we can all make music

introducing ourselves

What we are and what we do

Community Music Victoria Inc. (CMV) is a not-for-profit membership-based association that supports, promotes and facilitates music-making among Victorian communities.

We have a Board of twelve (most of whom are dedicated group music-making practitioners), two fulltime staff and a team of independent contractors (see Who's Who), all committed to helping Victorians rediscover and exercise their music-making capacities.

There have been government-supported community music programs since the late 70s. In Victoria, until the early 90s, these programs were usually auspiced by the now defunct Community Arts Network Victoria (CANV). When CANV disbanded in '94, their music officer, Stephen Costello along with Bev McAlister (founder of the Dandenong Ranges Music Council) moved to ensure that the support of community music-making would continue. They did this by establishing CMV.

For the next seven years CMV undertook a breathtaking range of initiatives including the establishment of the Darebin Music Feast (now a regular festival run by the City of Darebin), the Great Southern Sounds Festival, a regular community radio program, songwriting workshops and competitions plus much, much more.

In '01, Stephen Costello decided that 13 years of organisational work was enough and that it was time to return to direct field work and VicHealth approached us wondering if we might be interested in auspicing the singing leadership program established by Fay White and Anne-Marie Holley (see 'The Two of Us').

In hindsight, this request heralded a new direction for CMV, based on a new understanding of the function of group music-making in society. We have described these understandings in detail elsewhere (see ReallyMeaningThing). The starting points were that all of us have the need, desire, capacity and right to make music with others AND that it is in the making of music together (rather than in public performance - as performer or audience) that the most profound impacts are felt.

These insights have led us to develop a program we have named Victoria Sings for the development and support of enterprising (and predominantly voluntary) singing leadership within communities. We have developed goals and strategies to achieve a 'State of Singing' in Victoria and have a range of services covering:

Training
Networking
Advice and counselling
Advocacy
Resource development

The key outcome of this work will be the emergence of a state-wide network of independent, self-sustaining and regenerative singing circles that:

are engaged with their communities;
welcome newcomers;
nurture their participants; and,
are proudly diverse.

Our services are available to all Victorians. Please contact us if you think we can help.

we can all make music

introducing ourselves

What we are and what we do

making a sound world together