Published on Wednesday, 29 May 2024 at 9:13:03 AM
After a decades long wait, Busselton’s local musicians will finally have a world-class stage to perform on when construction of their new performing arts centre completes. Recently, representatives from a wide cross-section of community music groups assembled to formalise a partnership with the venue, resulting in a new Reference Group linked with the Saltwater Community Music Initiative. The community music groups involved with steering the project include Busselton Brass, Busselton Choral Society, Voices of the Vasse, Busselton Ukulele Strummers, Inc., the Busselton Acoustic Music Circle as well as a few members of other unincorporated groups.
The Saltwater Community Music Initiative will result in regular monthly variety concerts to be held on the main stage at Saltwater showcasing the talent of local community musicians and groups. These free concerts will be open to all amateur community musicians and will be an opportunity for musicians of all skill levels to have a go and experience performing in the new venue.
The Initiative was born when local community musician Jen Burnett approached the Saltwater Venue Manager with an idea. To test the concept, a number of small free concerts were hosted at the Old Courthouse Complex and a little more than 12 months later, in February 2024, the inaugural meeting of the new Reference Group (RG) was held at the Esplanade Hotel.
Jen Burnett, said “We are thrilled about the Community Music opportunity on offer from Saltwater. It gives us a great reason to network, build and strengthen our diverse community music connections. This year we plan to spread the word about the upcoming 2025 opportunities and get heaps of early Expressions of Interest registered online. It’s hugely about enriching our Community Music scene in a variety of ways!”
“Saltwater is going to be a state-of-the-art community facility, and this initiative will be a fantastic way to ensure community musicians get to perform at the new venue. We are pleased to be partnering with this Community Music reference group as they plan and recruit performers for the initiative. It’s great to see the community taking the lead on this grass roots cultural movement,” said Sharon Custers, Saltwater Venue Manager.
For musicians wishing to get involved, you can register your interest here >>
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