Direct Aid Program supports Brett Lee’s Mewsic India Foundation

The Australian Consulate General, under its Direct Aid Program, provided Rs 7,52,205 on 12 June to support former Australian pacer, Brett Lee’s Mewsic India Foundation. The funding will support programs to educate and empower disadvantaged students currently learning music in Dharavi, Mankhurd and Govandi slum communities.

It will also be used to purchase new instruments for the Mewsic Centers, costumes for auditions, to fund a Music Mela concert for the families of students, and the training and upskilling of Mewsic’s own Music Tutors.

During the cheque handover ceremony, Australia’s Consul General in Mumbai, Mr Pierce, commended the efforts of Mewsic which uses music to heal, educate and empower underprivileged children and has already supported 1500 children since its incorporation in 2011.

“As a result of the Australian funding, over 400 children will have access to guitar and keyboard lessons as well as vocal and dance tuition. We are privileged to help them. I hope to see these children perform at one of their melas at the end of the month, said Mr Pierce.

Brett Lee and his team at Mewsic, along with children from the Community Mewsic Centre’s, are delighted to be supported through this grant.

“It’s great to be recognized and have the support of the Australian Government and the DAP.  I am very passionate about both Australia and India and hope that through my foundation we are doing our small bit to foster stronger ties between the two countries.”  Brett Lee said.

“It’s great to see how DAP has imbibed a culture of giving something back to the community and their support is very much appreciated by us here at Mewsic India Foundation.”  Brett Lee said. “We look forward to implementing the work funded by the Australian Consulate and building a long term relation with them.”

Meet our Mewsic Centre Tutors

We are proud to introduce our three tutors Mr.Pravin Patil, Mr Sachin Kamble  and Mr.Mahesh Sonawane  from our Community based Mewsic Centre’s in Mumbai. Mr. Patil teaches singing, Mr. Sachin teaches dance and Mr. Mahesh teaches different musical instruments like guitar, keyboard and flute. Let’s get to know a little about our tutors…

Mr.Pravin Patil

 In 2001, ‘Patil Sir’ was the Assistant Music Director at the Wings Cassette Company before joining our centre. Today he teaches the underprivileged children singing in vernacular languages. He created a program called ‘Music for Education’ where he teaches the children Multiplication and Consonants through music. He likes coming to the centre because he can see the passion and talent that exists in the children. 

“These programs have motivated them so much that they have won trophies for themselves. I don’t like running behind money it’s the passion for music and children that I will always run behind. I believe that I was born a social worker and will always love to serve others.” Patil said.

 He dreams that one day some of his students will become playback singers like Shaan or Shreya Ghosal.

Mr.Sachin Kamble

 Before joining the Mewsic centre, Sachin had his own dance academy where he would conduct classes for children of factory workers and the homeless children.  After visiting the Mewsic centre in Dharavi, he saw how interested the kids were and decided to dedicate his time to them. 

Sachin is passionate about having a social idea, an idea to change the world through his dance skills.  He helps the centre children choreograph performances around social issues such as ‘Girl Child’ to educate them and their audiences on such issues. 

As he has a lot of choreographer friends, he invites them to the centre so that the children can learn different styles of dancing including hip hop, traditional dance and fusion. 

“My relationship with the kids is like a telephone line, there is always some connection.” Sachin said.  “I make it very important that the children study as seriously as they practice their dance.  What more could I ask for rather than training these kids?” 

He dreams that his children will dance on big platform like Dance India Dance or Maharashtra Dancing Superstar.

Mr. Mahesh Sonawane 

Mahesh has been passionate about music since the day he was born. It is genetic in his family to be a musician - his dad was a percussionist in a band and when he was a kid, Mahesh would attend their jam sessions.

He was so curious about learning music that today Mahesh knows to play 19 instruments and openly shares his knowledge with the Centre kids where he teaches the keyboard, flute, tabla, guitar and zambe. 

part from his daily schedule, he likes going regularly to the centers because he finds the children exuberantly interested in music. He is so attached to the kids that he cannot think of looking out for another job. He used to always search for different ways to make a career out of music, but since he came to the centre he knows this is his career.

 “My dream is not to be a good player but to be a good teacher.” He says. 

