Articles

Ruth, Roving reporter

Sound Shock Music Competition

When Matthew Drozdz of Werribee was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2007, his world was turned upside down. He decided to raise awareness in the community about this relatively unknown condition by organising the Sound Shock Music Competition.

Over six months Matthew, 26, organised the charity event with Adriana Torres, an event management university student. Auditions for potential performers were held during September and October. Those that made the final lineup would battle it out to win in three categories.

Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease

On Sunday 16 November 2008, Matthew bravely stood before the audience and described what it was like to live with ulcerative colitis.

"It affected my whole life," he said. "I had to forego things that we normally take for granted. I could not drink alcohol or eat certain kinds of food. Even my social life was affected. My whole life was pretty much planned around the toilet."

As Matthew explained to the audience, ulcerative colitis is a condition where inner lining of the large bowel (colon and rectum) becomes inflamed. The condition causes abdominal pain, weight loss, diarrhoea, tiredness, fever, ulcers, vomiting and nausea.

An estimated 33,000 Australians have ulcerative colitis. A further 28,000 have the closely related Crohn's disease. The Australian Crohn's and Colitis Association (ACCA) was set up to fund research, raise awareness, and provide support for those who have the conditions.

Where ulcerative colitis affects the inner lining of the bowel, Crohn's disease affects all the layers of the bowel wall. It can involve any part of the digestive tract from the mouth to the anus. Depending on the severity of the inflammation, colitis can be treated with medication. In severe cases surgery may be required to remove parts of the large bowl. However it is not possible to remove all the parts of the bowel that are affected by Crohn's disease.

Matthew's inspirational story provided the grounding for the Sound Shock Music Competition. The money raised would be donated to the ACCA.

Sound Shock!

The Sound Shock audience was treated to an impressive line-up of local talent. Guest performances included Melbourne punk-rock band Sensai, Jazz artist Jeff Shappard, Wyndham Idol winner Katrina Free, Werribee band Boyracer and RnB singer Caterina Torres.

Ten contestants aged 8 - 18 wowed the audience and the judges. The final winners of the three categories were:

• Outstanding vocal performance 8-12 category: Vanessa Cox
• Outstanding vocal performance 13-18+ category: Emylee Ephraums
• Outstanding instrumental performance 13-18+ category: Alex Weybury

The winners received a recording session, a photo shoot and a hair salon voucher. An encouragement award of a $100 Werribee Plaza voucher went to Nathan Stahl.

The most remarkable thing about the Sound Shock Music Competition was that ordinary people had taken the initiative to organise a community event. Matthew and Adriana had showed that age, location and even sickness were no barriers to organising an event to raise awareness and money for a charity.

As Jeff Sheppard inspirationally sang: "I can't change the world, it'll never be perfect, but maybe I can make a difference to the world around me... If I can make it a little better it's been a day well spent."

For more information about ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease, go to www.acca.net.au (new window).

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