RECORDER WITHOUT TEARS - IN THE SUNSHINE STATE

Hi Everyone
Mark Leehy here.
Just got back from sunny Queensland, where Kev and I attended the Maryborough Music Conference. This biennial event runs for 5 days and has to be the best primary and secondary music conference in Australasia. It just keeps on getting bigger and the quality keeps improving. Many thanks to Ken Hodgkinson and Mike Tyler for such an outstanding achievement. They're expecting 900 delegates in 2013, so my strong advice - no matter what state you're in - is to see if you can get your school to help you fund a trip. It's the best PD you'll get. People from all over Australia agree. And you won't believe the magnificent weather. Oh - and book your accomodation well ahead of time.

Find out more about the conference here:
www.maryboroughmusicconference.com.au

Kev and I were pretty flat out up there this year, finding potential authors, getting valuable feedback from customers, sitting in on sessions and presenting workshops on

Music Room 7

The Interactive Music Room 1 & 2

... And Recorder Without Tears

Notes, PDFs and MP3 music files from the session can be found here

Many thanks to those who were at the session and contributed ideas - we had a lot of fun and learned a thing or two.

See you next time
Mark Leehy


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The Interactive Music Room at the National Orff Conference

The Interactive Music Room book 1 (beginning primary) made its first public appearance at Creating New Blends, the National Orff Conference in Adelaide Jan 3-8.

We have some pics of author and South Australian teacher, Cheryl Burgemeister, presenting her workshop. The delegates were as excited as us about this stunning new way of combining classroom music education and technology and The Interactive Music Room was certainly one of the big buzzes of the conference. A big thank you to Glennys Gysbers & the team for having us there and to Richard Gysbers for wonderful tech support.



We’ll also be demonstrating it in Brisbane (May), Sydney (May), Perth (June) and Melbourne (May & Aug). Interactive whiteboards are amazing teaching tools and enormous fun (at least, that’s how we’ve approached the Music Room software). Come along to one of the PDs and have a play with it. Check here for details.

From the crowded desk of Mark Leehy,
Publisher at Bushfire Press

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Maryborough Music Conference ‘09

A couple of weeks ago, Kevin O’Mara and I were in Maryborough, Queensland, for the biennial music teachers’ conference, held over 5 days in July. We presented workshops on Music Room and Dance Room. It was our second visit and once again it was a stunning achievement – this time bigger and better.

Congratulations to Ken Hodgkinson for amazing organization. We were treated to great weather, a sublime setting by the Mary River, fabulous guest speakers and presenters from Australia and the world, wonderful performances from local students and delegate’s bands, orchestras and choirs … and keynote speaker James Morrison reminded us all that, outcomes and Essential

Learnings aside, our most important job is to find ways to engage the student at the student’s level – to help the student make a connection to music. I realise it sounds a little trite when written down like that … but it is just so important for us all to remember, when faced with ever-changing planning, evaluation and reporting requirements, that music is still, fundamentally, about making that connection and using it for expression.

The next Maryborough Music Conference is in 2011 – maybe we’ll see you there.

From the crowded desk of Mark Leehy,
Publisher at Bushfire Press