 He aspires that one day his students will perform at big events and people will say ‘Wow he is a student of Mahesh ’

Upcoming Mewsic Mela

Tutors and Staff of the Mewsic India Foundation during the planning meeting of the Mewsic Mela

The children of Mewsic India Foundation’s Mewsic Centres are busy organizing a fun-filled concert on the 27^th July 2014 for Brett and Lana Lee in Dharavi, Mumbai.

It’s time for Brett Lee to visit his foundation and the children are all geared up to showcase their talent, skills and hard work to him and his wife.

They will also perform in front of their parents and family who will also be invited to the event to witness the evolution and development of the children since starting at the Mewsic Centres.

Mewsic Centre Tutors Sachin, Mahesh and Patil are preparing a list of different songs for their children to perform and the bar has been set high to deliver a powerful and inspiring performance

Tightening of skills and performance is on top of their to-do list! Mewsic’s dance Tutor, Sachin is preparing to spread social awareness through his dance choreography with his students preparing to perform a dance on the girl child.

This is the first time the children from centers, Dharavi, Govandi and Mankhurd will be meeting each other and performing together on stage.

Discussion and brainstorming meetings are in the process to create an event to remember with different dances, singing and music.

If you are Mumbai on this day, come visit us by confirming your presence at info@mewsic.in 

Meet the Music Therapy Interns!

Mewsic has been blessed with four final-year music therapy students from the University of Melbourne! Read about these talented young ladies who are here doing wonderful things for the cancer children from underpriviliged backgrounds at st. jude childcare centre, as well as their supervisor Lucy, Mewsic's 2013 partner representative from Australian Music Therapy Association!

Introducing Ashleigh, Angelie, Emily and Vanessa and their Supervisor (as well as representative from Australian Music Therapy Association) Lucy!

Angelie

Angelie is from Melbourne, Australia and has a great passion for using her music skills to help children of all ages achieve their potentials in health.  Angelie loves to sing and play piano, and enjoys spending time with her teeny tiny dog!  She loves good food, engaging conversations and groovy music.

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Ashleigh

Ashleigh completed her bachelor in contemporary music at JMC academy in Melbourne in 2010 majoring in vocals and will complete her Master of Music Therapy at the University of Melbourne at the end of 2013.Through her clinical placements Ashleigh has had experience working in aged care, palliative care and general paediatrics within the acute hospital setting. Outside of university life, Ashleigh works as a vocal and piano teacher and performs regularly around Melbourne as a vocalist in several bands.

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Emily

Emily completed her Bachelor of Music (studying double bass) at the University of Western Australia in 2010 and will complete her Master of Music Therapy at the University of Melbourne at the end of 2013. Through her clinical placements Emily has experience working in paediatric oncology, early intervention, and neurological rehabilitation. In her spare time Emily likes to bake!

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Vanessa

Vanessa studied at the Sydney Conservatorium where she completed a Bachelor of Music (first class honours) in 2007 and a Masters of Music (Performance) in 2009, majoring on flute. Having toured extensively overseas as Principal Flutist with numerous orchestras throughout China, Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy and the Netherlands, Vanessa has also toured and performed nationally with chamber ensembles and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Vanessa continues to play as a freelance musician in Sydney while also completing a Masters of Music Therapy. Vanessa’s music therapy experience includes working with children in palliative care and respite, adolescents with autism, and in a residential nursing home for patients with dementia.

Lucy - Supervisor & Representative from Australian Music Therapy Association

Lucy has recently submitted her PhD at Melbourne University studying the process of collaborative music participation with communities supporting marginalised young people. She is committed to participatory approaches to clinical practice and research.
Recent clinical practice working in a women and children’s refuge in Bangladesh prompted an interest in the potential role and subsequent responsibilities of music therapists working in community and international development settings.  This experience has fuelled a broader interest in sustainability and collaboration in music therapy practice, which has informed in her recent music therapy action research projects and practice, both in community and education settings in Melbourne, Australia.

Looking forward, Lucy has just taken a position working as a course tutor for the graduate certificate of music therapy in Delhi, India. She looks forward to further exploring notions of collaboration, music and health in the South Asian context.

FAQs about Music Therapy

Why use Music as a basis for Therapy?

