Sistema Waikato launched at Nawton Primary School in July 2015 and involved children from four West Hamilton schools (Rhode St Primary, Nawton Primary, Crawshaw, and Forest Lake). The intention of using music as a tool for positively transforming the lives of participating children, their families and wider communities was at the heart of its inception. Ann Shaffer and Rupert D’Cruze from the Hamilton Community Centre of Music approached Dr. Bridgette Masters-Awatere at the University of Waikato to conduct a formative evaluation of Sistema Waikato just prior to its launch. Under the supervision of Bridgette Masters-Awatere two students Juliana Brown and Makarita Tangitu-Joseph were given the opportunity to be a part of the research team and conduct the qualitative evaluation. The evaluation drew upon multiple methods: Survey, interview, photo voice, focus-group interviews and observations.