30 youngsters get a helping hand thanks to Malawi Music Project

The Malawi Music Project is an annual one-week youth camp which is held jointly between Music Crossroads Malawi and Peace Corps Malawi that uses music as a development tool to empower young musicians (ages 13 to 25) from across Malawi through education in HIV/AIDS awareness/education and music instruction.

Following a call for applications earlier this year, 30 young and passionate participants from across the country were selected and taken through various classes and workshops, addressing not only HIV/AIDS awareness but also music theory, instrument instruction, music business and band management, creativity, songwriting/arranging, self-esteem, professionalism, improvisation and stage performance/awareness, all facilitated by Music Crossroads staff members and Peace Corps volunteers.

The project was ideal not only for Music Crossroads Academy students but to all the participants who came from across the country from various government secondary schools. Besides promoting free and creative thinking by nurturing the participants’ creativity, the camp was a hub where Music Crossroads Academy students networked and shared ideas with their fellow participants.

In order to give an opportunity to showcase and demonstrate the skills and knowledge that the participants acquired during the week-long camp, the Malawi Music Project conducted a battle of bands on the final day of the camp, 1 April, at the performance stage at Music Crossroads Academy campus.

Six bands battled it out for a prestigious prize of recording at Record for Life Studio 1 at Music Crossroads Malawi. The bands performed their original song in front of three local and international judges and a live audience of about 1000 people. The battle of the bands was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the young musicians to come together and have uninhibited freedom to pursue their passion.

Originally published on 22 April 2016 by Music Crossroads.