Trust Launches Second Songwriting Programme

Wednesday 16 March 2005

Play It Strange Trust Launches Second Songwriting Programme - SongNet

Play It Strange is launching SongNet, it’s second major programme at Taradale High School, Napier at 10am on Friday 18 March.

The Hon Dr Michael Cullen will officiate the launch which will be celebrated by a performance of ‘5 Minutes With You’ by The New Trend’s Justin Pitt and Ben Shuker, second placegetters in the Play It Strange National Secondary School Songwritng Competition in 2004 and now past students of the school.

The innovative and interactive site funded by Century Foundation Ltd and built by Springload will be available to over 400 secondary schools, each school able to nominate 4 songwriters and with the potential for 1,600 students to be using the site.

“It is an exciting and frightening thought that we may be inundated with subscribers”, says Trust CEO, Mike Chunn, who has just successfully completed the first round of the Secondary School Songwriting Competition and has no doubt that the demand for SongNet will be high. “We will be privileged to have some great professional songwriters giving time and imparting their knowledge to some of New Zealand’s future great song smiths”.

The four major facilities for the SongNet students are; Song Studio – upload songs for one on one feedback from an expert, Ask An Expert – submit questions that will be answered by one of a panel of experts, Share A Song – upload, share and rate songs of other registered student songwriters, and Forums – discussing issues relating to songwriting.

The Play It Strange Trust was established in November 2003 for the purpose of encouraging young New Zealanders to develop interests and skills in music composing and performance. This second programme will compliment the already established songwriting competition. “We want young people and society as a whole to see the value in writing good songs”, says Chunn who expects the trust will be considering the launch of a third programme in 2006.

see http://www.playitstrange.co.nz.

ENDS

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