Rotary club pledges $40,000 for music program

The Rotary Club of Woy Woy has pledged $40,000 over five years to support a stringed-instrument scholarship program.

Club president Mr Russell Grove said the club was thrilled to be supporting the program at the Central Coast Conservatorium.

"Our Rotarians are happy to assist young strings players excel in the program by pledging $8000 per annum towards the program over the next five years," Mr Grove said.

The support will enable 20 local children aged seven and eight with an aptitude for music to become the first wave of students in a selective string instrument scholarship program.

"We are looking for children interested in learning to play a stringed instrument who may be participating in music programs or even just love to sing," said conservatorium artistic director Mr Patrick Brennan.

The program aims to significantly bolster the region's overall number of young string instrument players.

"These young instrumentalists will, in time, form the backbone of the Central Coast Youth Orchestra," said Mr Brennan.

"The Coast has a rich tradition of strings players but the conservatorium has noticed a drop in the number of young players taking up a string instrument.

"Coincidently the conservatorium has also witnessed numbers double in programs for woodwind, brass and percussion instruments.

"This is excellent for the Coast's musical community but it's time to see more students taking up string instruments to help balance the orchestral instrument equation," Mr Brennan said.

The program will officially commence in October.

All places in the first wave of the program have already been filled.

SOURCE:

Media release, 20 Mar 2019

Vic Deeble, Rotary Club of Woy Woy

Rosalie Paino, Central Coast Conservatorium