Teaching the teacher : How the isolated community can grow and develop artistically from the input of expertise

In most regionally isolated communities in Australia there exists pockets of musical ability. Music teachers are plentiful away from the capital cities and it is largely from these teachers that the local isolated community learns it's musical skills. However it is self evident that the level of technique learned by the student can only equal that of the ability of the teacher. In capital cities teachers have access to methods of developing their own musical abilities by working with professional performers at music acadamies, attending mastercalsses, etc. These opportunities are generally not available to the teacher in a rural community. This paper will demonstrate the development of a model for learning communities by importing a skilled professional performer into the local community to work with teachers. This model is the preferred theoretical method advanced by professional groups throughout Australia, rather than the older model of teaching at the grassroots level, that is, the professional performer working with individual students. Anecdotal evidence and oersonal experience will provide examples of the effectiveness of this community based teaching model.