Jen is a wonderful teacher and facilitator of community music groups. She has taught at many festivals and music camps around Victoria.
Community Music Update
In 2022 Jen began running the Swingalong Ukestra in Newport and Creswick and is available for uke and guitar workshops in many different styles.
Jen has been tutoring at The Whittlesea Uke Muster yearly since 2022 for a fabulous day community uke playing.
In 2020 and 2021 Jen delivered online community ukulele workshops for a gypsy jazz uke course with Anu Grace from Townsville, which ran all through lockdown with around 30 to 40 participants each month. In 2021 Jen moved her uke teaching into the real world again!
Other online workshops in 2020 were held with Community Music Victoria and The Boroondara Seniors Festival uke groups.
The Swingalong Ukestra.
The Magnetic Gypsy jazz Uke Camp.
Learn to play gypsy jazz and vintage swing on the uke for community music players and beyond!
If you’d like to study with Jen and Anu we have monthly online sessions and lots of resources. Join us in July 2021 on Magnetic Island for a 5 day community ukulele fiesta! Go to Anu’s page here for more info.
Here’s the wonderful video we made with the particpants during lockdown 2020.
Music and video producer and lead uke teacher: Jen Hawley.
Dark Eyes – Turramurra Folk Community Music Camp. 2021.
Music and video producer: Jen Hawley. I put together this virtual band recording for the Boroondara Seniors Festival Gala Concert in October 2020 during the Melbourne Lockdown (Australia).
2011 to now!
Online concert and interview with The Victorian Seniors Festival 2020.
Originally formed by Jen Hawley, The FGO (aka Footscray Gypsies) is a world music community orchestra based in Footscray in the western suburbs of Melbourne with a repertoire focusing on klezmer, gypsy, romantic and balkan music. They have recorded 2 CDs and regularly play around Melbourne.
The Footscray Gypsies rehearse every second Tuesday night from 7.00 to 10.00pm at the Newport Bowls Club. Now led by Terry Cole.
For more info check out their facebook page here.
Supporting Women in Blues
2014 to 2016
This was a very successsful ‘Women in Blues’ project for Melbourne players and singers interested in blues music.
The project was run by Jen Hawley – respected guitarist/singer, Michelle Johns, keyboardist, Diane Forster (MBAS committee) and supported by the Melbourne Blues Appreciation Society, sharing a common personal passion to foster and develop increased opportunities for women in our music community.
Each quarterly meeting had a different guest musician from the Blues scene to perform as a feature artist and also provide mentoring. Our stage was graced by amazing mentors: Kelly Auty, Fiona Boyes, Kerri Simson, community radio announcers and record producers, to name a few. The evenings also enjoyed a blues choir run by Kelly Auty and an inclusive jam run by Jen Hawley and Michelle Johns.
