By Taylah Eastwell
An Olinda woman has published a book detailing the long and colourful forty year history of the Dandenong Ranges Music Council (DRMC).
Drawing from annual reports, Helen Holliday recently published the book which recounts the last four decades of the DRMC, starting from its humble beginnings.
“I was on the original steering committee and the first board. When the DRMC was coming up for 40 years in 2019 the first thought I had was this organisation has been going for such a long time, it was very important someone wrote its history,” Ms Holliday said.
The DRMC began as a result of a year’s teaching exchange for the McAlister family, from The Patch, when Murray McAlister took his young family to a quaint town in Montana, USA. All four McAlister children there started to learn to play various instruments, but on their return to The Patch, there were no bands or orchestras for the children to continue honing their skills.
With only luck to thank, the recently retired Director of Music for the Royal Australian Navy, Don Coxon, had just moved to the neighbouring suburb of Kallista. Mr Coxon, together with Murray and Bev McAlister, approached the local member of the Victorian Parliament, Bill Borthwick, for support on establishing a committee. A new committee was formed shortly after, marking the beginning of the DRMC.
Before long new bands were formed, as well as choirs, recorder groups, guitar groups, string groups and bush bands – all under the auspices of the DRMC over the years.
The DRMC was recognised by the Australia Council in 1990 as the premier community music organisation in Australia.
With support from Yarra Ranges Council, the Australia Council and the Victorian Ministry for Arts, the DRMC has not only offered the gift of music to young people by helping them to learn instruments or sing in a choir, but has also provided opportunities for people of all ages to get involved in music.
Notable large scale productions over the years have given employment to composers, music therapists, sound engineers and lighting techs, as well as training opportunities for the countless volunteers keen to learn about stage and concert management, music librarianship and logistics management.
A sub-group, known as The Happy Wanderers, have been visiting nursing homes and retirement villages for over 20 years to provide care and entertainment.
For many years, two scholarships have also been awarded annually to promising young musicians. The Ann and Chris Krans Award and the Bill Borthwick Award have each seen many children go on to become professional musicians and teachers around the globe.
“It’s a sense of achievement because I really felt it was very important to write the history of the DRMC,” Ms Holliday said.
The DRMC history book is $80.00 plus $14.50 for post, packaging and Australia Post tracking.
Contact: drmchistory@gmail.com; or the website: communitymusicdandenongs.com.
The book also includes information about other community music groups in the Dandenongs, as well as their connections with other communities in Australia.
