Jazz musician at 12 Free info and support service

Museum with a unique presentation of song, dance and dialogue for the Prevention of Violence Against Women, drawing on Indian cultural themes of the goddess Shakti.

Not many children are passionate about violins when they are 12 years old, but Dean Coelho, a Year 7 student of Eltham High School in Melbourne, is no ordinary fiddler.

Not only does he play jazz at orchestras, gigs and workshops, he is also a versatile musician and plays the piano and drums as well.

He plays first violin in the senior strings orchestra and plays the drums in his school bands.

Also remarkable is the fact that Dean plays traditional jazz at the Victorian under-25 jazz as well as the Victorian over-25 jazz workshops.

He played at the 73rd Australian Jazz Convention in Ballarat last December, the Victorian Jazz Club’s 50th Anniversary event and at various small gigs around Melbourne.

Dean showed keen interest in playing the violin at the age of 4 and started lessons from Year 2 in primary school.

What draws him to the violin?

“I was attracted to the instrument when I heard family members play the violin when I was a toddler,” Dean revealed. “My uncle Daryl Coelho and cousin Gabriel De Figueiredo have been a source of inspiration to me.”

He added, “I have also been inspired by the great Stephane Grappelli and the Australian jazz violinist Julian Ferraretto.”

Dean practices, on average, for about an hour a day and among the numerous pieces that he plays with ease, has two favourites - Blue Bossa and The Bach Gavotte.

Has the young fiddler tried his skills with Goan music – the sound of his roots?

Of course, Dean replied with a smile.

“Ever since I watched the movie Nachom-ia Kumpasar, I began playing songs from Goa and have played at many Goan events organised by the Goan Overseas Association of Victoria in Melbourne.”

Frankey Gerard Fernandes

It takes cultural understanding, contextual understanding, communication and collaboration to support a community, and IndianCare Inc is aiming to provide that with the recent launch of their Information and Support (I&S) Service. It is a free service to help people of Indian origin facing family or personal issues or needing support with life in Australia.

IndianCare was created in 2014 to cater to the welfare and development of the burgeoning population of people of Indian origin. Covering areas like alcohol and drug related issues, family violence, student support, housing, employment services, visa settlement etc., their aim is to seek better outcomes for people of Indian origin in welfare and community development areas.

The launch of the I&S Service was part of the ‘Voices of Shakti with That Girl’ – a collaboration between artists Mandie Singh and Dr Priya Srinivasan. The well-attended event was held at the Immigration

According to a recent release, family violence takes up an enormous amount of police time, with officers attending a family violence incident every seven minutes across Victoria. Recently, Lisa Neville (the Minister for Police and Emergency Services) joined Rick Nugent (Deputy Commissioner) to announce an allocation of another 709 officers, which includes 207 family violence officers for 2019.

A Centre for Learning for Family Violence, an $11.5 million purpose-built training facility has opened to ensure more police officers will be better trained to respond to family violence. The issue of family violence in the Indian community is a complex problem with cultural factors, social stigma and under-reporting being some of the barriers to access services.

An alarming increase in family violence within the community requires building capacity to engage and respond with culturally sensitive practices, understanding of gender roles and traditions and collaboration with community, health, police, and legal and welfare sectors.

According to IndianCare, their current focus is on two main projects – prevention of family violence and alcohol and drug education. This launch, funded by the Victorian Government, is a crucial addition to the work of IndianCare. “With the number of Indian-born residents tripling over the past 20 years in Melbourne, this service is needed more than ever,” said IndianCare President Jaya Manchikanti.

IndianCare claims to have good links with a number of organisations including Good Shepherd, Australian Multicultural Community Services, Southern Migrant and Refugee Centre, Alcohol and Drug Foundation, Community Information Services Victoria, Victoria University and LaTrobe University.

At this point what the community really needs is an organisation that goes beyond conversation and walks the talk. Here’s hoping that this not-for-profit organisation will do the needful.

Preeti Jabbal