Music group donates tuitions to young musos

A COMMUNITY group based in Queenscliff is investing in the future after announcing the recipients of its two yearly Music Tuition Scholarships.

Borough group Shedding The Blues, which connects residents nearing retirement age through their love of music, announced its two scholarship winners at a live event earlier this month.

14-year old, Solemon Mustafa from Clifton Springs received the Vocal Scholarship award and will now undertake regular lessons to further refine his voice and grow his skills as a singer.

Tahni Muscat, a 13-year old St Leonards resident, was awarded the Instrumental Scholarship to extend her piano lessons allowing her to build on her skills.

Shedding The Blues has been based out of Queenscliff RSL since 2020, taking on the form of a Men’s Shed-like organisation, using music as a connector rather than tools and machines.

Portarlington resident and coordinator of the Bellarine Musos Den, Jeff Cairns, has contributed funds to the scholarships in recent years.

Mr Cairns said Shedding The Blues has been doing wonderful work in the region for almost half a decade.

“They’ve done a lot of good there in Queenscliff since they started and they’re getting a lot of shoot off bands because of the initiative,” Mr Cairns said.

“Groups of people are able to come together there, and potentially do live performances elsewhere.

“We’ve donated some of our income at our past events in Portarlington to Shedding The Blues to make these scholarships possible, and we’ve seen a real difference made to kids because of this initiative.”

Shedding The Blues meets at the RSL each Tuesday at 10am.

For more information about Shedding The Blues, head to sheddingtheblues.weebly.com