Unfurl Music is passionate about music and all it brings.
From children’s music, to wedding gigs, family friendly concerts to songwriting, Unfurl Music creates joy, wonder and nourishment for many.
Who we are
We are Rachel and Ollie Macindoe, passionate musicians, performers, trained facilitators and community builders.
Unfurl Music is an expression of our diverse range of musical skills and interests, allowing us to share the joy of music and song to many.
Kids programs
We have been running Little Sirens, a Children’s Music and Storytime Program, weekly for 8 years where we bring the joy of music and dance to children and their families.
Songwriting
We are songwriters and have written a series of songs we call ‘Love Songs for Families’. We have been commissioned to write songs for people to celebrate a variety of occasions from weddings to 70th birthdays. It is here that our love of music and storytelling combine.
Performing
We also perform at events, play at weddings, and run music sessions in playgroups and nursing homes.
Songwriting workshops
We combine our love of music and facilitation to run songwriting workshops for people of all ages, along with programs that support young families to use music in their everyday lives with their children.
Our services
Little Sirens – Musical Storytime
For eight years Rachel and Ollie have been running Little Sirens, a Children’s Musical Storytime Session for pre-school children and their families. These sessions include original songs, dancing, story-telling, rhythm and introducing children to the basics of music and composition.
Parents are actively involved and the space is open to Children from 0-4 years, allowing families to experience the wonder together. These sessions are also an opportunity for families to connect and support each other through an informal time of play and sharing after the Musical Storytime Session.
Sessions run on Fridays at 10:30am at the Bellfield Community Garden.
Songwriting Workshops
Unfurl Projects facilitates songwriting workshops where participants get the pleasure of writing their own songs.
We have worked with children from disadvantaged backgrounds, adults with disabilities, young people, families and groups from refugee and migrant backgrounds to create beautiful songs that express something unique waiting to unfurl.
Custom Songwriting
Unfurl Projects has been commissioned to write personalised songs for a variety of people.
Whether it be for a newborn baby, a 70th birthday or a wedding, personalised songs are the perfect way to treasure memories and celebrate the people we love. We think they can be better than a photo album in capturing memories and moments in time.
Playgroup Sessions
Rachel and Ollie from Unfurl Projects run musical sessions as incursions for Playgroups, Kindergartens and Childcare Centres.
These sessions are alive with dynamic songs, rhymes, dancing, actions and stories and allow for full participation and a positive musical experience for all involved.
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Sessions usually run for 30-45 minutes per group and are a way to enhance language development, musical knowledge and connection between parents and their children.
Family Friendly Concerts
Unfurl Projects hosts musical events that are family friendly and inclusive. We run Family Friendly Concerts each season as a way to showcase and support local musicians and to bring people of all ages together to celebrate music together.
Weddings
Rach and Ollie from Unfurl Projects play music for weddings and different functions. We play a mix of original songs and covers and can be booked as a duo (singing and guitar) or as a band (with drums, keys, violin and clarinet). We can also be commissioned to write a personalised song for the couple getting married.
Gigs
From Festivals to Ceres, from Council gigs to parties, Unfurl Music plays a variety of music to suit the environment and mood. We play music ranging from folk songs to children’s music, original songs to covers and can come as a guitar/singing duo or full band.
Unfurl Songwriting Project
The Unfurl Songwriting Project began when we began to embark on a weekly songwriting challenge. We wrote songs based on the stories of the thirty Little Sirens families coming to their Musical Storytime sessions. The songs not only connected the Little Sirens Community deeper but also allowed songs about families and parenting to be heard and represented by the wider community.
Each song has been recorded and goes on our Youtube Channel along with an interview of the family and the story behind the song. We hope to get all songs released by the end of 2023.
Testimonials
We have been attending Little Sirens for over a year now. My little one is 2.5 years and Little Sirens is her happy place. She wakes up asking every morning if it’s a Little Sirens Day.
The joy of singing, laughing, dancing, playing and connecting brings such wonder to the close of each week.
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Ollie and Rachel bring so much magic and wonder to the sessions, it’s impossible not to be part of the playful magic too. I am so grateful that my daughter and I have found this amazing musical community to attend weekly.
Leoni – Chinese Medical Practitioner, Music Lover and Parent
Rach and Ollie are so incredibly gifted. At Banyule Supported Playgroup we have welcomed them back many times to enhance our programs and to be the stand out guests at our community events. Apart from the magical music they create they have an amazing ability to make everyone feel safe, secure, respected whilst giving all participants a sense of belonging.
