AS THE city counts down to the Tamworth Country Music Festival, the event has already begun for 24 hopefuls.
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With three more students than last year, the CMAA Academy of Country Music will welcome students today with tuition beginning tomorrow for two weeks.
Country Music Association of Australia Academy of Country Music general manager, Roger Corbett, said this year saw a complete revamp of the curriculum with major changes in songwriting sessions.
“Most of the songwriting is going to be co-writes with one-on-one collaborations between a student and a tutor or artist,” he said.
Writers will include Allan Caswell, Drew McAlister, Ashleigh Dallas, Aleyce Simmonds, Kevin Bennett, new tutor Catherine Britt and Karl Broadie, along with new academy director Lyn Bowtell.
“It’s a star-studded cast,” Mr Corbett said.
“There are 40 co-writing sessions planned. If every one of those spots eventuates into a great song, we are going to have a great collection of songs written at the academy with amazing writers and new talent. The band is going to be very hot, too.”
Band members/students are Joseph Balfe from New Zealand, Cobar’s Kahlia Martin, Liam Kennedy-Clark who is a Toyota Star Maker finalist on drums, Sam Jessen of Goondiwindi on bass and Tamworth’s Chloe Nott who plays banjo, cello and guitar.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what happens and they will be all under the baton of Simon Johnson,” Mr Corbett said.
“We have five in the band this year and had eight last year, but we have 24 students, as opposed to 21 last year. We are looking for some real excellence.
“The men in this year’s academy are exceptional and the women are always extraordinary, but it is harder to get men interested in coming to academy.”