Community
24 October, 2024
Memorial scholarship celebrates 40 years
THREE of the most talented young musicians in the region have earned accolades through the Jean Wood Memorial Musical Scholarship, which over the weekend celebrated 40 years of supporting an appreciation of music.
This year saw Dixie’s Izzy Moloney named junior scholarship winner in addition to senior winners Lachlan McLennan from Timboon and Ben Henderson from Noorat.
While successfully securing the scholarship was a momentous occasion for this year’s recipients, so too was it for the Jean Wood Memorial Musical Scholarship itself – celebrating 40 years of supporting aspiring musicians in the region.
The scholarship was first established in 1984 by Diana Allen OAM in memory of late music teacher Jean Wood, who spent most of her life teaching piano and musical appreciation to children across the region.
Mrs Allen had been a close friend of Jean Wood for almost 25 years, who died in 1983 at the age of 74 after a short battle with illness.
Mrs Allen said, while mourning the loss of her dear friend, she had the idea to launch a music scholarship which would honour the legacy Jean Wood left of enriching the appreciation of music across the south west.
She had first publicised the idea in the Terang Express, and donations from friends, families and those who appreciated all Mrs Wood had done soon began pouring in.
“I also presented a successful fundraising jazz concert in the newly restored Rose Room at the Terang Civic Theatre that Jean and I, and others, had saved from demolition a few years earlier,” Mrs Allen said.
“In no time we had the money to proceed with the idea of a music scholarship in Jean’s name, and formed a committee of management with the first president being well-known Terang dentist Dr David Richards.
“The Jean Wood Memorial Musical Scholarship was up and running, and we never looked back.
“It has given me a great deal of pleasure over the years knowing how thrilled Jean would have been in supporting the future of music education in Terang and surrounding districts in such a wonderful way.
“I never imagined it would be around 40 years later, and I really think it could go another 40 years.”
Mrs Allen offered her congratulations to this year’s recipients – all of whom embody a characteristic most treasured by Jean Wood – a genuine appreciation for music.
Izzy Moloney, 11, said she was thrilled to secure the junior winner spot after performing on her ukulele, which she’s been playing for around three years now.
“I first started playing the ukulele when my granddad, who plays, bought one over for me from England,” she said.
“I sang two songs when I auditioned, ‘You all over me’ and ‘Fight song’ (Taylor Swift), so I was a little nervous.
“I was really surprised when I found out I had won.”
Timboon’s Lachlan McLennan, 16, was named senior winner after showcasing his abilities on guitar.
“It’s pretty cool – I didn’t think I was going to win, I just thought it would be a good experience,” he said.
“I’ve been playing for four years now after getting in to it at school.
“I wanted to play bass but it’s boring, and seeing others playing guitar made me think that it was cool and what I wanted to do.”
Noorat’s Ben Henderson, 18, was recognised for his signature style on guitar – a heavy rock-infused coalescence which involves building riffs over multiple layers which had been seamlessly looped together.
He said he was pleased to have been named a recipient after years of honing his skills on guitar.
“It’s so good,” he said.
“I don’t even know why I picked it up in the first place, but I did one day and just started liking it.
“I definitely have a unique approach – I just like to create layers upon layers, keep building on it and try to balance it without creating too much of an overwhelming sound.
“It’s good fun, and it’s a style of music which I think will grow as more people get in to electric music, as a new generation as a whole, which I think will get bigger out in the country.
“It’s definitely my thing, I love it.”