Instruments For The Outback

IFO 2024

In our eighth year of reaching remote regional communities, the IFO team are headed just outside of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. This year we're supporting Yirara College, an Aboriginal boarding school for Indigenous teens. They house students from all remote communities right across the Territory and across the borders into South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia.

We're currently fundraising to purchase musical instruments and equipment to support Yirara's school music program and introduce the students to a wider range of instruments. To deliver these musical goods we're partnering again with Colemans Music in Melbourne who supply all our wonderful drum kits, guitars, keyboards and amps. We'll be donating these instruments plus delivering workshops on songwriting, performance and recording.

We'd also like to acknowledge our long time donors YV Financial Services and UniHill Church in Melbourne, who both have been incredible supporters of IFO and the communities we serve. 

ABOUT IFO

Instruments For The Outback is a project launched out of a desire to tackle youth suicide, depression and crime in remote Australian communities. After years of touring and performing across regional Australia, founders Andy and Levi saw the hunger for music in remote communities and realised what a difference it could make.
Through years of fundraising and travel the IFO team has been able to provide multiple Indigenous communities across the Northern Territory, South Australia and beyond with musical instruments, recording equipment, sound gear and music education resources. Trips are held yearly taking teams of professional musicians to work with kids and adults who want to learn to play guitar, drums, write songs or have a chance to perform. 

BACKGROUND


Beginning in 2017, Instruments for The Outback has taken teams of professional musicians to run music workshops and engage with indigenous communities in Outback Australia. With the help of generous supporters we've raised more than $50,000 to get musical supplies into Outback schools and community organisations. Our aim is to develop the skills of young indigenous musicians by providing opportunities to perform, record, and be mentored by music professionals.

After succesful trips in 2017 and 2018, this year we will visit two locations. In Woolaning, Northern Territory we will be continuing to support the establishment of a music camp with local music teacher Roger Latham. The camp offers music tuition and performance opportunities for indigenous young people, neighbouring community groups and school camps.

We will also be taking team of professional musicians to Gawa Christian School on Elcho Island in East Arnhem Land. There we hope to help create a performance space plus put together a small recording studio. This provides an opportunity to keep language alive, giving elders and students the chance to record music – both traditional and contemporary in an endangered language.

The team, alongside local musicians also hopes to co-facilitate workshops on a range of musical instruments and offer mentoring for the use of recording equipment throughout the week.

As a team we are excited by opportunities to learn from aboriginal elders through song, dance and story and to see students talents expressed as they perform and create songs in Djambarpungu and Warramiri languages.

Our aim is to build strong, ongoing relationships through shared cross-cultural musical experiences for both indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.

 

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  • Cheryl
    commented 2019-04-11 16:38:33 +1000
    God is with you and the team as you prepare to go and help the kids in the Centre. They will be blessed by the experience as much as the team going will be. Our church will be praying for you all involved