New Music Teacher of the Year award for the ARIAs

Image: Katie Noonan with her former music teacher Michael Mangan (Chris Hyde for Fairfax)

This year’s ARIA Awards include a new category called Music Teacher of The Year, the Australian Recording Industry Association announced this morning. 

It is to celebrate music teachers for their passion and hard work in educating Australian children to play and love music. 

The award is in conjunction with The Song Room, a national music and arts education organisation.

“This inaugural ARIA Music Teacher of the Year Award highlights our commitment to music education,” said ARIA Chief Executive, Dan Rosen.

“For every performer who makes it to the ARIA stage, there was a teacher or mentor who played a critical role in getting them there.

“Starting this year, we are celebrating our music teachers on the ARIA national stage and to bring attention to the inspiring and impactful work being done by thousands of music teachers across Australia.” 

Jessica Mauboy, Katie Noonan, Missy Higgins and Jay Laga’aia are appointed as Ambassadors for the new category, and will help raise awareness on the importance of music education, as well as helping to showcase the shortlisted nominees.

“Music is what feelings sound like and a great music teacher helps you to turn your feelings into music,” said Mauboy.

“Music has been my best friend and love my whole life – it has helped me, educated me, challenged me and soothed me,” Noonan explained.

“Music teachers instil this love, help reveal the joy and give you the confidence to find your voice and follow your path.

“I am so excited that ARIA are acknowledging the importance of this role and giving thanks to the amazing music educators in our country.”

“Teachers can change the course of your life,” Higgins said. “I had several that played a huge part in helping me decide who I wanted to be when I grew up.

“Most importantly they gave me the confidence to feel that I could pursue a creative career; that I might have something to offer the world that didn’t involve numbers or spreadsheets!”

“Music teachers are the building blocks to a happier and healthier society. They teach us how to listen and how to communicate,” said Laga’aia.

“Music lessons start when you’re in the womb.

“Music teachers give us the tools to appreciate language and sound; how to explore our emotions and hone our hand-eye coordination.

“Most importantly, music teachers show us that music is the universal language that can be appreciated by everyone at every age." 

The new award is open to any teacher working in a school, kindergarten, early childhood centre, youth centre or private tuition music school running a music program.

Anyone from around Australia – from students, school administrators, to friends, neighbours and family – can nominate a worthy music teacher for consideration at www.ariamusicteacheraward.com.au. 

Entries are now open. A shortlist of four nominees will be announced at the ARIA Nominations Event in October. 

Each of the four will be partnered with one of the Ambassadors, who will visit their school, help celebrate their success and tell their story.

A public vote will follow from this, with the winner announced at the ARIA Awards in November. 

The winner will secure a music package for their school, thanks to Fender, Kawai Roland and Yamaha, the details of which will be released in the coming months.

ARIA’s focus on music teachers comes as other organisations, such as Music Australia, press for music education to become mandatory at schools. A study found that 80% of families believe schools should have a music curriculum.

Yet in some states, two out of three primary schools do not offer classroom music. 88% of independent schools offer competent music courses, but only 23% of government schools do. 

“Just recently my son and daughter, Jackie and Mahalia, got to go out to a school in Cairns and talk about music and singing with some kids,” ARIA Hall of Famer Jimmy Barnes said.

“I think it’s incredible that in a country like ours, only one in four schools have music teachers. That’s something we’ve really got to work on…

“Music can change people and I think it’s important that it gets started at a really early age. The sooner the better.”