Bridget O’Shanassy has always had a love for music. This Grant for Good has enabled her to take that love and transform school music programmes across Aotearoa New Zealand.
When Bridget from Pukerua Bay, north of Wellington, discovered she could apply for a HealthCarePlus Grant for Good to support her musical mission, she didn’t hesitate.
“I believe if you don’t ask, you don’t get!” she says.
That bold approach has now taken her into schools across New Zealand, empowering teachers and inspiring students through the joy of group singing.
As a mother of two grown sons and grandmother to two little ones, Bridget brings a lifetime of musical passion to her work. She’s been singing in groups since she was four years old and describes it as her “God-given passion and purpose in life”. Today, she serves as a Barbershop and Choir Director while teaching voice and piano at five schools across the Wellington region.
Bridget’s workshops focus on helping schools establish singing groups, particularly by supporting teachers who often feel overwhelmed by the prospect of starting something new. “So much of music coaching is done in teachers’ spare time,” she says, recognising the additional pressures educators face.
Her approach centres on accessible barbershop singing, which she says is much more accessible than some other styles of a cappella singing. By starting with easy barbershop tunes, she’s showing both teachers and students that group singing doesn’t have to be intimidating.
The magic happens when voices come together.
“My love of group singing, seeing smiles on the students’ faces and blowing people’s minds with the expansion of sound which happens when a group sings in tune together” drives everything she does.
The HealthCarePlus Grant for Good has been transformative, removing financial barriers that previously limited Bridget’s reach. “It has enabled me to travel to many schools,” she shares. More importantly, the funding has allowed her to extend her workshops to schools outside the major centres; places that “often miss out as they are a little further away”.
This support came at a crucial time, as funding has been hard to come by from the governing body of barbershop and choir singers. Bridget was particularly grateful for HealthCarePlus’s backing. “I have really appreciated this grant,” she says, adding, “I’d like to keep going and do more!”
For teachers considering similar applications, Bridget offers practical advice:
“Think about how the grant would benefit teachers and students. This should be the motivation for the application.” She encourages others not to second-guess their worthiness, noting that “so many times we make assumptions about whether our cause is worthy”.
Through the support of HealthCarePlus, Bridget is creating a ripple effect across New Zealand’s education system. Every workshop she delivers builds another teacher’s confidence, establishes another school singing group, and introduces more students to the transformative power of making music together.
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