Crescendo uses fast fibre to help 3000 young people grow their skills.
Bono, famed lead singer of U2, once said: “Music can change the world because it can change people” – and Auckland’s Crescendo Trust is changing the world of over 3000 young people [rangatahi] aged 15-24 through music.
The young people are those who may fall through the cracks of our fast-moving, fast-changing business, economic and social scene. They are also likely adopters of the “gig economy” (the labour market that wants part-time or temp workers) but who often do not have the confidence or the skills to take their place there.
That’s where Crescendo comes in, using music and professional musicians to help build those skills and confidence – and their tales of watching young people blossom as music allows them to have their voices heard are heart-warming.
“We see a lot of disconnected young people who have no confidence in themselves and, post-Covid, we have seen a lot with social anxiety, " says Cat Percy, Crescendo CEO. “We’ve had some who’ve sat outside the studio for an hour before they’ve been able to come in because they’re so nervous. Then after a couple of weeks of them coming in with their shoulders all hunched, they become more relaxed and they start to believe in themselves.
“They could be disconnected from themselves or their whanau, their school or their community, for a variety of reasons,” explains Percy. “We see young people from all backgrounds, across all cultures, socio-economic classes, gender identities, religions… they’re all welcome.
“We’ve supported young people who’ve been homeless; we’ve had brothers coming in wearing ankle bracelets and then connecting with a guy who is the head boy at a high school. Everything is left at the door and they just focus on doing what they are passionate about.”
Once in the door, rangatahi are not only given the chance to work on their musical abilities but also boost their confidence and sense of self while exploring their creativity. They also learn practical skills to gain all-important experience in the music and audio industries that will hopefully help them to find jobs or embark on further training.
But this doesn’t just happen at Crescendo’s Avondale hub; the trust is built around its ability to reach out to rangatahi and send whopping great music files online – the biggest so far was a terabyte and the average is 10 gigabytes, meaning Crescendo would struggle to operate without Chorus’s fast fibre broadband.
The mentors are professional musicians, with Crescendo founded in 2012 by musician Marcus Powell, a guitarist with award-winning Kiwi band Blindspott. He’d been mentoring young people in schools and seen first-hand how sharing his skills, experience and enthusiasm fostered their creativity along with their sense of self-worth.
“Growing up, I had many pathways available to me,” he says, “some good, some not so good. As a young teen in a successful band, I didn’t always make good choices. However, I was fortunate enough to have certain adult role models in my life who stood out and supported me.
“So, when I reflect back on those years, I can clearly see those available choices and hope to inspire positive change in our young people. I truly believe that if we ensure their happiness, safety, wellbeing and values are cared for, their pathways will be chosen with more clarity and thoughtfulness. Crescendo allows us to develop our young people from a heart space. It is important to me that our young people know that we love them. No matter what they do and what choices they make; good or bad, we are here to support and nurture them.”
Percy says: “Crescendo can change the trajectory of their life, and that is a very powerful thing to see, especially when it involves those who’ve had it tough.”
All mentors – such as former Nesian Mystik guitarist and producer David Atai – have years of experience in the industry and pass on their knowledge of music production, songwriting, audio engineering and live performance. Programme participants (who included rap duo Church & AP, who won best hip hop artist at the Aotearoa Music Awards in 2020) learn about everything from marketing and social media through to event management.
“Our rangatahi get exposure to real-world industry experience and they gain transitionary skills that they can take into so many journeys in life,” says Percy. “It’s not just about creating musicians or artists, it’s about creating resilient holistic individuals who know they are valued and confident in sharing their skills and talents.”
Crescendo has recently set up Crescendo Studio, a commercial sound recording and music production studio. Services include audio book and podcast recording along with sound design and music recording and production. All profits go towards funding the trust’s music mentoring and wellbeing programmes and, at the same time, gives young people taking part the chance to get hands-on experience doing things like music production and audio engineering.
Percy says Crescendo couldn’t do what it does without its high-speed internet connection, powered by the Chorus fibre network: “Shifting to fibre has been a real game-changer for us, especially for the commercial studio. We’re transferring very big files to clients and we need to have a fast and reliable internet connection. Our clients expect professionalism and the connectivity we have through fibre makes all the difference when it comes to delivering.”
Dean Pointon, Head of Business and Networks at Chorus, says without fibre, Crescendo’s delivery of commercial projects would be disrupted: “Those commercial projects essentially fund the youth music and mentoring programmes, so they need to run smoothly. Disrupted internet could potentially disconnect young people from the programme. Students would have a poor experience without fibre, with issues uploading and downloading files; that disruption could potentially mean days of lost time.”
“It’s great to see a business using fibre to enable this kind of commercial social enterprise business model.”
Crescendo is also trialling programmes for rangatahi outside of Auckland, so speedy internet is vital to connect with them. There are plans to create a community hub where young people can work alongside each other in a collaborative space encouraging entrepreneurial and creative expression – and Percy says fibre will be crucial, helping to build a community through connectivity.
“The gig economy is going to be the future of how we work, and young people are going to be leading that. Fibre will definitely be key in that space.”
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