It’s been an incredible year in the ANU’s new Community Music Centre (CMC), and as 2024 draws to a close it is a good time to reflect on all that has been achieved.
Four separate Blue Room Sessions were held (formerly Young Performers Concerts), welcoming the usual classical cohort as well as adult and non-classical performers to make a total of 150 individual performances.  These sessions provided an opportunity for aspiring musicians to perform for family and friends in a welcoming and supportive environment in School of Music’s Big Band Room.  
This emphasis on access and inclusion has led to some new collaborations in 2024.  Sing with Toby, a community choir for adults at the Tuggeranong Arts Centre was officially launched to great success after a trial period in 2023, now with a steadfast and keen thirty-five core members, with rehearsals once a week and performances held throughout the year at various community events.
The CMC also offered songwriting workshops at Tuggeranong Arts Centre, and with Woden Youth Centre and Gunners Place in Gungahlin, connecting the territory’s youth with talented young artists such as Dan Kirkland, KP Hydes and Sophie Edwards.  
The Wamburang Women’s Choir completed their first full year of Monday night rehearsals and rounded out the year with performances at landmark events such as National Apology Breakfast at Parliament House, the launch of the Ouroboros sculpture launch at the National Gallery of Australia and the ACT NAIDOC Week awards.  Among other winners, this year’s NAIDOC awards celebrated the work of another program supported by the Community Music Centre: Gugan Gulwan’s weekly music drop-in sessions, which involves four tutors from the CMC who provide backing and tuition on keyboards, bass, guitar, drums and vocals.
In 2024 the CMC also launched their Zoom in Studio program with local producer Kojo Ansah, delivering a total 16 one-on-one remote consultations to assist amateur musicians with their home-recording set-up, and this innovative new program is still taking registrations for sessions over the summer months.
The Community Music Centre also collaborated for the first time with University of the Third Age (U3A) on a series of lectures and performances to introduce a wider audience to some of the talented staff and students at the ANU School of Music with a stellar eight talks acorss the year.
All this in addition to five weekly jazz combo rehearsals, nine weekly chamber ensemble groups, a youth chamber choir, weekly classes in music theory, aural skills and composition, the ever-popular Community Rock School programs, the five-week Song to Studio intensives, and a raft of other one-off workshops and classes.
As one program participant puts it:
“The Community Music Centre is a leading example of substantial and enduring community engagement… The breadth of offerings and the diverse repertoires covered across the programs is extraordinary.”
If you’d like to find out more about the Community Music Centre’s 2025 programs, you can sign up here to receive their newsletter, or visit their website for more information.