BENDIGO primary and secondary school students have joined together in song.
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About 600 children gathered in Hargreaves Mall on Thursday to take part in the nationwide Music Count Us In program.
More than 500,000 from 2100 schools sang the same song called Paint You A Song at 12.30pm to highlight the role of music in education.
Camp Hill Primary School performing arts co-ordinator Mary Thorpe said the students were really pumped.
“At our school the grade 5 and 6 kids choreograph a dance to go with it and some kids are selected to be on stage to sing,” Ms Thorpe said.
“It’s a great experience for them.
“It’s also a really good transitional experience, seeing what they can do when they go to high school - they can pay music and be in bands.
“It’s a big test for everybody to have our first run through on the day.”
The year-long program starts with a song writing competition involving high school students from across the nation.
Five finalists were chosen to work with program ambassador and music producer John Foreman and mentor Harry James Angus, from The Cat Empire, to produce a song.
This year's finalists came from a mix of schools in New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania.
The Bendigo performance was led by members of the Bendigo Instrumental Music Program and Bendigo South East College Orchestra.
BIMP co-ordinator Gavin Moncrieff said the event showcased music programs from a number of the region's schools.
Music Count Us In is Australia's biggest schools initiative.
It was established by the Music Council of Australia eight years ago in a bid to promote music training in schools.
The program offers access to professional development workshops and resources, including song charts and arrangements, classroom activity kits, special education resources and demonstration videos.