Music for All Ages

There’s a lot of buzz around about intergenerational projects (think Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds/Teenagers) so we created one right here in Toormina. Thanks to an Arts & Cultural Grant from City of Coffs Harbour Council, I joined forces with The Link, to bring together Seniors from Marian Grove and other local retirement villages and students from Mary Help of Christians Primary School to collaborate and make some music.

The project ran for six weeks at The Link on Friday mornings from the end of October through to December. After an hour’s ukulele lesson, participants enjoyed a morning tea where they could get to know each other a little better. Some of the Seniors have already had experience playing the ukulele with the Marian Grove Ukulele Group, which has been running for 11 years now, and others in the group had never picked up an instrument before.

Intergenerational programs provide learning opportunities, care and social support for children and older people in the same setting, at the same time. These can benefit wellbeing across generations as children and older adults interact and exchange knowledge and skills. The Link was always set up as an intergenerational space for the community, so it was a natural fit to run the project there.

Marian Grove resident and participant, Brian Burn, found the sessions “wonderful and inspiring”. He says, “the mixture of age groups enables a more open approach to playing and better interaction between those involved. It is also a joy to see how much the younger generation are progressing, the appreciation they exude, and the willingness they exhibit towards learning this instrument.”

The project concluded with a Christmas Concert on Friday 8th December at the Marian Grove Recreation Hall attended by Marian Grove residents, friends and family, as well as City of Coffs Harbour Mayor Paul Amos. With all participants, young and old, saying they want the project to continue – I would call this a huge success!

Image by Pete Sechi, Peter Sechi Photography