Music-loving duo Rowena and Hans Braaksma are calling for like-minded people to join the new Elliott Heads Community Music group.
The couple, who recently moved to Elliott Heads, said they would like to see the seaside community’s passion for music explode.
Whether you’re a novice singer, a skilled vocalist or an instrument player, Rowena said Elliott Heads Community Music group could be the place for you.
She said as the group had only just started, they were in the teething phase, but they hoped it would grow to become a social experience for the community.
“Our group is very much a social one with an emphasis on enjoyment and friendly interaction,” Rowena said.
“As well as players and singers who are the primary reason we’re starting up, we also welcome people who just love to hear live music and wish to come along for the social interaction even if they do not play or sing.
“Our experience of start-up music groups is usually a small number of participants initially, hopefully building to a stable group if the activities are embraced by the community.”
Rowena said the group would favour live music, and live backing, over electronic and backing tapes, but they were flexible where warranted.
“We are wanting to encourage participation in live music including learning, playing, and singing,” she said.
“We aim to be a performing group and will be available to play for community organisations and charity events.
“We want the group members to feel free to play and sing their own choices in musical taste.”
As the initial Elliott Heads Community Music group gets going Rowena said they hoped to hold longer practice session to cater for advanced participants in the near future.
“We’ll be commencing the wider group activity from 18 February at 5pm and would welcome new players,” she said.
“Eventually the social nights could be entertainment for the wider club attendees, and we could invite the wider community members to participate in walk up at the social if that was something the club would be happy to embrace.”
Rowena and Hans have worked in music clubs for more than a decade, and Rowena said they have taken some of the best ideas from the various organisations and combined them to create Elliott Heads Community Music group.
“We love open mics, we love group performances, we love ‘all-in’ music jams, we love to improve our musical skills and knowledge and we want to pass on what we’ve learned to others,” she said.
“We have found that every time we play or watch and listen to others perform, we learn something new.
“It’s a never-ending delight to me and I believe it’s true for the very best players as much as for the novices.
“A big thank you to the executive board of The Elliott Heads Coastal Club for providing the venue for free, which means we can operate for no cost to people who want to come along, and we have the added benefit of the bar and food services on Thursdays.”
Elliott Heads Community Music group is free to join and members meet from 4pm on Thursday at The Elliott Heads Coastal Club.
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