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We love the way they celebrate Australia and its cultural diversity, they bring so much enthusiasm and kindness whenever they visit.
Our programs are for children aged 0-5yrs and Rach and Ollie always ensure there is something for everyone, even our newborns
I love that they offer a range of new and familiar songs to our families, and always bring some extra surprises like puppets, shakers, and unique musical instruments to share with our groups. I cannot highly recommend Rach and Ollie enough
Joanne Kitto – Supported Playgroup Facilitator
The song that Rach and Ollie wrote for our son Iggy is the most beautiful gift. I cried the first time I heard it and 5 years later, it still makes me cry.
They captured such a beautiful snapshot of his personality, nature and way of being and painted a very touching picture of our whole family.
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It has brought about healing and closeness each time we’ve listened to it. These songs are something very special and I am so grateful to have one written about our little treasure Iggy.
Elizabeth Hindmarsh – Little Sirens Attendee
More testimonials
Rach and Ollie’s family concerts are such a treat to attend.
We’ve been with our primary-school-aged children and toddler and everyone in the family gets something out of it whether it’s being mesmerized and inspired by the talent, feeling connected to community or enjoying the beautiful homemade food and a warm chai, we all look forward to going along.
Gina
We employed Rachel and Ollie to run a songwriting workshop with a group of primary school aged children in West Heidelberg. They were a group with a diverse range of abilities and personalities.
Rachel and Ollie engaged with them very well and involved them in the steps of creating an amazing song which the students were very proud of.
Michaela – Project Officer, OAE Neighbourhood House
I worked with Rachel and Ollie on a short-term project in 2022 called ‘We Love Songs’, where young children and families from Darebin’s richly diverse community worked alongside musicians to sing and create their own songs to foster ‘musical conversations’ between caregivers and children.
Both wonderful and skilled local musicians, Rachel and Ollie, led playful, fun and interactive singing activities, helping build families’ song repertoire, as well as their confidence to explore the song-making process and compose their very own songs.
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More significantly, Rachel and Ollie have a wonderful way with people, and this was definitely the strength behind the success of the project. Their ability to create a friendly, nurturing environment for families, was crucial in encouraging families to fully participate.
Darebin has a richly diverse community made up of people from a range of backgrounds, cultures, religions, and language groups. Rachel and Ollie shared stories and songs from their heritage and musical background and then invited parents to reminisce and reconnect with stories and songs from their childhood. By working alongside families, Rachel and Ollie encouraged and celebrated families to use their home language and share stories of songs with a cultural or personal significance, to ensure their culture and identity was respected and valued.
It was such a wonderful experience – for everyone, thanks to Rachel and Ollie’s musical talent and their facilitation skills and style. Through their warmth and sensitivity they were able to draw people out, keep the group engaged – while juggling the energy of young children! – and facilitate a creative process that enables rewarding outcomes.’
Robyn Alexander – Health Promotion Officer (Your Community Health Darebin)
I initially was drawn to Little Sirens because I wanted my son to experience the joy of music and movement from an early age. Rach and Ollie provided that, but they also nurtured a supportive, empowering community for young and old alike.
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While I found like-minded people, Rach and Ollie ensured the group also acknowledged and celebrated differences, holding space for everyone to be who they were. It’s full of people from different places and with a wide variety of families and ways of living. Music and ideas from every one’s culture helped to convey more to our children than we could have told them ourselves.
I’ve watched shy little people grow courageous and proud by sharing what they know, as we value the knowledge they bring to the room. Little sirens is a place you can come as you are. We all share food and conversation, and the children have a play together.
We have celebrated and grieved with one another and watched each other’s children grow. While my son has loved participating, I have also come for myself.
Sue Dagg – Australian National University, Mother
Rachel and Ollie performed for our wedding this year. I first heard them play at Ceres community gardens, in Brunswick prior to the first Covid lockdown of 2020. I had just returned from New Zealand, after asking my beloved to marry me.
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I was instantly taken by their sound and their visible connection, and it was obvious to me that they could make our day extra special.
Unfortunately the wedding was not to be, not then anyway. Three years later we finally got to celebrate our union, with Rachel and Ollie (& their friend Stella) serenading all of our family and friends on the Taxodium Lawn, at The Botanical Gardens, on a gorgeous Autumn day.
They even wrote a personalised special song for us, after we gave them some short stories about how my wife and I first met, and how our little family has blossomed and grown. We always felt cared for by Rachel and Ollie, and confident they genuinely wanted to do the best they could for us. We couldn’t have been happier with how everything went, and we would recommend their services to anyone.
Keir – Groom
