Image Credit: Daryl Charles
The Music: Count Us In 2019 Program Song, written by school students in early May, was recorded in at Sony Studios in Sydney a few weeks ago by talented instrumentalists from The Arts Unit and singers from the Talent Development Project.
Award-winning producer (and Music: Count Us In Ambassador) John Foreman OAM led the day in collaboration with leading professional musicians Gordon Rytmeister (drum mentor), Mark Costa (bass mentor), Rex Goh (guitar mentor) and Virna Sanzone (vocal mentor). John Foreman and the mentors helped the young musicians shape the program song - taking it from draft form to a complete and polished track. Lots of great photos from the day can be viewed here.
John had this to say about the 2019 track: "Each year, a new group of students comes together to write a song for Music: Count Us In and, as a result, each song is unique – of course each song has its own melody, lyrics and chords, but it also has its own style, its own energy. Often, the songs reflect the style of the music that is popular in that particular year. This year, at the recording session, I wanted to encourage the student musicians and their mentors to take the song in a slightly more contemporary direction in terms of its production. We still have all of the usual elements – a great drummer, bass player, guitarist and keyboard player, as well as two fantastic vocalists – and there's just a touch more electronic production this year. I hope you enjoy the song!" John Foreman
The 2019 Music: Count Us In song will be released in July along with a wide range of lesson plans, professional development sessions and resources for teachers, and will be sung by over half a million young singers as part of the program's national Celebration Day on 7 November 2019. With support from The Surfers Paradise Alliance, this year's main Celebration Day event will take place in Surfers Paradise, livestreamed to thousands of schools participating around Australia.
There's still plenty of time to register for Music: Count Us In this year, so please do encourage any schools and teachers you know to register now to access the song and all of the resources completely FREE.
