Newsletter, Term 4 2022
Kia ora
I hope your end of year wind up is going well, and you are able to do something nice and relaxing over the holidays!
2022 has definitely been an interesting year, full of challenges, change and celebrations. When I joined The Rauhī Project in September, I was excited to find a group of enthusiastic tutors, amazing students, a dedicated Board, and wonderful supporters in the community that value the important mahi we do. I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting you all, and I am always interested in grabbing a coffee and chatting about the future of the programme!
Expansion of the scholarship stream
One of the initiatives offered by The Rauhī Project is our scholarship stream, providing students the opportunity for weekly one-on-one music lessons, weekly group music theory lessons, and practical and theory exams – all at no cost to the families. Through the Huber Social results, exam results, and testimonials from parents and students, it was proven that our scholarship stream is the stream with the most impact, development, and opportunities for musical education and social development.
Unfortunately in the past we were only able to offer 7 scholarship spaces, reaching just 5% of our student base.
However, in Term 3 this year we were able to expand our scholarship stream to 12 places, offering more students the opportunity for intensive musical study with our passionate team of tutors! These last six months of music lessons have already made a huge difference in the lives of these students, with one parent remarking to me that engaging with music has already noticeably increased her daughter’s confidence. That is amazing feedback to receive, and I feel very honoured to be part of this life-changing team.
We will continue to offer this enlarged scholarship stream in 2023, and I’m certain we will continue to see amazing results!
Community choir
In Term 4 we were excited to start our community choir, successfully bringing together students from different schools in Hamilton West to engage in choral singing, storytelling through music, folk dance, communal music making, and healthy kai! In only eight short weeks our students were able to perform an impressive repertoire of six songs (in four different languages!) and two percussion pieces. These were performed at both our End of Year Concert in December, as well as a performance at the Gallagher Performing Arts Centre in collaboration with the Youth Orchestra Waikato, Tron Songsters, and the Waldorf School Choir.
As well as collaborating with other musical groups in the Waikato, our community choir also engaged with Volunteering Waikato and Wintec to utilise volunteering within our community. We welcomed Flynn as a volunteer music tutor, giving him the opportunity to participate in and facilitate musical education. As his goal is to one day work as a music teacher, this opportunity to gain practical experience and references through volunteering will help him follow his dream, and one day inspire more students through music!
End of year concert
This year we were excited to perform an End of Year Concert to our whānau, giving each of our scholarship students the opportunity to perform a solo piece, and to début our community choir! For some students this was their very first time playing in front of an audience, but based on their amazing performances, you would never know! Their skill and confidence up on stage made us all incredibly proud, and we were able to celebrate their hard work with a round of applause, many hugs from family, and a delicious BBQ afterwards thanks to the support of the Rapid Relief Team.
While we were unfortunately not able to hold this event at a bigger location and invite all of our amazing supporters, we are excited to be holding a Celebration Concert on Saturday May 13th, 2023! A formal invitation will be sent out next year, but in the meantime save the date!
Exam results
We are very proud to announce that all of our scholarship students who took their practical music exam in December passed, including three with Distinction and five with Honours! While the day of the exam was filled with nervous energy and last-minute revision, I’m sure a great deal of celebrating was done once these amazing results came out!
The results from our musical theory exams are still to be released, but we will be posting on our Facebook page as soon as we know so make sure to follow us!
IMPORTANT UPDATES
Join the team!
We have two exciting opportunities for people to get involved with The Rauhī Project next year:
Cello tutor
We are on the lookout for a new cello tutor to join our passionate team of music tutors in 2023! If you know anyone who may be interested in joining the team, please feel free to pass on our position description.
Board member
If you are interested in having a voice in the Governance side of The Rauhī Project, please contact us and we can set up a meeting!
Thank you!
I would like to finish with a huge THANK YOU for supporting The Rauhī Project this year. While we work hard throughout the year to positively change lives in our community through musical education, we can’t do what we do without your help. We are incredibly grateful, and look forward to working with you again in 2023!
Have a very Meri Kirihimete, and a happy new year!
