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The Pizzicato Effect Program: a (Personal) Reflection

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The Pizzicato Effect Program: a (Personal) Reflection australian asociety fors music e ducatiom n The Pizzicato Effect program: incorporatede A (personal) reflection Amanda Watson Department of Education and Training, Victoria Abstract This paper is a reflection on a teaching program located in a Government primary school in Melbourne and initiated by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO). The school was selected by a coincidence. Volunteers, MSO personnel, community and corporate funding, employed classroom and specialist music teachers came together to provide teaching of orchestral string instruments to students in the school. In 2006 the MSO was divested from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), their employing body, and they began to investigate how they could increase their presence in the community. Key words: Sistema, philanthropy, volunteerism, educational benefits. Victorian Journal of Music Education 2016:1, 15-22 The Pizzicato Effect commenced in 2009 as a pilot What is The Pizzicato Effect? program and was initially funded by an anonymous The Pizzicato Effect is an example of a project that benefactor. It is part of the Melbourne Symphony has grown from an initiative funded by a private Orchestra’s (MSO) Community and Engagement benefactor (who contributed over AUD$50,000) and Program and the original organising team sought the desire of the MSO to become more involved in inspiration from El Sistema. Social change was at the the community. This paper describes the growth heart of the project. The MSO provided teaching and changes that have occurred in the program artists and musicians to the school one afternoon identified and facilitated by a team of people a week to teach orchestral string instruments to who have been challenged with a seed idea that groups of children. As the pilot program came to needed to be made a reality, with total funding an end in mid 2013, active publicity sought tax from business and private donations. The aim is to deductable donations from MSO concert-goers in document the reported benefits to the students particular to keep the program alive. A decision involved in learning an instrument, to the school was made to change the program focus and community and in maintaining the institution of the presentation commencing in the 2016 school year. classical orchestra. The new experiences gained by This reflection explores the project over seven the teaching artists and musicians involved in the years (2009-2015). Data collected from a variety of program, which relate to their ongoing professional written material available in the public domain such learning opportunities, are highlighted. as MSO concert programs, website, advertising, The Pizzicato Effect involves teaching artists and press releases, requests for public donations, the musicians from the MSO visiting the Meadows Meadows Primary School website, a teaching Primary School one afternoon a week to teach position advertisement and government reports orchestral string instruments. The school was inform this paper. chosen by coincidence and provided a shared Victorian Journal of Music Education 15 Watson focus for two schools that were merging at the program and we are coming to the end of that pilot time as a result of a community regeneration program, which is affecting a couple of things about project. Associated activities involve guest soloists our funding, but I will come back to that. Basically and conductors who are currently engaged by it was to increase our presence in the community the orchestra making ‘guest’ appearances with and the role the MSO plays in the community. We the children who are learning an instrument. thought it was part of what we do. (Mowat, ETC, This opportunity allows the students to work 2013b, p. 2) with professional musicians. Another element And further involves the students being involved in the annual This is because we are now looking to see what the education week activities offered by the MSO next program will look like, as we are finding that and concerts for children, families and teachers when we go to a number of trusts and foundations performed throughout each year. that have been supporting us over the last four The school website describes some of those years, they are only interested in seed funding or activities: setting things up, they are not interested in long- Performance opportunities for the students term recurring funding—which is absolutely fine have included concerts for family, friends and and we get that. (Mowat, ETC, 2013b, p. 2) special guests at Meadows Primary School, performing at the Melbourne Town Hall as part From the close of the pilot program in mid 2013, of the Pizzicato Effect’s inaugural Education Week active publicity sought tax deductable donations in June 2011, performing for the Prince of Wales from MSO concert-goers in particular, to keep the and the Duchess of Cornwall during their visit program alive. The table below gathers information to Melbourne in 2012, performing at the City of from MSO donation brochures, and lists the Hume Social Justice conference in May 2013, and rising cost of providing instruments, tuition and at the Australia Council for Education Research attendance at MSO performances in Hamer Hall conference “How the Brain Learns” in August 2013. (Melbourne Concert Hall) during Education Week, for children participating in The Pizzicato Effect. Over The program’s structure, organisational model time, the language chosen to describe funding for and long-term outcomes are heavily determined instruments and tuition has changed. by available funding, however absence of initial Interestingly, the MSO promotional tag for planning impacted on the progress and future the program has changed from ‘our high-impact of The Pizzicato Effect. The verbal submission to instrumental teaching program in Broadmeadows, the Education and Training Committee’s Inquiry The Pizzicato Effect’ to ‘our Pizzicato Effect music into the extent, benefits and potential of music education program’. The changed descriptor reflects education of music education in Victorian schools, the different approaches of the program. And by the Meadows Primary School witnesses (ETC, the splash screen on the MSO website promotes 2013b) clearly illustrate an initial lack of vision, “since 2009 musicians from the MSO have been direction and outcomes for the pilot program and providing music for the disadvantaged”, and further the iterations that have followed. References are “On the basis of the extraordinary motivation now made to identifying the next stage of the program being experienced by students, further support and the need to secure funds to implement that is currently being sought to ensure the project – objective. An early witness comment confirms the and its potential for these students and others–is uncertainty: realised into the future”. At the time it was set up we really did not know From the beginning, the aim was for the MSO what it was going to look like or what the program to become more involved with the community was going to be like. We started up a bit of a pilot 16 2016, No. 1 The Pizzicato Effect Program Table 1: Rising costs of funding The Pizzicato Effect sourced from MSO donation leaflets. 2014 2015 2016 2017 $100 helps provide a $250 gives one child in the $250 covers the cost of $1000 will provide a string beginner instrument for program an instrument for instrument hire for a child instrument for 2 children in children in the program a year participating in the program the program for one year $200 provides a new $50 supports one week of $90 enables one child $2000 the annual per-head beginner with a string instrumental tuition for two to take part in a week of cost of child’s participation, instrument for one year children participating in the lessons in the program free of charge in the program program $1500 will support 40 $1000 enables one class $1000 enables a class of $75 is the average cost to disadvantaged students from a school facing barriers 24 students from a low subsidise a $15 student- attending an MSO to experience an MSO socio-economic school priced ticket performance concert to participate in an MSO concert and develop The Pizzicato Effect as an initiative Danielle Arcaro in her verbal submission funded by a private benefactor. The introduction combined with reference to the inclusion of Kodály of a Kodály specialist teacher in 2012 was funded for years Foundation to year 2 remarks, by NAB Schools First, and confirms the apparent It is developmentally perfect for where the kids are piecemeal development of the program. at. It is proven. It has been used all around the world. We only started Kodaly last year because we received In a lot of these Sistema programs they all use it, but an injection of funds through NAB Schools First, and also just in schooling particularly in Europe it is used we thought, ‘What are we going to do with this? Let’s a lot. It has proven outcomes. (Arcaro, ETC, 2013b, set this up so we have really quality foundation skill p. 8) building for these students in the early years and by A more extensive interpretation of El Sistema is the time they get an instrument they can really fly’. made by Bronwyn Lobb (MSO Education Manager) (Lobb, ETC, 2013b, p. 11) in her verbal submission and is linked to a question about the potential rollout of the program. Her Sistema connection unprepared response indicates the popularity and misunderstood notion of Sistema-inspired The link to El Sistema is tenuous and four references programs being considered as a solution to a need, can be cited, two statements and two longer a way to promote music education and an umbrella descriptions regarding possible inspiration. It can term for orchestral programs. best be described as a passing thought by those The potential is enormous.
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