The legendary Bob Dylan was once quoted as saying “a person is a success if they get up in the morning and go to bed at night, and in between do what they want to do”. For AIM Bachelor of Entertainment Management Degree student Marna Eringa and Audio Technology graduand Tim Walker, that definition of success has been a daily experience in 2010.

Tim and Marna recently completed a national tour with a music workshop program called ‘Rock The Schools’, a FREE education and entertainment initiative aimed at inspiring thousands of students across Australia, to follow their passion and provide them with direction and knowledge regarding various careers in the music industry

Rock the Schools, powered by a brand called eD, visited 6 states and 70 high schools over 16 weeks from May to August, and that’s where Tim and Marna come into it. As part of the initiative, the Australian Institute of Music facilitated two and a half hour workshops and brought ‘up and coming’ Australian Rock bands into school halls to transform the venue into a Live Rock Gig.

Finabah are one of the bands Tim and Marna are working with.

Tim was assistant front-of-house engineer and also facilitated recording workshops with students using ‘Pro-Tools’. Hailing from Bowral in the NSW Southern Highlands, Tim really appreciated the opportunity to take the tour to country areas. “It’s great to see the students out here really getting into what we are doing, because they don’t often get the chance to see and experience these type of music workshops and bands up close and personal. Almost all the kids had never seen this technology so I love the fact that I can be their first point of contact and hopefully inspire them enough to want to get into the music industry” says Tim. 

“Working along side main engineers Anatole Day and James Carroll has also been amazing, I have learned so much from Anatole who has been engineering for about 12 years, and who also studied at AIM.” Anatole has an impressive resume of live touring with such diverse acts as The Streets (UK), Guy Sebastian (Aus), Presets (Aus), Duffy (UK) and Rock the Schools very own Cassette Kids!



Tim, who has completed his studies at AIM in Audio Technology, says that the experience, the engineers and the bands he has met as part of the tour, will hopefully open up more opportunities for audio engineering work in the music industry. Read an 'on tour' article about TIM here

Coordinating the daily operations of Rock the Schools was Marna Eringa, who has returned to AIM, to complete her Bachelor of Entertainment Management Degree. “Being able to put into practice what I am learning at AIM has been one of the highlights for me,” Marna says.

Marna says that she wishes she knew about music schools like AIM when she was in school. “To be able to tell students in High Schools that a career in the music industry is a very real option, has been one of the best things about doing this,” says Marna.
 “It has also been important for me to follow my passion in terms of my own career. So working with bands, event organisers, tour crews and commercial sponsors on this tour has helped me to gain a lot of confidence & skills for the future” adds Marna.

After working hard at AIM, being recommended for the job with Rock The Schools, and then to be successful through the interview process, both Tim and Marna are certainly making the most of the opportunity to secure a future in the industry.

As the biggest tour of it’s kind in Australia, the opportunity the program affords, both for the schools, students, participants, organisers, bands, workshop presenters and crew, is a win/win situation all round.

For more about rock the schools visit www.rocktheschools.com.au