Recently, PULSE attended the first music for all conference, as part of the Chords of Community collaboration with Norges Musikkorps Forbund, Field Band Foundation, The University of Witwatersrand and The Norwegian Academy of Music.

The first Music for All conference took place in Oslo in April this year. It is an international meeting place and learning arena for students and teachers. The conference aims to strengthen the quality of higher music education through international cooperation between universities and NGOs, as well as strengthening the relevance of Home Medical Equipment (HME) by focusing on inclusion, diversity, and intercultural competence.

Norges Musikkorps Forbund (NMF) and Field Band Foundation (FBF) participated in this conference as they both contribute towards positive development in their communities.

During this conference, NMF and FBF — along with other organisations involved — exchanged knowledge on how they do activities in their different projects. We discussed different methods of teaching, inclusive music education, exchange programs, and ways to sustain our projects.

Most importantly, PULSE shared methods of getting members to stay in the band longer and making band rehearsals attractive namely playing instruments while dancing or moving and social based games as part of creating a safe space for everyone.

The Participants got an opportunity to visit a Norwegian school band and to see how they work in their local projects. Here, we were able to observe and learn ways we can use to sustain and better our projects.

The Music for All conference concluded by a big concert hosted by all the participants. Here different cultures, dances and music styles were combined to showcase the effectiveness of international collaborations.

Written by Lesley Sebola