This month the spotlight is on Chelsey Bennett, a proud local musician, songwriter and music teacher from the Hauraki district. Raised in Waihi from the age of five and now living with her family on a dairy farm in Ngatea, the wider Hauraki district is where she calls home, having lived, attended school in and worked in the area for most of her life.
Her main role these days is imparting musical wisdom to the next generation of mini musos through lessons in singing, guitar, ukulele and piano that she offers at several local schools.
From the age of eight she knew that her future vocation would involve music in some way.
Having had a chance encounter with a music therapist, she was intrigued and aspired to one day follow that path.
Although she hasn’t disregarded it for her future, for now she is satisfied teaching music and has found that teaching has meant that music becomes more accessible to kids that benefit from having it in their lives.
Singing and music has always been a huge part of her life. From a tiny child she would sing almost constantly. Her most vivid memories are of singing and playing guitar at home with her mum Meryl, who is also a music teacher based in Waikino, learning to harmonise to old school country and western hits like Delta Dawn and Let Me Be There.
For a long time, she distanced herself from country music, opting to learn more classical style singing. However, despite having a rather diverse repertoire, she has now come full circle and has found herself singing with more of a country flare these days.
You can find her with her guitar in hand, playing and singing at markets, pubs and various events throughout the Coromandel, Waikato and Auckland areas, bringing a relaxed acoustic ambiance to any occasion.
Chelsey will tell you that she is not the most active person on social media, but you can catch up with where she is performing over the upcoming summer season and contact her to book her for gigs by searching on Instagram @chelseybennettmusic or looking up her profile on Facebook.
She’s looking forward to seeing you out and about, singing along and exploring the Coromandel this summer.
chelseybennettmusic@gmail.com
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