not know about. She said many other children went on to explore different pathways.
“A lot of students went on to medical or science degrees, and music has a very important part in that because it aids in the neurological development of a child,” she said.
Mrs Weight went on to create her own scale book, which was a best-seller across Australia. She said copies of the book were also taken to China.
“I showed my student Byrn Smith a scale out of another book and he told me surely I could do better than that. So I did,” she said.
“Byrn started when he was four and left when he was 18. He won a scholarship to Oxford to study computer engineering.”
Bernadette Delahunty has been a teacher at the academy for 15 years.
Originally, she taught classroom music and at a Murtoa preschool when Mrs Weight asked her to become a full-time teacher.
Mrs Delahunty described her time at the academy as a buzz.
She remembered the children “buzzing around” the corridors before lessons and filling the rooms with joy and happiness.
Mrs Delahunty enjoyed several parts of her experience as an academy teacher.
“I enjoyed doing the theory and group lessons with the children. A lot of it was about the rhythm, beat and feel and the children got to explore and be free with the instruments,” she said.
“I enjoyed seeing them through examinations and see them rewarded for their efforts too. It also allowed a little reflection on how we were going as teachers.
“Another part was the one-on-one time with the students.”
While the academy started by teaching children piano, it eventually grew to include violin, cello, flute, guitar, clarinet, drum and singing lessons.
“We invested a lot time, especially four teachers including myself, Lea, Anne and Wendy,” Mrs Delahunty said. “It started expanding to strings, guitar, flute and saxophone for a bit. Once we started to leave the academy a lot more part-time teachers came on.”
Mrs Delahunty said she loved being able to teach students a wonderful musical story.
“We taught them about composers and their lives and the students loved to find out about them. and it gave them classical training as well,” she said.
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