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Program launched for World Music Therapy Week – Nominated for Award

Last year WollCon and Cram Foundation announced a new collaboration during World Music Therapy Week. We were thrilled to be Finalists in the Australian Disability Service Awards.
VIDEO OUTCOMES OF YEAR LONG PROJECT

Local disability organisation The Cram Foundation and the Wollongong Conservatorium announced a new partnership last year, collaborating on a ground-breaking, year-long music therapy program and outcomes of the project were announced at a special event.

As FINALISTS for the Best Community Program Award for the 2024 Australian Disability Service Awards, we attended an event held at Doltone House in Sydney on the 13th November. While we didn’t win we were proud our collaboration with Cram Foundation was recognised nationally.

Cram event

ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The collaboration involved two highly qualified music therapists from WollCon, Bertie McMahon and Harry Tregilgas visiting Cram homes across the region, working with residents to explore and unleash their musical creativity.

Bertie and Harry used techniques in music therapy practice to facilitate the creativity of the participants and tailored their work to each participant’s strengths.  The outcomes of the project, which was largely funded by Create NSW, were determined by the creative energies and musical interests of the participants.

Harry and Bertie

Research into the benefits of music therapy for people with disability continues to grow.  WollCon, as the region’s largest provider of music therapy services and Cram anticipate that this project, and the learnings from it will inform future practice as well as highlight how music therapy can lead to positive health, wellbeing and creative outcomes for all.

As a disability service provider, The Cram Foundation understands that the importance of creative expression and music therapy for people with a disability cannot be understated. “We are passionate about finding new ways to engage people with disability in music and creativity, and the dedication of both The Cram Foundation and Wollongong Conservatorium to deliver this project is a testament to its merits”, said Cram’s CEO Karen Burdett.

“WollCon is about positive change through music – for all members of the community.  We are delighted to partner in this project which not only takes music therapists to the heart of a community,  but will provide creative opportunities for participants who may not otherwise access this kind of opportunity and the positive benefits it delivers”

David Francis

CEO, WollCon

Cram event stage 1
READ THE MERCURY ARTICLE ABOUT THE VIDEOS
Positive Change Through Music

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Wollongong Conservatorium is located on Dharawal country. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging, celebrate their continuing culture and the contribution First Nations people make to the life of this region and our country.

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Wollongong Conservatorium of Music is funded by the NSW Government through the Regional Conservatorium Grants Program

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Anne Mowbray

Director

Anne has been a member of the Wollcon Board since 2019. She holds a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts from UNSW. She is an Accredited Specialist in Family Law and an accredited Mediator and Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner. She has taught family law and other subjects at Wollongong University.

For a number of years she has been a subscriber to the Australian Chamber Orchestra which regularly performs in Wollongong . She has been passionate about music and in particular music education to children and adults.

Jake Pearson

Director

Jake has worked in the disability sector for 24 years- 17 of these with Interchange and 7 years as their CEO. Jake is passionate about inclusion and equality for both people with disability and their carers.

He holds an MBA, Bachelor of Commerce, Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, as well as completing Diploma’s in Case Management, Community Services Coordination and the AICD Company Directors Course.

Jake is also a committee member on the International Short Breaks Association Board and has been a Director on the Wollongong Conservatorium of Music Board since 2022.

Wayne Morris

Director

Wayne is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors as well as being a qualified company secretary and accountant with over 35 years experience in banking and finance. He performed for nine of those years as Chief Executive of IMB Ltd, and the preceding seven years as Company Secretary and Chief Financial Officer, also with IMB. Wayne’s primary expertise is in the areas of governance, management, accounting, risk management and banking and finance. He has spent his whole life living in the Illawarra and is passionate about ensuring the Illawarra can provide the best possible opportunities and lifestyle for its residents. In 2024 Wayne was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for services to the community.

Dr Terumi Narushima

Deputy Chair

Dr Terumi Narushima is a senior lecturer and Music Discipline Leader at the University of Wollongong. She is a composer, performer and sound designer specialising in microtonal tuning systems. Her works include Tritriadic Chimes, a sound installation for LA MicroFest, Hidden Sidetracks, a composition for custom-made instruments premiered by Ensemble Offspring at Sydney Opera House, and a project to build microtonal flutes using 3D printing. She has worked on theatre collaborations which have been presented nationally and internationally, including Yasukichi Murakami: Through a Distant Lens, Lost in Shanghai, and The Story of Chi. She performs with microtonal ensemble Clocks and Clouds, and her book Microtonality and the Tuning Systems of Erv Wilson is published by Routledge.

Nicky Sloan

Chair

Nicky is the CEO of Community Industry Group. She has degrees in Dementia Care, Community & Environment and Marketing, and a Grad Dip in Project Management. She is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and an Honorary Fellow of UOW. In addition to Chairing the WollCon Board, she is Deputy Chair of the Regional Development Australia Illawarra Shoalhaven Board and an Independent Non-Executive Director of Warrigal, a large not-for-profit specialising in the provision of services for older people.

Her corporate governance and strategy experience extends through a 20+ year career on boards in the corporate, government and NFP sectors.