This field of therapy has developed out of the fact that music is universal, connecting people across language and cultural barriers. Music is innate and is therefore powerful in the responses it can generate from each individual, making music therapy unique in practice, yet widespread in its application.

Who can benefit from Music Therapy?

Music Therapists use music interventions to address the health goals of all age groups and abilities.

Music therapy can address physical, social, emotional and developmental health goals of individuals. Some examples of using music therapy include, but are not limited to:

·        Pain management and relaxation

·        Positive engagement to address withdrawal from environment (particularly for pediatric patients)

·        assisting with sleep

·        Using music in conjunction with other therapies to reach full health potentials, such as occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and speech therapy

·        Emotional distress, release, and music-supported counselling

·        Socialisation, relatedness and positive self-esteem

·        Communication and speech development and/or rehabilitation

·        Physical development and rehabilitation

Do you need to have musical skill to benefit from Music Therapy?

While music-based techniques are applied in sessions, a music therapy participant does not need to possess any formal musical training or experience beforehand.

What kind of techniques are applied during a music therapy session?

Some of the techniques used by music therapists include:

·        instrument playing

·        songwriting and lyric substitution

·        music improvisation

·        receptive music therapy and reminiscence

·        rhythmic enterainment (physical rehabilitation)

What training is required to become a Music Therapist?

Music therapy is a research-based practice that is conducted by practitioners all around the World, at varying levels. While some education institutions provide 6-month courses on Music Therapy, becoming a qualified Music Therapist of international standard requires the completion of a post-graduate degree in Music Therapy, involving a mix of research-based and placement-based learning.

Why does Mewsic recruit Music Therapists from Australia?

Music Therapy is still a new field of therapy in India. There are very few opportunities to train to become a music therapist, with those currently being offered not yet reaching international standards.

The goal of the Mewsic Therapy in Hospitals program is to provide employment opportunities for local music therapists, thus providing job placements for local graduates and encouraging the growth of this field in the country. Working towards this goal, Mewsic is providing placements for Australian Music Therapists, in order to establish Mewsic Therapy Departments providing therapy session of international standards, in order to nurture local therapists through internships, and work towards a smooth hand-over towards local music therapists in the future.

Mewsic Therapy begins at St Jude with Four Australian Music Therapy Interns!

Students Ashleigh, Angelie, Emily and Vanessa from the University of Melbourne and their supervisor from Australian Music Therapy Association, Lucy, are delivering one month of Mewsic Therapy within  four St Jude Centres over the month and developing individualized techniques in music therapy to address the social, physical, emotional and developmental needs of children suffering from cancer and their families.
 
Through individual and group sessions, the students providing holistic support and recovery for children and their families from remote areas of India. Techniques have thus far included improvisation, the making of instruments together out of household/inexpensive items, song writing, song sharing, music and movement, and a ukeule group for fathers and children, as well as the usage of music for relaxation/pain management.
 
Collaboration with local staff at the hospital is an integral part of building a sustainable project and continuous engaging in skills sharing is promoting a learning exchange between the students, families, staff and their support-network at St Jude ChildCare Centres.

Welcome Luke Holmes: Mewsic's First Permanent Music Therapist!

"I am extremely excited in joining the Mewsic Therapy in Hospitals Program and hope to further music therapy application, publicity, knowledge and research within India and the world. I hope to explore the role in which traditional and contemporary Indian music can play within music therapy, and look forward to experiencing India’s rich and diverse cultures first-hand."

Thanks to a partnership with the Rotary Club of Mumbai Nariman Point, we will be kicking off with Mewsic's first permanent music therapist, Luke Holmes, by the start of the New Year!

Luke is an experienced and passionate Australian music therapist and educator with a keen interest in the application of music therapy interventions for children. He holds a Bachelor of Music / Bachelor of Teaching from the University of New England, a Masters in Music Therapy from the University of Queensland, and is due to complete a Master’s in Education Studies as well as a Diploma in Cognitive and Developmental Psychology from the University of Queensland in early 2014. 

Luke has experience working in community, health, and both main stream and special education settings. He has been the conductor for the University of New England’s Earle Page choir, and is a Neurological Music Therapy Fellow with the R.F Unkefer Academy for Neurological Music Therapy at Colorado State University (USA).