Jazz virtuoso, James Morrison, will jam with more than 50 primary school students from three remote Cape York communities at the Queensland Music Festival’s (QMF) Jazz on the Green event, at Palm Cove in the state’s far north on 13 September.
The musical performance will form part of the QMF’s Cape York Instrumental Project (CYIP), which works with students in Aurukun, Hope Vale and Coen to provide them access to the same quality of music and band programs found in any metropolitan Australian primary schools.
Outgoing QMF artistic director, James Morrison, said CYIP demonstrates how music can transform lives.
“We are extremely proud of QMF’s work in remote Far North Queensland, and seeing the positive influence music can have on children’s lives is incredible,” he said.
“I love following the students’ journeys, watching them learn and improve, and seeing them perform in concert as budding musicians.
“I’m really looking forward to catching up with our CYIP graduates to hear firsthand about the legacy of the project.”
Mr Morrison’s upcoming CYIP jam marks the first time the artist has attended the band camp, despite having performed with the kids on many occasions, and being instrumental in setting up the QMF’s Indigenous programs.
Band camp leaders, multi-instrumentalist John Morrison and Jane Hopkinson, will also be joined on-stage by groups from QMF, University of Queensland (UQ) and the Aboriginal Centre for Performing Arts (ACPA).
Some CYIP graduates, who now attend Mount St Bernard College in Herberton, will also come along to share their experiences of leaving their communities to become boarders at a high school and how joining the school band helped with that transition.
The CYIP, which has been running for the last four years, is part of Noel Pearson’s Cape York Academy (CYA).
Its annual calendar highlight is the three-day band camp where all the kids get to leave their communities to come together and perform.
The CYA School Band has previously performed at the Yarrabah Band Festival, a former Jazz on the Green event and Tropical Jam as part of the G20 Cultural Celebrations.
