A Week in the Life of the Community Music Centre

It’s Monday afternoon, and five tutors from the Community Music Centre (CMC) are on their way to Gugan Gulwan Aboriginal Youth Centre in Wanniassa to work with young people attending the music drop-in sessions there. Meanwhile, in the Peter Karmel Building at the School of Music, a group of Indigenous women are gathering to sing together as part of the Wamburang Women’s Choir, led by proud Ngunnawal woman Alinta Barlow.

It's Tuesday, and late morning brings a gathering of Canberra’s seniors to enjoy a lecture and performance as part of the CMC’s MU3A series.  Will it be a harpsichord and violin performance from Apeiron Baroque? A lecture and demonstration on the physiological effects of singing from Ben Scott?  An introduction to the history of the saxophone with father and son duo Dirk Zeylmans van Emmichoven and Flynn Marcus? A whole world of music opens before the attentive audience.

Tuesday afternoon, and jazz enthusiasts ranging in age from 15 to 73 years join three ensembles rehearsing in the Peter Karmel practice rooms.  Another similarly sized cohort replaces them on Wednesday afternoon.  In total, over 30 members of the Canberra community will pass through the doors each week to learn how to perform in a small jazz combo, an experience that they can get nowhere else in Canberra.

On the other side of town, the irrepressible Tobias Cole – opera singer and choir conductor – will lead a group of 30 keen choristers at Tuggeranong Arts Centre.  Sing with Toby is an adult amateur choir offering participants the chance to explore key elements of the choral experience.  Just two years into its operation, Sing with Toby has a substantial waiting list.

It’s Thursday, and the lecture rooms in the School of Music are home to small cohorts of students exploring the complexities of music theory and aural skills, led by composer Dante Clavijo.  These groups will offer something for students at all levels, and in recent years have expanded to include jazz theory and composition classes.

Across the courtyard in the Peter Karmel Building, the Girls Jazz+ class meets with teachers Sophie Edwards and Leisa Keen, mastering the art of improvisation in a welcoming place that’s safe for young women and non-binary youth. They’ll learn repertoire covering contemporary, jazz, fusion and funk, and all will get the chance to shine with a solo while backed by their bandmates.

Friday afternoon, and ten different chamber music ensembles gather under the tuition of some of Canberra’s best teachers.  In small groups, these dedicated young musicians will learn what it takes to play together, practicing music from the classical canon.  Later, musicians of all ages will take advantage of the opportunity offered by the CMC’s Blue Room Sessions to perform for friends and family in the Big Band Room, with pianists as young as six fronting up to the Steinway concert grand.

Saturday morning, and depending on the time of year you might find yourself looking in on a Zimbabwean Marimba Workshop, a session on beat-making, or the perennially popular Song to Studio program – an intensive that teaches song writing and music production skills, taking students from a blank page to a fully-formed sound file in five jam-packed, four-hour sessions, culminating in the School of Music’s state of the art studio.  Stick around, and Saturday afternoon could bring a cohort of Community Rock School rockers, having a ball under the gentle tutelage of the CMC’s experienced team, building up to a packed-house performance at the Polish Club in Turner.

If it’s the school holidays, the weekly programs will be suspended, and tutors from the CMC might instead deliver songwriting workshops for one of our partner organisations around the ACT’s town centres.

Whatever the day or time of year, you can be sure that the Community Music Centre is touching lives in Canberra, building skills and confidence, and inspiring people of all ages to take the next step in their musical journey.  

Won’t you join us in 2026?