Gift of Music, a charity that supports children with geographical, social or economic disadvantage to pursue their musical passions, brought Brayden Black to Brisbane last week. Black, a gifted French horn student from St John’s College in drought-stricken Roma, was involved in a serious car accident that destroyed his horn.
Gift of Music stepped in to sponsor Black and have already provided an emergency replacement instrument to his school. They will soon be presenting Brayden with a new Yamaha French horn valued at $5299 to better suit his growing skills.
Gift of Music brought Brayden to Brisbane to attend the High Brass Weekend at the Queensland Conservatorium from 19 to 21 July – The Conservatorium waived the course fee. Gift of Music covered travel costs and his accommodation for the week at Mantra Southbank, which provided a discount for the occasion. Queensland Symphony Orchestra organised free tickets to attend the symphony performance and for Black to attend a closed rehearsal. There, Black met QSO French horn players Malcolm Stewart and Vivienne Collier-Vickers. Playing and learning with elite performers was a once in a lifetime experience for Black. The hope is that these few days and the use of this new horn will be a great inspiration to Black and an experience he will never forget.
Recently, at the Maryborough Music Conference,Gift of Music officially launched their Student Scholarship program which is aimed at disadvantaged children in rural and remote Australia and aims to assist them in their quest to make music. Scholarships are available to eligible Australian children in regional areas who display an advanced skill or talent in music.
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